A Moroccan immigrant has been installed as mayor of the Netherlands' second largest city in a significant step for the integration of minorities in the multicultural country, AP reported. Ahmed Aboutaleb, who has dual Dutch-Moroccan citizenship, is the first Moroccan-born immigrant to be appointed a Dutch mayor. The 47-year-old former journalist resigned as deputy minister for social affairs in Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's government to take the reins in Rotterdam. The city of 585,000 has the largest proportion of immigrants of any major Dutch city. Before joining the national government in 2007, Aboutaleb was an alderman in Amsterdam, where he pushed migrants to integrate or leave.
