Eberhard van der Laan

Position: Mayor of Amsterdam
Quote: Dutch patron

Eberhard Edzard van der Laan was born in Leiden in 1955. He studied law at VU University Amsterdam and having graduated, took the initiative to set up his own law firm (Kennedy Van der Laan) in 1992. This grew grew into a medium-sized practice in the capital of the Netherlands.

Van der Laan joined the Dutch Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid) in 1976. He sat on the Amsterdam City Council for the party from 1990 to 1998, from 1993 as chairman of his party’s council representatives.

As a lawyer, Eberhard van der Laan showed a great deal of interest in social issues and often stood up for tenants, small civil-society organisations and people on the margins of society. On countless occasions Van der Laan acted both formally and informally as mediator in a variety of conflicts.

Eberhard van der Laan is married and has five children.

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