“Everyone should be able to feel welcome, safe and secure here in The Hague, in this traditionally open city. I believe that all citizens deserve the same opportunities to develop regardless of gender, skin color, sexual orientation, religion or philosophy–whether you were born here or on the other side of the world. I will continue to strive for this, together with all of the OECD Champion Mayors.”
Jan van Zanen was born in 1961 and grew up in Edam-Volendam. After attending high school he completed his law studies at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam in 1985 and at Cornell Law School at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He did his military service as a reserve officer with the Royal Netherlands Air Force. He then worked in a number of functions including as executive secretary at a national business association. As of 1990 Van Zanen became a member of the municipal council in Utrecht, and was appointed as the alderman for finance, economic affairs, public space and monuments in 1998. From 2003 to 2008 he was the chairman of the national People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). Van Zanen then served as mayor of Amstelveen from July 2005 to December 2013. On 1 January 2014 he was appointed as the mayor of Utrecht. From June 2015 to Jun2 2023 he was the chairperson of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG), and is one of the four presidents of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). He was sworn in as the mayor of The Hague on 1 July 2020.
On November 20, 2022, Mayor van Zanen officially apologised for the colonial and slavery past of the City of The Hague during the presentation of a scientific study into the city’s slavery and colonial past.
The Hague has a unique history as the seat of parliament, government and the court. It is also home to a very diverse population that includes approximately 100,000 inhabitants who are descendants of those who suffered under the former colonial rule of the Netherlands. This research has provided insight into the impact of this troubled past on today’s inhabitants of The Hague.
As Mayor of The Hague, a city of peace and justice, Mr. van Zanen offered his sincere apologies on behalf of the council for the way that predecessors supported and benefited from the system of colonialism and slavery, while acknowledging that apologies alone cannot undo the “unspeakable suffering inflicted on people”.
He also emphasized that the current residents of The Hague are not to blame for the actions of Hague residents and administrators at the time, but the impact of these acts are reflected in the racism that the descendants of the victims of colonialism and slavery still face today. According to the mayor, racism is still a “poisoning force” in society today, “and this causes sadness and anger. Also because the system of colonialism and slavery was based on racism and white supremacy thinking.
“That is precisely why the recognition of the suffering that the system of colonialism and slavery has caused is so important. We can only really tackle the racism of today when the memory of the origin of racism and its consequences, colonialism and slavery, becomes part of of our collective memory. And that is not yet the case at the moment.”
The investigation into the history of slavery in The Hague is the start of a much larger programme to acknowledge the history of colonialism and slavery in The Hague’s memorial culture. The establishment in 2023 of a permanent Advisory Committee on Colonial and Slavery History will advise the Hague administration on policies to promote equality between people of all cultural backgrounds.
Research shows that a large proportion of women and people from the queer community in The Hague experience street harassment. The perpetrators of this are often (young) men, which is why the municipality is running the campaign ‘#GedraagJe’ to raise awareness of the problem among men and to raise the level of safety on the street. Mayor Jan van Zanen has also spoken out against street intimidation directly via a video shared on social media and in cinemas. The campaign also includes reverse graffiti efforts in 40 places in the center of The Hague and Scheveningen, as well as posters in high-traffic areas across the city.
The campaign also provides residents with instructions on how to properly report street harassment to the local authorities, allowing preventative efforts to be better targeted. The Hague has also deployed “boulevard stewards”, city ambassadors who are stationed on the boulevard of Scheveningen to enter into conversation with people who are guilty of repeated street harassment.