| Gerd Leers | |
| Office: | Mayor of Brunssum |
| Term Start: | 1 January 2018 Ad interim |
| Predecessor: | Luc Winants |
| Office1: | Minister for Immigration and Asylum Affairs |
| Term Start1: | 14 October 2010 |
| Term End1: | 5 November 2012 |
| Primeminister1: | Mark Rutte |
| Predecessor1: | Office established |
| Successor1: | Office discontinued |
| Office2: | Mayor of Maastricht |
| Term Start2: | 1 February 2002 |
| Term End2: | 1 March 2010 |
| Predecessor2: | Philip Houben |
| Successor2: | Jan Mans (Ad interim) |
| Office3: | Member of the House of Representatives |
| Term Start3: | 4 September 1990 |
| Term End3: | 1 February 2002 |
| Parliamentarygroup3: | Christian Democratic Appeal |
| Birthname: | Gerardus Bernardus Maria Leers |
| Birth Date: | 1951 7, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Kerkrade, Netherlands |
| Nationality: | Dutch |
| Party: | Christian Democratic Appeal (from 1980) |
| Otherparty: | Catholic People's Party (1976–1980) Labour Party (1975–1976) |
| Children: | 3 children |
| Residence: | Maastricht, Netherlands |
| Alma Mater: | Radboud University Nijmegen (Bachelor of Architecture, Bachelor of Economics, Master of Economics) |
| Occupation: | Politician · Civil servant · Accountant · Researcher · Management consultant |
Gerardus Bernardus Maria "Gerd" Leers (born 12 July 1951) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party. He is the acting Mayor of Brunssum since 1 January 2018.
On 4 September 1990 Leers became a Member of the House of Representatives. He was a member of the permanent parliamentary commission for transport and water management. The political peak in his House of Representatives period was the Betuwe route, of which Leers was a strong proponent. However, he was also involved in a construction fraud scandal.
Leers became Mayor of Maastricht on 1 February 2002 after Karl Dittrich withdrew his candidacy. In 2008, he stood for mayor of The Hague and of Rotterdam. As mayor Leers took strict measures, such as the raid on the travellers camp Vinkenslag and stopping the subsidy to the football club MVV. He was also a proponent for amnesty for declined asylum seekers. In late 2004 Leers was chosen as best mayor of the Netherlands. This choice came after a conflict with the civil service, after heavy criticism from Leers.
Leers also gained attention for his attitude with respect to the policy on soft drugs. He criticised the tolerance policy that permits consumption and sale of marihuana and hashish, but prohibits its growing. Leers argued for legal production under government supervision, which would supposedly improve quality and therefore the public health . Leers also proposed the construction of a "weed boulevard" on the south side of Maastricht, so that drugs tourists would no longer cause trouble in the city centre. However, this proposal was rejected.
In January 2010, he resigned from office after an affair concerning a holiday villa project in Byala, Bulgaria.[1] It was alleged that he was involved in shady deals to raise the value of villas he had ownership of.
On 14 October 2010 he became the new Minister for Immigration and Asylum Affairs in the first Rutte cabinet.
| Honours | ||||
| Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 7 December 2012 | Elevated from Knight (2002) | |