Klaas Agricola has been nominated for the prize for his leadership through the Coronavirus pandemic
Translated by Thomas Ansell
As reported by the Omrop Fryslân, the Mayor of Dantumadiel in the north-east of Friesland has been nominated for the ‘World Mayor Prize’. Klaas Agricola (non-affiliated) has been Mayor of the 20,000 person municipality since 2017. “It’s a nice upside for Dantumadiel”, says Agricola.
The criteria for the prize include integrity, courage, and diligence; and Agricola sits on a long list with 81 Mayors from 38 countries. Others nominated include the Mayor of Milan, the Mayor of Mexico City, the Mayor of Amsterdam (Femke Halsema); and the Mayor of Manneheim in Germany.
“It was a surprise to me [to be nominated]”, says Agricola, “it came via Rob Hoogland, a columnist at De Telegraaf”.
Hoogland nominated Agricola after seeing that Halsema had been nominated in spite of Amsterdam’s Coronavirus figures. “He said that when he looked at the Netherlands Dantumadiel sprung out due to its low Coronavirus infections”, says Agricola.
The World Mayor Prize is an initiative of the City Mayors Foundation; an international thinktank that looks into local leadership. Nominations were open for Mayors from across Europe, the US, and Asia.
Naturally, Agricola says that the nomination is a plus for his community, not himself. “It’s for all of the residents in Dantumadiel, because they have made sure that we have as few Coronavirus infections as possible. As the Mayor you’re the face of the community, but it is the residents that I have to thank.”
