The King’s Commissioner of Friesland, Arno Brok, has been recognised as the best government official of the past decade and has been awarded the Oeuvre Prize. Secretary general Maarten Schurink of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations awarded Mr. Brok the prize in Helmond on Thursday afternoon. The prestigious award was handed out during the tenth Government Official of the Year election, which is organised by Binnenlands Bestuur magazine.
Brok (50, VVD, Franeker) was chosen to win the award because he had received the most nominations for the title of best government official over the past decade. He had never actually won the title, but he was previously awarded the Mayor Prize (burgemeesterprijs) from the Ministry of the Interior in 2012.
Mr. Brok said that he was honoured to receive the award. “It’s certainly cliché to say so, but I’m just doing my job. I want to fulfill my duties to the best of my ability, and winning an award for that is the furthest thing from my mind. To be honest, I like to think I’m still a bit too young to win a lifetime achievement award. I’m just going to keep on working.”
Since March 2017, Mr. Brok has served as the King’s Commissioner of Friesland. Prior to that, he served as the mayor of Dordrecht (2010-2017) and Sneek (2003-2010). He began his political career as an alderperson in the municipal council in Leeuwarden (1998-2003) after becoming a councillor for the municipality.
