Jeltje van Nieuwenhoven
Encyclopedia
Jeltje van Nieuwenhoven is a Dutch
politician
. She was a member of the House of Representatives for over 20 years for the social-democratic
PvdA, and its chair for four years.
in the Frisia
n municipality of Weststellingwerf
. Her father was a carpenter. She went to a public elementary school
in Noordwolde. After obtaining her MULO, specializing in the arts, she studied to become librarian. Between 1960 and 1979 she was librarian. First for the local library in Wolvega and the provincial library of Friesland
, but in 1966 she began to work at the Institute for the History of Art
of the University of Utrecht. In the mean time she had become a member of the PvdA. In 1974 she became librarian at the scientific foundation of the PvdA, the Wiardi Beckman Foundation. She also became treasurer of the Vinkeveen
branch of the party. In 1976 she joined the political working group of the women's movement within the PvdA, the Red Women (Rooie Vrouwen). In 1978 she was elected to the local legislative in Vinkeveen and she immediately became a member of the local executive. In 1979 she became personal assistant to the chairman of the PvdA, Max van den Berg.
, Van Nieuwenhoven was elected into the House of Representatives. In the 1982 election
s Van Nieuwenhoven was not elected, having been placed in an ineligible position. Instead she joined the PvdA board. In 1983 she entered parliament however because a member of the PvdA resigned from parliament She would remain a member of parliament until 2004.
As member of parliament she held several positions within the party: in the period 1990–96 she was a member of the Curatorium of the Wiardi Beckman Foundation, where she had been librarian; between 1997 and 2001 she served on the party board.
In 1995 she was made a Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion.
In parliament she showed a particular interest the Netherlands Public Broadcasting, media
and culture
, and was the party's spokesperson on these matters. Belonging to the left wing of the PvdA, she is known for her ardent feminism
. In 1985 she voted, against the majority of her parliamentary party, for the Beckers
motion which would have removed all nuclear weapons from the Netherlands and in 1997 she voted for the Rouvoet
motion to allow the Gümüs family to remain in the Netherlands, once more against the majority of her parliamentary party. Both motions failed. She was chairperson of the committee for Women's emancipation between 1989 and 1994 and of the committee for Health, Welfare and Sports between 1994 and 1998.
As a prominent member of parliament, Van Nieuwenhoven held several positions within the world of the arts. She was on the board of the foundation for the Festival of Stories in Amsterdam
, between 1989 and 1994. She was chairperson of the board of the Combined Theaters in Amsterdam between 1992 and 2002. She also sat on the board of the Amstel Foundation for Youth Theatre in the same period. Furthermore she was a member of the board of the Dutch Film Festival and chaired thata of the VSB
Poetry
Prize.
In 1998, she was elected President of the House of Representatives. She was the first woman to have this function. In 2002 she did not stand for reelection and instead became chairperson ad interim of her own parliamentary party, which was a considerable crisis, after losing the elections
. In November 2002 she stood for election
of chairperson and top candidate
for her own party, but was convincingly beaten by Wouter Bos
. Van Nieuwenhoven came second (with a 30% margin) and was second candidate and first woman on the PvdA list. She became the vice-chair of the parliamentary party, responsible for internal affairs.
of South Holland
. In 2006 she resigned from this post for health reasons. In 2005 she was rewarded with the Golden Pin of the PvdA, which had previously been given only to Joop den Uyl
and Max van der Stoel
. She currently chairs the committee that will select and assess prospective parliamentary candidates for the PvdA. Van Nieuwenhoven still holds several functions in the Dutch arts world: she is chairperson of the National Theatre, a member of the academy for the Golden Goosefeather (an art prize), and of the advisory board of the Institut Néerlandais and the Kröller-Müller Museum
. In October 2009, she came back from retirement to become candidate for the PvdA leadership in The Hague. On 23 October she was confirmed to lead the PvdA into the The Hague local election in 2010.
