Krista van Velzen

Last updated
Krista van Velzen Krista van Velzen, 2006 (cropped).jpg
Krista van Velzen

Krista van Velzen (born 15 September 1974) is a Dutch politician. From 2002 to 2010, she was a member of the Dutch House of Representatives for the Socialist Party.

Contents

Career

Krista van Velzen was born in St. Nicolaasga in Friesland. While in secondary school, she worked as a volunteer at the IVN (Instituut voor Natuurbeschermingseducatie - Institute for Conservation Education). After pre-university education at Newmancollege in Breda and a preparatory course for higher education in forestry and natural resources management, she decided to workagain as a volunteerwith Stichting Kollektief Rampenplan, an organic-vegetarian catering collective that supports actions and events throughout Europe by cooking for activists.

Disarmament

In 1995, she organised a hike from Brussels to Moscow on behalf of a nuclear-free world. In subsequent years, she was active in the 10 years after Chernobyl campaign and with the campaign by Czech environmentalists against the construction of the Temelín Nuclear Power Station. She also worked in Ghent, in Belgium, with the pressure group Voor Moeder Aarde (For Mother Earth; later merged into Friends of the Earth Flanders) in various campaigns concerning nuclear weapons, nuclear power and nonviolence.

Van Velzen was involved in direct action for disarmament at Faslane Naval Base in Scotland, where she was arrested after going aboard a nuclear submarine with a hammer to 'dismantle' it. In January 2007, she was arrested again, this time with six British parliamentarians, during a year-long blockade action at the base. [1] [2] As a result of her activities she has a criminal record.

During the Kosovo War, she organised a walk from the International Criminal Court in The Hague to NATO headquarters in Brussels. In 1999, she also founded the Ghent Ecological Centre. In the summer of the same year, she began work as an employee with the Socialist Party group in the House of Representatives, where she was concerned with defence, agriculture and food safety. As part of her work, she was also a member of the working group on genetic engineering and co-wrote the party brochure Wat moeten we met de genetische technologie (What should we do about gene technology).

In early summer 2008, she played a role in the whistleblower case of Fred Spijkers. [3] [4] [5]

Election to the House of Representatives

In the elections of May 2002, she was elected to the House of Representative for the Socialist Party. On 25 June 2002, she made her maiden speech on the employment of 17-year-olds in the armed forces. [6] In the 2006 parliamentary elections, she was fifth on the party list and was re-elected with more than 14,000 preference votes. Van Velzen sits on the Recommendation Committee of the Nederlands Sociaal Forum (Netherlands Social Forum, an organisation of Dutch NGOs and alter-globalist groups).

Her retirement pay was terminated after the TV programme PowNews revealed that she was staying abroad for a prolonged period and thus could apply elsewhere. A Socialist Party representative said, "It has not been Krista's intent to go cycling at the taxpayer's expense". [7]

Electoral history

A (possibly incomplete) overview of Dutch elections Krista van Velzen participated in
ElectionPartyCandidate numberVotes
2002 Dutch general election Socialist Party 5
2003 Dutch general election Socialist Party 54.694
2006 Dutch general election Socialist Party 514.081
2010 Dutch general election Socialist Party 3.368
2014 Dutch municipal elections in The Hague Socialist Party 30155
2017 Dutch general election Socialist Party 46218
2019 European Parliament election in the Netherlands Socialist Party 292.030
2022 Dutch municipal elections in Apeldoorn Socialist Party 22

Personal life

Van Velzen was raised a Mennonite and still identifies as a Baptist. [8] [9] She has described herself as "bisexual, 100%" [10] and was out when a member of the House of Representatives. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

GroenLinks is a green political party in the Netherlands.

Vooruit is a Flemish social democratic political party in Belgium. It was known as the (Flemish) Socialist Party until 21 March 2021, when its current name was adopted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Groen (political party)</span> Political party in Belgium

Groen, founded as Agalev, is a green Flemish political party in Belgium. The main pillars of the party are social justice, human rights, and ecologism. Its French-speaking equivalent is Ecolo; the two parties maintain close relations with each other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Socialist Party (Netherlands)</span> Dutch political party

The Socialist Party is a democratic socialist and social democratic political party in the Netherlands. Founded in 1971 as the Communist Party of the Netherlands/Marxist–Leninist, the party has since moderated itself from Marxism–Leninism and Maoism towards democratic socialism and social democracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flemish Movement</span> Regionalist movement in Flanders, Belgium

