Striving to Build Trust Between Citizens of Different Backgrounds

Ahmed Aboutaleb made history on January 5, 2009, when he was installed as mayor of Rotterdam, becoming the first Muslim, first Moroccan, and first foreign-born Dutch citizen to become the mayor of a large city in the Netherlands. Aboutaleb was born in Morocco, and came to the Netherlands at the age of 15. He became a popular Dutch Labour Party politician when he was alderman for Social Affairs, Youth and Education in Amsterdam. Before becoming mayor, Aboutaleb served as state secretary of Social Affairs and Employment in the fourth Balkenende Cabinet.

Aboutaleb participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) in 2006 and visited Washington, D.C.; New Orleans, Louisiana; Cleveland, Ohio; Los Angeles, California; El Paso, Texas; and New York, N.Y. During his program, Aboutaleb discussed minority integration and local government practices with his American counterparts. After discussions with a number of Americans he encountered, Aboutaleb found it noteworthy that in the United States – a country of immigrants – where people come from originally is rarely mentioned in discussion.

Reflecting on his IVLP, Aboutaleb described his experience as “positive” and “enriching.”  “It broadened my horizon,” he explained. He valued most his meetings with people on the subject of education, but he also enjoyed exploring Los Angeles on his own, meeting with the mayor of Los Angeles, and meeting Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Influenced by both the teachings and leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Aboutaleb hopes that “people will be appreciated for what they can contribute in the way of knowledge, experience, and learning, and will not be judged on the basis of the color of their skin and where they were born.”

Back in Rotterdam, the second-largest municipality in the Netherlands with a population of over 500,000, Aboutaleb’s hopes and aspirations resonate with many of the city’s immigrants and natives alike. Nearly 36 percent of Rotterdam's population consists of non-western immigrants who view Aboutaleb’s appointment as a “sign of hope” that ethnic tensions will ease within the city and the Netherlands will move farther down the path towards a more pluralistic society.