Politics of the Netherlands
The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy and a decentralised unitary state. The Netherlands is described as a consociational state...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. She was a member of the House of Representatives for over 20 years for the social-democratic
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
PvdA, and its chair for four years.
Before entering politics
Jeltje van Nieuwenhoven was born in NoordwoldeNoordwolde
Noordwolde is a village in Weststellingwerf in the province Friesland of the Netherlands and has around 3789 citizens .Traditionally known as the reed weaving village of the Netherlands, today Noordwolde has a lot more to offer than its rich history and the renowned National Museum of...
in the Frisia
Frisia
Frisia is a coastal region along the southeastern corner of the North Sea, i.e. the German Bight. Frisia is the traditional homeland of the Frisians, a Germanic people who speak Frisian, a language group closely related to the English language...
n municipality of Weststellingwerf
Weststellingwerf
Weststellingwerf is a municipality in the province of Friesland in the northern Netherlands.It is one of the municipalities of Friesland, where the spoken language is not West Frisian; instead, Stellingwerfs, a dialect of Dutch Low Saxon, is spoken here....
. Her father was a carpenter. She went to a public elementary school
Education in the Netherlands
Education in the Netherlands is characterized by division: education is orientated toward the needs and background of the pupil. Education is divided over schools for different age groups, some of which are divided in streams for different educational levels...
in Noordwolde. After obtaining her MULO, specializing in the arts, she studied to become librarian. Between 1960 and 1979 she was librarian. First for the local library in Wolvega and the provincial library of Friesland
Friesland
Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...
, but in 1966 she began to work at the Institute for the History of Art
History of art
The History of art refers to visual art which may be defined as any activity or product made by humans in a visual form for aesthetical or communicative purposes, expressing ideas, emotions or, in general, a worldview...
of the University of Utrecht. In the mean time she had become a member of the PvdA. In 1974 she became librarian at the scientific foundation of the PvdA, the Wiardi Beckman Foundation. She also became treasurer of the Vinkeveen
Vinkeveen
Vinkeveen is a town in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of De Ronde Venen, and lies about 18 km south of Amsterdam....
branch of the party. In 1976 she joined the political working group of the women's movement within the PvdA, the Red Women (Rooie Vrouwen). In 1978 she was elected to the local legislative in Vinkeveen and she immediately became a member of the local executive. In 1979 she became personal assistant to the chairman of the PvdA, Max van den Berg.
Political life
In the 1981 electionsDutch general election, 1981
The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on May 26, 1981.-National summary:...
, Van Nieuwenhoven was elected into the House of Representatives. In the 1982 election
Dutch general election, 1982
The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on September 8, 1982.-National summary:...
s Van Nieuwenhoven was not elected, having been placed in an ineligible position. Instead she joined the PvdA board. In 1983 she entered parliament however because a member of the PvdA resigned from parliament She would remain a member of parliament until 2004.
As member of parliament she held several positions within the party: in the period 1990–96 she was a member of the Curatorium of the Wiardi Beckman Foundation, where she had been librarian; between 1997 and 2001 she served on the party board.
In 1995 she was made a Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion.
In parliament she showed a particular interest the Netherlands Public Broadcasting, media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
and culture
Culture of the Netherlands
Dutch culture, or the culture of the Netherlands, is diverse, reflecting regional differences as well as the foreign influences thanks to the merchant and exploring spirit of the Dutch and the influx of immigrants...
, and was the party's spokesperson on these matters. Belonging to the left wing of the PvdA, she is known for her ardent feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
. In 1985 she voted, against the majority of her parliamentary party, for the Beckers
Ria Beckers
Maria Brigitta Catherina Beckers-de Bruijn was a Dutch Green politician. She was the political leader of the progressive Christian party PPR and its successor GreenLeft....
motion which would have removed all nuclear weapons from the Netherlands and in 1997 she voted for the Rouvoet
André Rouvoet
André Rouvoet is a former Dutch politician of the ChristianUnion . First as a member of the RPF until the party merged with the Reformed Political League to form the ChristianUnion. He served as a Member of the House of Representatives from May 17, 1994 until February 22, 2007...
motion to allow the Gümüs family to remain in the Netherlands, once more against the majority of her parliamentary party. Both motions failed. She was chairperson of the committee for Women's emancipation between 1989 and 1994 and of the committee for Health, Welfare and Sports between 1994 and 1998.
