Judith Merkies is a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 for the Labour Party

Labour Party (Netherlands)

The Labour Party , is a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands. Since the 2003 Dutch General Election, the PvdA has been the second largest political party in the Netherlands. The PvdA was a coalition member in the fourth Balkenende cabinet following 22 February 2007...

(Partij van de Arbeid - PvdA).

Judith Merkies graduated with a law degree from the University of Amsterdam and pursued a career as a lawyer before taking on post-graduate studies in European and International Law at the Free University Brussels. Merkies has worked for the institutions of the European Union as well as for various industries. Prior to becoming a Member of the European Parliament Merkies worked as a Project Manager for the Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) of the European Commission. From 2005 to 2006 she worked as an executive manager at the European Music Office, an international non-profit association bringing together professional organizations, associations and federations from the music sector within the European Union. From 2000 to 2004 she worked as a representative of professionals and companies in the Dutch film industry.