TransCity

Source: NRC Handelsblad

Ahmed Aboutaleb, a prominent Labour politician who was born in Morocco, will be the new mayor of Rotterdam. Aboutaleb (47) is currently the deputy minister of social affairs. He will start his new job on January 1, 2009, after the home affairs ministry confirms his appointment.

Before becoming a deputy minister in February 2007, Aboutaleb made a name for himself in Amsterdam, where he was the city council’s executive for social affairs.

Aboutaleb is the first mayor of Moroccan descent to be appointed in the Netherlands. Rotterdam is the country’s second biggest city (population 584,000) and has substantial social and poverty issues.

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