Farewell to Councilwoman and Our Chairwoman Wietske Veltman

On Tuesday, September 29, the Leiden City Council bid farewell to Alderman Wietske Veltman. Our director, Leonie Hussaarts, thanked her with the speech below for her dedication as chair of Key Region Leiden.

Watch the speech

Dear Wietske,

In my mind, I’m going back a year and a half in time, to April 2025 at Unmanned Valley in Katwijk. That’s where we first met—to discuss the future of the Leiden region. We were both new to our roles at the time—I as director of Key Region Leiden and you as alderman of Leiden, succeeding Fleur Spijker.

Key Region Leiden didn’t exist at that time, but our collaboration began that day. And Unmanned Valley was actually the perfect place for it—a former air force base that has reinvented itself as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. There, we discussed the future of our region.

And it’s no coincidence that our first meeting took place there, outside the city limits of Leiden. After all, Key Region Leiden’s mission is to strengthen the regional economy across municipal boundaries. And during the time we worked together, you, as chair, made a significant contribution to that effort.

Key Region Leiden was a revitalized organization with grand ambitions, and we worked with partners to further develop its agenda. It was precisely during that formative phase that it was important to have leaders like you—who are willing to look beyond their own municipalities and invest in the region as a whole.

For you, it wasn’t about policy documents or a collection of statistics. For you, it was about people. About opportunities. About jobs. About innovation that truly contributes to a better and healthier society. Time and again, you asked the same question: How does this actually benefit residents?

It’s quite a challenge. Because broad prosperity doesn’t just happen overnight. It requires investments in entrepreneurship, innovation, and job creation. You understood that this support ultimately pays off—in jobs, in opportunities for residents, and in the amenities that make a city and region strong and healthy.

That was also evident in the causes that were close to your heart—your personal missions regarding women’s health and a future free of animal testing, for example.

And, of course, the continued development of the Leiden Bio Science Park—not only as an economic engine for our region, but also as a place where solutions to major social and health challenges are being developed. You could see the value of this unique campus, not only for Leiden and the region, but also for the Netherlands and far beyond.

The reason we, as a region, can position ourselves as a dynamic hub of innovation is that, in addition to the Leiden Bio Science Park, we have two other strong knowledge clusters: Unmanned Valley and the NL Space Campus. Together, they form a unique ecosystem of knowledge, research, and entrepreneurship.

You always kept an eye on the connection between our knowledge-intensive economy and the broader SME sector. You recognized that the true strength of our region lies not only in research and innovation, but above all in their application. In entrepreneurs who translate new knowledge into products, services, jobs, and societal solutions. That’s where the great opportunities lie for Leiden and the region.

Especially at a time when labor productivity is under pressure, entrepreneurs are facing major sustainability challenges, and space is scarce, that connection is becoming even more important.

In your role as alderman for Economic Affairs, you paid a great deal of attention to that. But you felt it was just as important to understand what was actually going on with business owners. You didn’t just want to talk about the economy; above all, you wanted to talk to the people who keep it running every day.

That’s why you regularly went on working visits—for example, to business parks such as De Waard, the Merenwijk, Amphoraweg, Rooseveltstraat, and so on—where you spoke with business owners about their day-to-day operations and the challenges they face.

You also took concrete steps to better support entrepreneurs. The Entrepreneurs’ Help Desk is a great example of this. It shows that you weren’t just focused on the long term, but also on what entrepreneurs need right now to move forward.

We already took a moment to reflect on your departure at our last steering committee meeting, but on behalf of all the board members at Key Region Leiden, I would like to thank you once again for your dedication to our region. For your passion for the economy and the many connections you’ve forged. But also for the way you’ve led the conversation about Leiden’s future: guided by the conviction that economic development must ultimately contribute to opportunities for residents.

In addition to my professional appreciation, I’m also going to miss you personally.

We got along really well. I knew I could always call you—whether for advice, a sharp insight, or just to work through an issue together.

I have always greatly appreciated your openness, directness, and commitment. Thank you for that.

Finally, I wish you the best of luck and hope you enjoy everything that lies ahead. I’m curious to see what the next chapter has in store for you. And I hope our paths cross again someday.

Leonie Hussaarts