Editing Amsterdam (section)

===City government===
{{Main|Boroughs of Amsterdam|Municipal council (Netherlands)}}
As with all Dutch municipalities, Amsterdam is governed by a directly elected [[Municipal council (Netherlands)|municipal council]], a [[municipal executive]] and a government appointed<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maria Smith |date=15 February 2018 |title=Electing a mayor in the Netherlands |url=https://dutchreview.com/news/politics/electing-a-mayor-in-the-netherlands |access-date=15 February 2018 |publisher=DutchReview.com}}</ref> [[Burgemeester|mayor]] (''burgemeester''). The mayor is a member of the municipal executive board but also has individual responsibilities in maintaining public order. On 27 June 2018, [[Femke Halsema]] (former member of [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|House of Representatives]] for [[GroenLinks]] from 1998 to 2011) was appointed as the first woman to be [[List of mayors of Amsterdam|Mayor of Amsterdam]] by the [[King's Commissioner]] of [[North Holland]] for a six-year term after being nominated by the Amsterdam [[Municipal council (Netherlands)|municipal council]] and began serving a six-year term on 12 July 2018. She replaces [[Eberhard van der Laan]] ([[Labour Party (Netherlands)|Labour Party]]) who was the Mayor of Amsterdam from 2010 until his death in October 2017. After the [[Dutch municipal elections, 2014|2014 municipal council elections]], a governing majority of [[Democrats 66|D66]], [[People's Party for Freedom and Democracy|VVD]] and [[Socialist Party (Netherlands)|SP]] was formed – the first coalition without the [[Labour Party (Netherlands)|Labour Party]] since [[World War II]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Britt Slegers |date=12 June 2014 |title=Three-party coalition in Amsterdam |url=http://www.nltimes.nl/2014/06/12/three-party-coalition-amsterdam-pvda/ |access-date=13 August 2014 |website=NL Times}}</ref> Next to the [[Burgemeester|Mayor]], the [[municipal executive]] consists of eight ''wethouders'' ('alderpersons') appointed by the [[Municipal council (Netherlands)|municipal council]]: four D66 alderpersons, two VVD alderpersons and two [[Socialist Party (Netherlands)|SP]] alderpersons.<ref>{{Cite web |title=College van burgemeester en wethouders |url=http://www.amsterdam.nl/gemeente/college/ |access-date=13 August 2014 |publisher=City of Amsterdam |language=nl}}</ref>

On 18 September 2017, it was announced by [[Eberhard van der Laan]] in an open letter to Amsterdam citizens that [[Kajsa Ollongren]] would take up his office as acting Mayor of Amsterdam with immediate effect due to ill health.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nos.nl/artikel/2193622-zieke-amsterdamse-burgemeester-van-der-laan-legt-werk-neer.html/ |title='Zorg goed voor onze stad en voor elkaar' |work=nos.nl |date=18 September 2017 |access-date=27 June 2021 |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627215652/https://nos.nl/artikel/2193622-zieke-amsterdamse-burgemeester-van-der-laan-legt-werk-neer.html}}</ref> Ollongren was succeeded as acting Mayor by Eric van der Burg on 26 October 2017 and by [[Jozias van Aartsen]] on 4 December 2017.

[[File:Amsterdamse stadsdelen 2010.png|thumb|upright=1.15|[[Boroughs of Amsterdam]] until 24 March 2022]]
Unlike most other Dutch municipalities, Amsterdam is subdivided into seven [[Boroughs of Amsterdam|boroughs]], called ''stadsdelen'' or 'districts', and the urban area of [[Weesp]].<ref name="stadsdelen">{{cite web|url=https://www.amsterdam.nl/bestuur-organisatie/organisatie/stadsdelen/|title=Stadsdelen|publisher=Gemeente Amsterdam|accessdate=20 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327135843/https://www.amsterdam.nl/bestuur-organisatie/organisatie/stadsdelen/ |archive-date=27 March 2023}}</ref> This system was gradually implemented in the 1980s to improve local governance. The boroughs are responsible for many activities that had previously been run by the central city. In 2010, the number of [[Boroughs of Amsterdam|Amsterdam boroughs]] reached fifteen. Fourteen of those had their own district council (''deelraad''), elected by a popular vote. The fifteenth, [[Westpoort]], covers the harbour of Amsterdam and has very few residents. Therefore, it was governed by the central municipal council.

Under the borough system, municipal decisions are made at the borough level, except for those affairs on the whole city such as major infrastructure projects, which are the jurisdiction of the central municipal authorities. In 2010, the [[Boroughs of Amsterdam|borough]] system was restructured, in which many smaller boroughs merged into larger boroughs. In 2014, under a reform of the Dutch Municipalities Act, the [[Boroughs of Amsterdam|Amsterdam boroughs]] lost much of their autonomous status, as their district councils were abolished.

The municipal council of Amsterdam voted to maintain the borough system by replacing the district councils with smaller, but still directly elected district committees (''bestuurscommissies''). Under a municipal ordinance, the new district committees were granted responsibilities through the delegation of regulatory and executive powers by the central municipal council.
[[File:Amsterdam Amstel.jpg|thumb|800px|center|{{center|View of the [[Stopera]] (left), behind the [[Blauwbrug]] (blue bridge), where the Amsterdam city hall and opera house are located, and the [[H'ART Museum]] (right) on the [[Amstel]]}}]]