Mark Slinkman
Mark Slinkman (Deventer, 1973) began his career as a mayor in 2008 in the municipality of Rijnwaarden, where he was the second-youngest mayor in the country at the time. After the decision was made to reorganise Rijnwaarden, he sought out a new municipality following his reappointment. In 2015, he was appointed mayor of Berg en Dal. In this merged municipality of Groesbeek, Millingen aan de Rijn, and Ubbergen, he has been happily serving his second term since 2021.
Career before becoming mayor
Mark Slinkman studied law at the University of Leiden to become a civil law notary. After his studies, he worked as a junior notary for six years: “I thoroughly enjoyed working in the notary field. The many interactions with clients were special to me. Especially when handling estate settlements, you get close to people and their emotions. Collaborating with a French notary on large real estate projects in the Bordeaux area was also a great experience.”
However, he decided to transition to municipal government and public administration. He served consecutively as clerk to the municipal councils of Oegstgeest and Berkelland. It was during his time as a clerk that his interest in becoming a mayor emerged. “As a clerk, I was fortunate to work with two wonderful mayors in succession, who often took me along on work visits, for example. The way they fulfilled their roles was truly inspiring.”
In 2007, Mark Slinkman was elected to the provincial council of Gelderland, a role he held alongside his work as a clerk. Slinkman found the combination valuable: “When I became a representative myself, I could empathize even better with the work of the council members.” He fondly recalls his interactions with the then-commissioner of the king, Clemens Cornielje. “I had great conversations with him about the mayoral role. He pushed me to apply for the position in Lobith (Rijnwaarden), where he was born and raised. He was right: there was a connection, and I was accepted on my very first application. I spent wonderful years there.” It was Cornielje again who encouraged Slinkman to apply for the vacancy in Berg en Dal when it became clear that the independent municipality of Rijnwaarden would cease to exist. “It came a bit early for me; I was still enjoying my time there. But I’m very glad I followed his advice and am now in my tenth year!”
Portfolio of mayor Mark Slinkman
Mark Slinkman’s portfolio as mayor of Berg en Dal includes the following responsibilities: general and administrative affairs, regional and international cooperation, strategic vision, policy coordination and operations, personnel and organization, legal affairs, quality of service delivery, public order and safety, disaster management, coordination of supervision and enforcement, and coordination of the reception of Ukrainian refugees and unaccompanied minor refugees.
Regionally, nationally, and internationally, his roles stemming from the mayoral position include: member of the general board of the Gelderland-Zuid safety region, portfolio holder for the fire service, member of the Tweestromenland authority triangle, and administrative advisory committee for the fire service (BAC), member of the Euregio Rijn-Waal council, and member of the general board of the Green Metropolitan Region Arnhem Nijmegen.
As mayor of the former Groesbeek municipality, Slinkman is the patron of the R.C. fanfare Wilhelmina and the R.C. shooting guild St. Hubertus in De Horst. For over fifteen years, he has been a member of the guild council of Gelderland and Overijssel shooting guilds and St. Hubertus associations.
Outside of his mayoral duties, Mark Slinkman has been chairman of the supervisory board of Markenheem for nearly eight years, an organization that supports elderly people with care needs in the Bronckhorst and Doetinchem regions, both in nursing homes and through home care. “As an aging municipality, we’ve taken on many new responsibilities since the introduction of the Social Support Act. The elderly are a growing and vulnerable group of residents. I knew very little about healthcare, and I felt it was important to learn more about it.” Fatherhood to two growing children also motivated him to contribute to the smallest teacher training college in the Netherlands, Iselinge in Doetinchem.
Reception of refugees
A new task entrusted to Mark Slinkman is the reception of Ukrainians. When the war in Syria broke out, the Berg en Dal municipality had already expressed a council-wide commitment to receiving refugees, though the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers did not take up the offer at the time. With the arrival of Ukrainian refugees, Berg en Dal was one of the first municipalities to provide shelter.
An empty nurses’ apartment building on the grounds of the former Dekkerswald TBC clinic was quickly occupied. Slinkman is very proud of his municipality’s residents: “We started with nothing. I sent out a Facebook request for spare furniture and clothes, and within a day, about sixty beds were collected from the village via the municipal depot. A large stream of clothing and household goods followed immediately. With help from the clothing bank and the St. Michael thrift store, we were able to furnish the displaced people and get them clothed in record time.” The warm bonds have endured. For example, two council members and the council advisor organize an annual, well-attended commemoration event for the refugees, followed by a convivial evening.
