Marieke Koekkoek

Marieke Koekkoek
Member of the House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 July 2023
Preceded byErnst Boutkan
In office
31 March 2021 – 14 March 2023
Succeeded byErnst Boutkan
Personal details
Born (1989-02-26) 26 February 1989 (age 35)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Political partyVolt Netherlands
Children3
Residence(s)Utrecht, Netherlands
Alma mater
OccupationLawyer

Marieke Koekkoek (born 26 February 1989) is a Dutch lawyer and politician for the pro-European party Volt Netherlands. She was elected to the House of Representatives in the 2021 general election owing to the number of preference votes she received. Prior to being a member of parliament, she studied law and worked as a legal intern.

Early life and career

Koekkoek was born in the Dutch capital of Amsterdam and grew up in its neighbourhood Zuidoost.[1][2] Her parents were elementary school teachers.[3] After having spent a gap year in Australia and Europe, she started studying Dutch law at Utrecht University in 2008.[4][5] She was a member of its study association Urios and chaired Urios's Model United Nations Society.[4] After her graduation in 2011, Koekkoek studied a year at the University of Amsterdam and another year at the University of Barcelona, obtaining master's degrees in International Trade and Investment Law and in International Economic Law and Policy, respectively.[4][6]

In October 2013, Koekkoek joined the KU Leuven's Centre for Global Governance Studies as a PhD student and researcher.[7] She specialized in international commercial law and returned to the Netherlands in 2017, while she kept working at KU Leuven.[8][9] Koekkoek lived in China for some time in 2019 to teach at the China-EU School of Law. She became a legal intern for Fieldfisher in Amsterdam in September 2019.[7][8]

Politics

Koekkoek joined the new pro-European party Volt in 2018 after she had been a member of Democrats 66.[10][11] She was involved in creating the party's European platform and participated in the 2019 European Parliament election in the Netherlands as Volt's 22nd candidate.[11][12]

She was placed fourth on the party list in the 2021 general election and again helped write the platform.[10][11] Koekkoek campaigned on LGBT rights and on immigration. She wanted the procedure for asylum seekers to become quicker, and she wanted them to have the right to work and to learn the Dutch language while awaiting the results of their asylum application.[9] Even though Volt won three seats in the election, Koekkoek was elected to the House of Representatives because of her 37,093 preference votes at the expense of Volt's third candidate, Ernst Boutkan. Koekkoek was one of three candidates in the 2021 election who were elected due to their preference votes.[13][14] In late 2022, the House of Representatives passed a motion by Koekkoek and Hülya Kat (D66) to have the government provide free period products to low-income households.[15] Koekkoek called it a start and advocated making them free for everyone.[16] She vacated her seat between 15 March and 5 July 2023 to go on a parental leave and was temporarily replaced by Ernst Boutkan.[17][18]

In the House, she is on the following committees:[1]

  • Committee for Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality
  • Committee for Digital Affairs
  • Committee for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation
  • Committee for Health, Welfare and Sport
  • Committee for Infrastructure and Water Management
  • Committee for the Interior
  • Committee for Justice and Security
  • Committee for Kingdom Relations
  • Petitions committee
  • Committee for Social Affairs and Employment

Koekkoek headed the committee that wrote Volt's election program for the November 2023 general election.[19] The party received two seats, and Koekkoek was re-elected.

Personal life

Koekkoek lives in the Utrecht neighbourhood of Leidsche Rijn.[1][20] Her husband is from China, having come to the Netherlands to study and work, and she has three children. Koekkoek can play violin.[21][22][23][24][25]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Marieke Koekkoek
Year Body Party Pos. Votes Result Ref.
Party seats Individual
2021 House of Representatives Volt Netherlands 4 37,093 3 Won[a] [26]
2023 House of Representatives Volt Netherlands 2 38,747 2 Won [27]

