Samenvatting

The article aims to illustrate the importance of the mayor in times of disaster and crisis management. The mayor plays a crucial role, even though he is merely one link in the crisis management process. In the Netherlands, the organization and coordination of crisis management is subdivided into 25 safety regions. Recently there has been a strong development towards professionalization of these safety regions and their partners. However, in the case of a local crisis all attention goes to the mayor, whose decisions and actions are critically followed by the media and the public. In order to identify what would constitute a good mayor in times of crisis, the article lists essential points and qualities. In sum, a good mayor in times of crisis should be critical and show managerial courage.