Shula Rijxman will immediately step down as alderman in Amsterdam. The D66 politician, who had care and ICT in her portfolio, says that being an alderman suits her less well than she had previously thought. “I no longer feel comfortable in the role and I have drawn my conclusion from that today.”
She writes in a letter to the city council and mayor Halsema that there is “insufficient space to do things in a way that is effective and that fits in with who I am and want to be”.
NPO issues
Rijxman also reports that she is “too often the subject of conversation”. After taking office last May, Rijxman (63) was discredited due to issues from her past as the highest director of the NPO. It turned out that she failed to report a private relationship with the highest official of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. She also did not report that she had been on holiday with then Media Secretary Dekker in 2017.
In response to these cases, current NPO chairman Leeflang said that Rijxman may have violated the code of conduct for directors of the NPO.
Mayor Halsema says she regrets that Rijxman is leaving and calls it courageous that she recognizes that the role of alderman does not suit her. Rijxman’s tasks are provisionally divided among the other aldermen.
- Dijkgraaf: whistleblower NPO handling report not correct
- NPO boss Rijxman did not report a holiday with the media minister, an investigation has been launched
- Parliament suspends debate whistleblower affair NPO, wants research results first
