Sharon Dijksma is the Lord Mayor of Utrecht since December 16, 2020. In 1994 she was elected as a member of parliament for the Dutch Labour party (PvdA). She was State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science from 2007-2010, Minister for Agriculture from 2012-2015 and Minister for the Environment from 2015-2017. From 2018-2020 she was Deputy Mayor for Traffic and Transport, Water and Air Quality of the Municipality of Amsterdam.Sharon Dijksma is the 332nd Lord Mayor of Utrecht. Dijksma is committed to a safe, healthy and sustainable city and to equal opportunities for everyone. As Lord Mayor of Utrecht, Dijksma is also chairwoman of the Economic Board Utrecht and the Utrecht Region, which comprises 1,3 million inhabitants. Dijksma was a co-signatory of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 on behalf of the EU and is now committed to a more prominent involvement of local governments during the international climate negotiations. In 2022, she represented the UN’s City Network as Special Envoy during the COP27. Lately, she as been appointed chairwoman of the Association of Dutch Municipalities.