Dutch politician (born 1989)
Samira Rafaela (born 11 February 1989) is a Dutch politician of Democrats 66 , who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019[1] [2] and was also a member of the Young Democrats .[2]
Early life
Rafaela grew up with her Jewish Dutch -Curaçaoan mother in Uitgeest . Her father was of Ghanaian -Nigerian descent and a practicing Muslim . She considers herself a progressive, liberal, feminist Muslim.[3]
She attended Bonhoeffer College in Castricum [4] and studied public administration at Leiden University . She did research on the causes of radicalization and terrorism and obtained a master's degree in Crisis and Security Management .[5] She worked as a policy maker and administrative advisor for the municipality of Amsterdam . In 2016, she transferred to the Police Netherlands , where she acted as project leader for inclusion .[6] As a social entrepreneur, she worked in Africa with young talent and as an international trainer and speaker on women's participation, leadership, security and inclusion.
Political career
Rafaela was elected a Member of the European Parliament in the 2019 election , making her the first Dutch MEP with Afro-Caribbean roots.[7] She has been a member of the Committee on International Trade (since 2019), the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (since 2019)[2] and the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (since 2021).[8]
In addition to her committee assignments, Rafaela is part of the Parliament's delegations to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat) and to the EU–Chile Joint Parliamentary Committee.[2] She also co-chairs the European Parliament Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup and is a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on Artificial Intelligence and Digital[9] and the European Parliament Intergroup on Disability.[10] [11]
On 3 May 2022, an internal commission of D66 investigated complaints of 3 former co-workers of the European D66-delegation about, among other things, abuse of power by Rafaela.[12] She was reprimanded, but a mediation committee ruled in November of the same year that the investigation was sloppy and that the reprimanding was unjustified.[13]
In 2023, Rafaela – together with Malin Björk and Evin Incir – alleged in a letter to the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola that their fellow MEPs Anders Vistisen , Isabella Adinolfi and Cristian Terheș breached Parliament's rules on offensive language during a debate on the ratification of the 2011 Istanbul convention against gender-based violence and urged Metsola to investigate.[14] On 21 December 2023, she announced she would not seek re-election in the 2024 European Parliament election .[15]
Recognition
References
^ "S. (Samira) Rafaela MA" . www.parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 October 2020 .
^ a b c d "Samira RAFAELA" . European Parliament . 11 February 1989. Retrieved 27 October 2020 .
^ Vuijsje, Robert (13 May 2019). "Samira Rafaela: 'In het Europese Parlement is een gebrek aan diversiteit in alles. Jong, vrouw en kleur: het zit er allemaal niet, of niet genoeg' " . De Volkskrant. Retrieved 30 May 2019 .
^ "Oud-leerling Bonhoeffercollege verkiesbaar voor het Europees Parlement" . www.kijkopcastricum.nl (in Dutch). 12 May 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2023 .
^ "Samira Rafaela gaat voor het EuroParlement / "Dit gaat over ons allemaal" " . Afromagazine.nl . 27 February 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019 .
^ "Samira Rafaela: ik wil Europa in" . Nederlandse Politiebond. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019 .
^ Baume, Maïa de la (13 January 2020). "20 MEPs to watch in 2020" . Politico . Retrieved 27 October 2020 .
^ "Movers and Shakers" . The Parliament Magazine . 26 March 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2023 .
^ Intergroup on Artificial Intelligence and Digital European Parliament .
^ "Bureau" . Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup (ARDI) . Retrieved 27 October 2020 .
^ "Members of the Disability Intergroup - Renew Europe" . European Disability Forum . Retrieved 27 October 2020 .
^ Aharouay, Lamyae; de Witt Wijnen, Philip (13 May 2022). "Scheuring in Brusselse fractie van D66, klachten over Europarlementariër Samira Rafaela" . NRC Handelsblad . Archived from the original on 15 October 2022.
^ Damen, Fleur (24 November 2022). "D66 berispte Europarlementariër Rafaela onterecht; integriteitsonderzoek 'onzorgvuldig' " . de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 December 2022 .
^ Wax, Eddy; Sorgi, Gregorio (11 May 2023). "Three MEPs denounced for racist, sexist and transphobic 'hate speech' in European Parliament" . Politico Europe .
^ Roorda, Jasper (21 December 2023). "Europarlementariër Samira Rafaela (D66) stopt" . Brusselse Nieuwe (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 December 2023 .
^ Yoni Moldovan (16 December 2020), Women of the Year 2020: Samira Rafaela is Bazaars International Woman of the Year Harper's Bazaar .
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