Wikipedia:Chris Arlman

Christiaan "Chris" Arlman (26 February 1944 – 2 July 2008) was a Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA), during 26 years the mayor of four different municipalities, and the chairman of two professional football clubs.

Career
Arlman studied at a HBS high school in Sneek. In 1963 he started his career as a civil servant at the Leeuwarden municipality. In 1967 he became deputy manager of general affairs in Winterswijk. In 1971 he was appointed as manager of general affairs of Heiloo. His last plain employee position was deputy municipality manager of Menaldumadeel.

In 1981 Arlman leaped to the positions of mayor and municipality manager of Nieuweschans. In this position, Arlman gained wide publicity by developing spa tourism to the tiny community. His interest in tourism landed him from 1986 to 1988 on the position of chairman of the Danish-German-Dutch Green Coastal Road. In 1990 Arlman became the first mayor of Pekela, uniting Oude Pekela and Nieuwe Pekela. From 1 January 1992, he doubled as chairman of the professional football club BV Veendam. The seven-year chairmanship of Veendam was marked by severe budget crises, yet Arlman managed to keep the paid football going.

In 1998, Arlman became the mayor of the City of Harlingen. As a mayor, he pushed to widen the N31 highway, connecting Harlingen and the Afsluitdijk. In 1999 he was appointed Chairman of Eredivisie-side SC Cambuur in Leeuwarden. In 2000, Arlman and the entire board resigned after a sponsor deal with Voetbal Online exploded and Arlman had filled the hole in the budget with loans from Leeuwarden's municipality. Arlman's term as mayor had a strong focus on the development of Harlingen's sea port. At his early retirement in June 2006, he was made knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau for his contributions to expanding the harbor of Harlingen.

After retirement, Arlman replaced Else Boutkan as chairman of the Blue Peter Foundation. During 2007, he was called back from retirement to act as mayor of Bellingwedde.

Life events
Christiaan Arlman was born in Meppel on 26 February 1944.

He married Liesbeth Landman in 1965, in Sneek. The couple had three children.

On 2 July 2008, at the age of 64, Chris Arlman suffered a heart attack at the Eendracht Frisian handball association in Harlingen. He was transferred to the Medical Center Leeuwarden, where he died later that day.

Writing

 * Arlman, Chris. 2000. "De uitreiking van de Anton Wachterprijs. Geplande maar door afwezigheid van de prijswinnaar niet uitgesproken toespraak van burgemeester Chris Arlman van Harlingen. Anton Wachterprijs 21 oktober 2000." Vestdijkkroniek. Pages 49–50.