User:Hansablast20/Sander Schelberg

Sander Willem Johan Gerard Schelberg (born January 8th, 1965) is a Dutch politician. A member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) he has served as mayor of Hengelo since 2012.

Early life and career
His father, W.L.G. Schelberg, was director of the Catholic Youth Movement of the diocese of Rotterdam, and in addition to being chairman of the local branch of the Catholic People's Party (KVP), he also served as a city councilor in Lisse. In 1969 the family moved to Het Stift when his father became mayor of Weerselo which he would remain until 1995. Sander Schelberg grew up in Twente and studied public administration; from 1984 to 1990 at the Hogeschool in Enschede and then at Leiden University. After graduating in 1992, he held various positions at the Directorate-General of Public for the Administration of Justice and Law Enforcement of the Ministry of the Interior. In 1998 he transferred to the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) where he worked as a policy advisor.

Following in his father's footsteps, he was also politically active, although not for the KVP/CDA but for the VVD. In 1992, he became a parliamentary assistant for the VVD faction in the Provincial States of South Holland, and from 1995 to 1999 he himself was a member of the Provincial States. Schelberg was also a member of the city council of The Hague from 1997. In July 2002, his appointment as mayor of Schermer made him the youngest mayor in the Netherlands at the time. Four years later, at the end of August 2006, he became mayor of the municipality of Teylingen which borders the municipality of Lisse, where he was born. The municipality of Teylingen had been established on January 1 of that year with the merger of the municipalities of Sassenheim, Voorhout and Warmond. In the period between that merger and Schelberg's appointment, his party colleague Jeroen Staatsen was acting mayor there.

On July 5, 2012, the city council of the municipality of Hengelo, Overijssel, nominated Schelberg as its new mayor, whose appointment took effect on Oct. 1 of that year. Schelberg had served as president of the National Organization of Police Volunteers (LOPV) since 2003. In December 2013, he stepped down as the chairman of the LOPV and was then appointed an honorary member by the association.

Awards and honours

 * Knight of the Holy Sepulchre

Personal life
Schelberg is married, has two sons and two daughters and is Roman Catholic.