Gerardus Bernardus Maria "Gerd" Leers (born 12 July 1951) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party. He has served in a number of posts in local government, the House of Representatives and the Cabinet.
Biography
Politics
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. Here, he 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.
While mayor, he also gained attention for his view on the policy on soft drugs. He criticised the tolerance policy that permitted consumption and sale of marihuana and hashish, but prohibited its cultivation. Leers argued for legal production under government supervision, intended to improve quality and therefore 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 2008, he failed to become mayor of The Hague and Rotterdam.
In January 2010, he resigned as mayor of Maastricht 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 owned.
From October 2010 to November 2012 he served as the Minister for Immigration and Asylum Affairs in the first Rutte cabinet.
He was the acting Mayor of Brunssum from January 2018 to March 2020.[2]
Decorations
| Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 7 December 2012 | Elevated from Knight (2002) |
References
- 1."Maastrichtse burgemeester Leers stapt op" [Maastricht mayor Leers resigns]. NU.nl (in Dutch). ANP. 14 January 2010.
- 2."Drs G.B.M. (Gerd) Leers". parlement.com (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2026.