As a prominent member of parliament, Van Nieuwenhoven held several positions within the world of the arts. She was on the board of the foundation for the Festival of Stories in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, between 1989 and 1994. She was chairperson of the board of the Combined Theaters in Amsterdam between 1992 and 2002. She also sat on the board of the Amstel Foundation for Youth Theatre in the same period. Furthermore she was a member of the board of the Dutch Film Festival and chaired thata of the VSB
Fortis
Fortis is a Latin word meaning "strong, sturdy, brave, manly, resolute", and in modern usage may refer to:* Aqua fortis, an alternate name for concentrated nitric acid...
Poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
Prize.
In 1998, she was elected President of the House of Representatives. She was the first woman to have this function. In 2002 she did not stand for reelection and instead became chairperson ad interim of her own parliamentary party, which was a considerable crisis, after losing the elections
Dutch general election, 2002
The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on May 15, 2002....
. In November 2002 she stood for election
2002 PvdA leadership election
Between 6 and November 12, 2002 the 60,000 members of the Dutch social-democratic Labour Party could vote for their preferred candidate for top candidate for the 2003 general election....
of chairperson and top candidate
Lijsttrekker
Lijsttrekker is a Dutch term for the top candidate of a party on a party list. He or she is almost always the party's political leader. After an election, this person usually leads the party's faction in the States-General, or serves in a senior position in the Cabinet if his party is part of...
for her own party, but was convincingly beaten by Wouter Bos
Wouter Bos
Wouter Jacob Bos is a Dutch management consultant and former politician of the Labour Party . He was Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister in the Cabinet Balkenende IV from February 22, 2007 till February 23, 2010...
. Van Nieuwenhoven came second (with a 30% margin) and was second candidate and first woman on the PvdA list. She became the vice-chair of the parliamentary party, responsible for internal affairs.
Retirement from politics and subsequent return
In 2004 she left parliament to become a member of the provincial executiveGedeputeerde Staten
The gedeputeerde staten are the executive councillors of a Dutch province. Together with the Queen's Commissioner they form the College van Commissaris van de Koningin en Gedeputeerde Staten, which is the executive council of the province. States Deputed are elected by the States Provincial, the...
of South Holland
South Holland
South Holland is a province situated on the North Sea in the western part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague and its largest city is Rotterdam.South Holland is one of the most densely populated and industrialised areas in the world...
. In 2006 she resigned from this post for health reasons. In 2005 she was rewarded with the Golden Pin of the PvdA, which had previously been given only to Joop den Uyl
Joop den Uyl
Johannes Marten den Uijl, known as Joop den Uyl was a Dutch politician of the Labour Party . He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from May 11, 1973 until December 19, 1977....
and Max van der Stoel
Max van der Stoel
Max van der Stoel, KCMG was a Dutch politician and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. He served as the first High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe....
. She currently chairs the committee that will select and assess prospective parliamentary candidates for the PvdA. Van Nieuwenhoven still holds several functions in the Dutch arts world: she is chairperson of the National Theatre, a member of the academy for the Golden Goosefeather (an art prize), and of the advisory board of the Institut Néerlandais and the Kröller-Müller Museum
Kröller-Müller Museum
The Kröller-Müller Museum is an art museum and sculpture garden, located in the Hoge Veluwe National Park in Otterlo in the Netherlands.-Museum:...
. In October 2009, she came back from retirement to become candidate for the PvdA leadership in The Hague. On 23 October she was confirmed to lead the PvdA into the The Hague local election in 2010.