Mei Li Vos
Encyclopedia
Mei Li Vos is a Dutch
politician. She previously was a member of the House of Representatives for the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA), a trade union
ist and an editorial
ist.
, established in the Dutch East Indies
. During her youth her family lived in a Christian
commune
in Veldhoven
. Between 1982 and 1988 she attended the vwo
at the Christian Lyceum in Arnhem
.
at the University of Amsterdam. Between 1994 and 2002 she worked as teacher and researcher at the political science department of the University of Amsterdam. In 1994-1995 she also worked part time as manager of the Maarten Altena Ensemble. From 1995 and 2000 she worked on her thesis, which concerned the relationship between the Netherlands and Indonesia
. She specifically researched what the effect was of Indonesia refusing development cooperation of the Netherlands on cooperation in higher education
, industry
and the legal profession. Her thesis was titled "International cooperation between politics and practice: how Dutch Indonesian cooperation changed remarkably little after a diplomatic rupture".
Since 2000 she also worked part time as a researcher at the think tank Infodrome, where she wrote a study on the information revolution and its effect on society. Based on her work here she published two books on the information society. In 2001 she was promoted there at the Political Science department. Between 2002 and 2004 she worked at United Knowledge, where she advised the government on the information society. Based on her work advising the Ministry of Economic Affairs she published a book on empowerment
. Between 2004 and 2005 she worked at the Ministry of General Affairs and the government PR service. As such she coordinated the norm
s and value
s cabinet project.
employed, freelancer
s, with temporary work
and people on a flexible contract. The union was founded as an alternative for the FNV
, which was, according to AVV-founders too concerned with the interest of elderly workers. In 2005 she became the union's chair. Additionally she got a column with the Vrij Nederland
and the De Volkskrant
. She also worked for the Ministry of Justice
as a researcher on the relationship between migration
, integration
and the welfare state
. In 2006 she published a book "the workers' paradise" on the future of the welfare state, employment and labour.
Vos was placed on place 38 of the list of the PvdA. Both the conservative liberal VVD and the progressive liberal D66 had asked Vos to consider running for them. Because of the PvdA did not perform particularly well in the elections, Vos was not elected immediately. When several MPs became minister in the Fourth Balkenende cabinet
Vos did get a seat. Vos is spokesperson on freelancer
-, temporarily employed
and consumer
affairs. She sits in the commissions on finance, European Affairs, Economic Affairs, Social Affairs and the Environment. Vos is also member of the Board of directors
of the public radio broadcaster FunX
. As an MP she wants to give free lancers and the temporarily employed a voice in parliament and share the risks of a dynamic labour market more equally between free lancers, part time employed and temporarily employed and people with a fixed contract. Vos considers herself to be a social liberal, while the PvdA is a social-democratic party.
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. She previously was a member of the House of Representatives for the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA), a trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
ist and an editorial
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...
ist.
Youth 1970-1988
Vos comes from a family with five brothers. Her mother was half-Indo-ChineseChinese Indonesian
Chinese Indonesians, also called the Indonesian Chinese, are an overseas Chinese group whose ancestors emigrated from China to Indonesia, formerly a colony of the Netherlands known as the Dutch East Indies...
, established in the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
. During her youth her family lived in a Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
commune
Commune (intentional community)
A commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become...
in Veldhoven
Veldhoven
Veldhoven is a municipality and a town on the Gender stream in the southern Netherlands, located just south-west of Eindhoven.- Population centres :...
. Between 1982 and 1988 she attended the vwo
Voorbereidend Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs
Voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs or pre-university secondary education is the highest variant in the secondary educational system of the Netherlands. After leaving elementary school students are enrolled in different types of secondary schools, according to their academic ability...
at the Christian Lyceum in Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
.
Academic career 1988-2005
Between 1988 and 1989 she studied General Social Science at the University of Utrecht. Vos studied political sciencePolitical science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at the University of Amsterdam. Between 1994 and 2002 she worked as teacher and researcher at the political science department of the University of Amsterdam. In 1994-1995 she also worked part time as manager of the Maarten Altena Ensemble. From 1995 and 2000 she worked on her thesis, which concerned the relationship between the Netherlands and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. She specifically researched what the effect was of Indonesia refusing development cooperation of the Netherlands on cooperation in higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
, industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
and the legal profession. Her thesis was titled "International cooperation between politics and practice: how Dutch Indonesian cooperation changed remarkably little after a diplomatic rupture".
Since 2000 she also worked part time as a researcher at the think tank Infodrome, where she wrote a study on the information revolution and its effect on society. Based on her work here she published two books on the information society. In 2001 she was promoted there at the Political Science department. Between 2002 and 2004 she worked at United Knowledge, where she advised the government on the information society. Based on her work advising the Ministry of Economic Affairs she published a book on empowerment
Empowerment
Empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social, racial, educational, gender or economic strength of individuals and communities...