There are concerns amidst all the positive experiences: “The months we had counted on have turned into years, and it’s not unthinkable that the Ukrainians will stay permanently. The children are taking Dutch lessons and starting to put down roots. I worry about the mothers. They were working, but mostly in jobs they saw as temporary, like packing or cleaning, while they were trained for entirely different professions. So, we need to not only provide new housing but also help them find new purpose in life. They’re incredibly resilient people, but still, life is often hard for them, and more psychological support would be very desirable.”
The Ukrainians were followed by a second group of refugees. Slinkman personally advocated for unanimous council approval to specifically accommodate unaccompanied minor refugees. “This is the most vulnerable group—boys of 14 to 18, sometimes completely alone in life. We met the dispersal law quota and are now working to fulfil the increased target. It’s our contribution to solving the national refugee issue. At two locations, 110 youths are now living together in pleasant accommodations. We’ve also managed to arrange education for all of them within cycling distance. We’re doing everything we can to support these young people, who are likely to stay in the Netherlands, in making a good start here!”
Nijmegen Four Days Marches
Among the more relaxed responsibilities under Mark Slinkman’s purview are events like the Nijmegen Four Days Marches, where the route passes through Berg en Dal on the third day of walking, also known as the “day of Groesbeek.”
For that day, grandstands are set up, brass bands play, and tents are pitched in front of the town hall for festivities. The municipal executive is also present all day. Mark Slinkman: “I make sure I’m there the whole day. That means I’m at the town hall well before 7 a.m. to have breakfast with the people who set up the barriers, the traffic controllers, and those preparing lunch packages for the volunteers.
Then, I tour the entire route in the municipality with the outdoor service, stopping by the Red Cross, various military units, and the Canadian post at the war cemetery. By 9:30 a.m., when the first walkers pass by, I try to be back. I often encounter them along the way on the Zevenheuvelenweg. Then I stand on the stage waving to everyone until about 3 p.m. when the sweep vehicle following the last walkers passes by. Afterwards, we have a round with the volunteers indoors, wrapping up around 5 p.m.”
We are here all alone
Not typically part of a mayor’s duties: while still mayor of Rijnwaarden, Mark Slinkman wrote a Dutch book titled “Wij zijn hier maar alleen”.
In it, he describes the tragic fate of the deported Jewish butcher family Northeimer from Tolkamer, one of the six villages under Rijnwaarden. “In Rijnwaarden, it was a tradition for the mayor to spend an hour with all group 8 classes in the run-up to Remembrance Day, talking about World War II. I continued that tradition but focused mainly on events that took place in the municipality. One story I mentioned every year was that of the Northeimer family from Tolkamer—a father, mother, and a five-year-old boy—who were all taken away and never returned. There was a brief mention of them in a history book, but it was just one page. I found it sad that, aside from that single page, they had completely vanished from collective memory.”
This prompted Mark Slinkman to arrange, in consultation with the current residents, for a plaque to be placed on the family’s former home. The publicity that followed brought many responses, including a 97-year-old lady who contacted him through the church. She had been a maid for the Northeimer family before the war. “I visited her that same week, of course, and she remembered so much. She told beautiful stories about her experiences as a Catholic girl in a Jewish household, with funny and deeply moving anecdotes. I felt I had to write down her memories before it was too late.”
Then, people emerged with family photos, including some of the family’s young son. Mark Slinkman: “Suddenly, I had a handful of photos and stories. I also ended up at the NIOD (Netherlands Institute for War Documentation), where all sorts of interesting—and very grim—details came to light. From the same transport the family was on, there were two survivors. After the war, they described an incident at the overcrowded gas chamber. So, I could suddenly trace the family right up to the gas chamber. It was very confronting after immersing myself in their lives for so long.”
The mayor decided these deported residents deserved justice, so he wrote a story about their life and death for the Rijnwaarden Local History Society magazine. But it grew into more. Mark Slinkman continued his research, and the article became a series and eventually a 300-page book. “I spent many evenings and weekends on it, but it felt like I was bringing these people back to life a little. The research also uncovered some distant relatives who had survived the war. They received the book, which I found very special and meaningful.”