Notes

  1. ^ Koekkoek received enough preference votes to be elected despite her party's result.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Marieke Koekkoek". Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Marieke Koekkoek". Volt (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  3. ^ Koekkoek, Marieke (1 December 2022). "Marieke Koekkoek (Volt): 'Ik geloof gewoon meer in samen sterk'" [Marieke Koekkoek (Volt): 'I just believe we are stronger together']. VNO-NCW (Interview) (in Dutch). Interviewed by Paul Scheer. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Marieke Koekkoek". IELPO. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Op deze UU'ers kun je volgende week stemmen" [You can vote for these UU alumni next week]. DUB (in Dutch). 8 March 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  6. ^ Strikkers, Henk (23 March 2021). "24 oud-UvA'ers in nieuwe Tweede Kamer" [24 former UvA students in the new House of Representatives]. Folia (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  7. ^ a b "M. (Marieke ) Koekkoek LL.M." Parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  8. ^ a b Jonker, Ulko (11 May 2021). "'Is dit een hoogtepunt of een dieptepunt in de politiek?'" [Is this is a high point or a low point for politics?]. Het Financieele Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  9. ^ a b De Jong, Jordi (5 March 2021). "Utrechtse Marieke wil met partij Volt meer Europa in Nederland" [Marieke from Utrecht wants more Europe in the Netherlands with Volt party]. RTV Utrecht (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  10. ^ a b Hoving, Richard (18 February 2021). "Marieke (31) uit Utrecht wil de Tweede Kamer in: 'Angela Merkel is mijn grote voorbeeld'" [Marieke (31) wants to enter House of Representatives: 'Angela Merkel is my biggest example']. AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  11. ^ a b c Van Bekkum, Dylan (30 March 2021). "Van Omtzigt tot Koekkoek: dit zijn de 20 ware volksvertegenwoordigers" [From Omtzigt to Koekkoek: these 20 people truly represent the people]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  12. ^ "Uitslag Europees Parlementsverkiezing 2019" [Results 2019 European Parliament election] (PDF) (in Dutch). Kiesraad. 4 June 2019. p. 45. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 17 maart 2021 Proces-verbaal" [Results general election 17 March 2021 Report] (PDF). Kiesraad (in Dutch). 29 March 2021. p. 241. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  14. ^ Kok, Laurens (26 March 2021). "Uitslag verkiezingen onveranderd, opkomst lager dan in 2017" [Election results unchanged, turnout lower than in 2017]. Het Parool (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  15. ^ "Tweede Kamer: vanaf volgend jaar gratis tampons voor minima" [House of Representatives: Free tampons for low-income households starting next year]. RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 6 December 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  16. ^ "Tweede Kamer wil dat tampons en maandverband gratis worden voor minima" [House of Representatives wants tampons and sanitary pads to become free for low-income people]. AD (in Dutch). 6 December 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  17. ^ "Kiesraad benoemt Boutkan tot Tweede Kamerlid" [Kiesraad appoints Boutkan to the House of Representatives]. Kiesraad (Press release) (in Dutch). 16 March 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  18. ^ "Ernst Boutkan beëdigd als Volt-Kamerlid" [Ernst Boutkan sworn in as House member for Volt]. Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal (Press release) (in Dutch). 16 March 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  19. ^ Dietvorst, Guus; Jackson, Emma (27 July 2023). "Snel een verkiezingsprogramma schrijven, hoe doe je dat?" [How would you write an election program?]. NOS (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  20. ^ Schouten, Ard; Steinberger, Mathijs (16 March 2021). "Nagelbijten is begonnen... Eva en Marieke komen nét wel of nét niet in de Tweede Kamer" [Nail biting has started... Eva and Marieke will make it to the House of Representatives just barely or almost]. AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  21. ^ "Marieke Koekkoek". Rainbowvote.nu (in Dutch). 5 February 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  22. ^ Van Kommer, Rachel (21 March 2021). "Utrechtse Marieke Koekkoek (31) met voorkeursstemmen voor Volt tóch de Tweede Kamer in" [Marieke Koekkoek (31) from Utrecht will enter the House of Representatives after all]. AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  23. ^ Koekkoek, Marieke (15 April 2021). "Utrecht volgens Volt-tweede kamerlid Marieke Koekkoek" [Utrecht according to Volt member of parliament Marieke Koekkoek]. DUIC (Interview) (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  24. ^ "#16 - Marieke Koekkoek / tweede kamerlid Volt" [#16 - Marieke Koekkoek / Member of the House of Representatives for Volt] (Podcast). Sociale Innovatie Podcast (in Dutch). 14 December 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2022 – via SoundCloud.
  25. ^ "Job Cohen, Andre Rouvoet, Marieke Koekkoek en Kimberly Snijders over de toekomst van Nederland deel 2" [Job Cohen, André Rouvoet, Marieke Koekkoek, and Kimberly Snijders about the future of the Netherlands part 2]. Spraakmakers (in Dutch). 11 July 2023. NPO Radio 1. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  26. ^ "Proces-verbaal verkiezingsuitslag Tweede Kamer 2021" [Report of the election results House of Representatives 2021] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 29 March 2021. pp. 153–154. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  27. ^ "Proces-verbaal van de uitslag van de verkiezing van de Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal 2023 d.d. 4 december 2023" [Report of the results of the election of the House of Representatives on 4 December 2023] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 4 December 2023. pp. 113–114. Retrieved 21 December 2023.