. Between 2004 and 2005 she worked at the Ministry of General Affairs and the government PR service. As such she coordinated the norm
Norm (sociology)
Social norms are the accepted behaviors within a society or group. This sociological and social psychological term has been defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. These rules may be explicit or implicit...
s and value
Value (ethics)
In ethics, value is a property of objects, including physical objects as well as abstract objects , representing their degree of importance....
s cabinet project.
Alternative for Trade Union 2005-2006
In 2005 she was one of the founders of the Alternative for Trade Union (Alternatief voor Vakbond, AVV), a trade union specifically oriented at young people, part timePart time
A part-time job is a form of employment that carries fewer hours per week than a full-time job. Workers are considered to be part time if they commonly work fewer than 30 or 35 hours per week...
employed, freelancer
Freelancer
A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is somebody who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer long term. These workers are often represented by a company or an agency that resells their labor and that of others to its clients with or without project management and...
s, with temporary work
Temporary work
Temporary work or temporary employment refers to a situation where the employee is expected to leave the employer within a certain period of time. Temporary employees are sometimes called "contractual", "seasonal", "interim", "casual staff", "freelance", or "part-time"; or the word may be shortened...
and people on a flexible contract. The union was founded as an alternative for the FNV
Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging
The Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging is a federation of trade unions of the Netherlands.-History:...
, which was, according to AVV-founders too concerned with the interest of elderly workers. In 2005 she became the union's chair. Additionally she got a column with the Vrij Nederland
Vrij Nederland
Vrij Nederland is a Dutch magazine which was established during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II as an underground newspaper but has since grown into a magazine. The weekly magazine is generally considered to be intellectually left-wing...
and the De Volkskrant
De Volkskrant
de Volkskrant is a national daily Dutch morning newspaper, the leading centre-left broadsheet, although now in tabloid size.-History:...
. She also worked for the Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice (Netherlands)
The Ministry of Security and Justice is the Dutch ministry of justice. Until 14 October 2010, the ministry was just called Ministry of Justice , but at the start of the Rutte cabinet, the name changed because it had taken over some public safety duties from the Ministry of the Interior...
as a researcher on the relationship between migration
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
, integration
Social integration
Social integration, in sociology and other social sciences, is the movement of minority groups such as ethnic minorities, refugees and underprivileged sections of a society into the mainstream of societies...
and the welfare state
Welfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
. In 2006 she published a book "the workers' paradise" on the future of the welfare state, employment and labour.
Political career 2006 - present
In the 2006 electionsDutch general election, 2006
The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on November 22, 2006. And followed the call for new elections after the fall of the Second Balkenende cabinet....
Vos was placed on place 38 of the list of the PvdA. Both the conservative liberal VVD and the progressive liberal D66 had asked Vos to consider running for them. Because of the PvdA did not perform particularly well in the elections, Vos was not elected immediately. When several MPs became minister in the Fourth Balkenende cabinet
Fourth Balkenende cabinet
The fourth Balkenende cabinet or Balkenende IV is the previous Dutch coalition cabinet formed by the political parties Christian Democratic Appeal , Labour Party , and ChristianUnion . The cabinet succeeded the third Balkenende cabinet following the 2006 election, and was installed by Queen Beatrix...
Vos did get a seat. Vos is spokesperson on freelancer
Freelancer
A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is somebody who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer long term. These workers are often represented by a company or an agency that resells their labor and that of others to its clients with or without project management and...
-, temporarily employed
Temporary work
Temporary work or temporary employment refers to a situation where the employee is expected to leave the employer within a certain period of time. Temporary employees are sometimes called "contractual", "seasonal", "interim", "casual staff", "freelance", or "part-time"; or the word may be shortened...
and consumer
Consumer
Consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.-Economics and marketing:...
affairs. She sits in the commissions on finance, European Affairs, Economic Affairs, Social Affairs and the Environment. Vos is also member of the Board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of the public radio broadcaster FunX
FunX
FunX is a Dutch public radio station which has been on air since 3 August 2002. The station is aimed at a young audience and mainly concentrates on such music styles as Urban, Latin, Reggae, Dancehall, Oriental, Turkpop, Farsipop, Banghra, Rai, French-African hip hop, Mandopop, and various...
. As an MP she wants to give free lancers and the temporarily employed a voice in parliament and share the risks of a dynamic labour market more equally between free lancers, part time employed and temporarily employed and people with a fixed contract. Vos considers herself to be a social liberal, while the PvdA is a social-democratic party.