The Flemish Movement is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. Ideologically, it encompasses groups which have sought to promote Flemish culture and the Dutch language as well as those seeking greater political autonomy for Flanders within Belgium. It also encompasses nationalists who seek the secession of Flanders from Belgium, either through outright independence or (re)unification with the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Marijnissen</span> Dutch politician (born 1952)

Johannes Guillaume Christianus Andreas "Jan" Marijnissen is a retired Dutch politician of the Socialist Party (SP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Belgian local elections</span>

The Belgian provincial, municipal and district elections of 2006 took place on Sunday 8 October 2006. The electors have elected the municipal councillors of 589 cities and towns as well as the ten provincial councils. The voters in the town of Antwerp have also been able to vote for the city's district councils. In seven Flemish municipalities with a special language statute and in the Walloon municipality of Comines-Warneton the aldermen and the members of the OCMW/CPAS council have also been directly elected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marianne Thieme</span> Dutch animal rights activist and politician (born 1972)

Marianne Louise Thieme is a Dutch politician, author and animal rights activist. A jurist and theologian by education, she served as the Party for the Animals' political leader from 2002 to 2019 and a member of the House of Representatives from 2006 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wijnand Duyvendak</span> Dutch politician

Anton Johan Wijnand (Wijnand) Duijvendak is a Dutch politician. He is a former member of the House of Representatives for GreenLeft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry van Bommel</span> Dutch politician (born 1962)

Henricus "Harry" van Bommel is a Dutch politician, anti-globalisation activist and former educator. As a member of the Socialist Party, he was an MP from May 1998 to March 2017. He focused on matters of foreign policy and the European Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Belgian federal election</span>

Federal elections were held in Belgium on 13 June 2010, during the midst of the 2007-11 Belgian political crisis. After the fall of the previous Leterme II Government over the withdrawal of Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats from the government the King dissolved the legislature and called new elections. The New Flemish Alliance, led by Bart De Wever, emerged as the plurality party with 27 seats, just one more than the francophone Socialist Party, led by Elio Di Rupo, which was the largest party in the Wallonia region and Brussels. It took a world record 541 days until a government was formed, resulting in a government led by Di Rupo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tinne Van der Straeten</span> Belgian politician

Tinne Van der Straeten is a Belgian politician who has been serving as Minister of Energy in the De Croo Government since October 2020. She is a member of the Groen party. She previously served in the Chamber of Representatives for Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde from 2007 to 2010 and later for Brussels from 2019 until 2020, when she resigned to become energy minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sadet Karabulut</span> Dutch politician

Sadet Karabulut is a Dutch politician and former civil servant and trade unionist of Kurdish descent. As a member of the Socialist Party, she has been an MP since 30 November 2006. She focuses on matters of social affairs, female emancipation, and social integration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Belgian local elections</span>

The Belgian provincial, municipal and district elections of 2012 took place on 14 October. As with the previous 2006 elections, these are no longer organised by the Belgian federal state but instead by the respective regions:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Visser</span> Croatian-Dutch politician

Barbara Visser is a Dutch-Croatian politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). From 31 August 2021 to 10 January 2022, she served as Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands in the third Rutte cabinet. She previously served as State Secretary for Defence from 26 October 2017 to 31 August 2021.

Wilhelmina (Ineke) van Wetering was a Dutch anthropologist and Surinamist. She was born on 17 October 1934 in the Dutch city of Hilversum. When she was 10 years old, her father (ironmonger) had been executed by firing squad in the Second World War because of participating in an illegal group who provided hiding places for people who were prosecuted by the Nazi-German army. She finished her secondary school in 1955, when she began her study of sociology at the University of Amsterdam. In her later career she continued her work at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emilie Claeys</span> Belgian feminist and socialist (1855-1943)

Emilie Maria Claeys was a Belgian feminist and socialist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natalie Eggermont</span> Belgian politician (born 1988)

Natalie Eggermont is a Belgian physician, politician and member of the Chamber of Representatives. A member of the Workers' Party of Belgium, she has represented West Flanders since June 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jinnih Beels</span> Belgian politician (born 1976)

Jinnih Beels is a Belgian politician and member of the Chamber of Representatives. A member of Vooruit, she has represented Antwerp since June 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joris Vandenbroucke</span> Belgian politician (born 1976)

Joris Vandenbroucke is a Belgian politician and member of the Chamber of Representatives. A member of Vooruit, he has represented East Flanders since June 2019. He was a member of the Flemish Parliament from June 2005 to June 2009 and from June 2014 to May 2019.

References

  1. "SP-Kamerlid gearresteerd in Schotland", NU.nl, 8 January 2007 (in Dutch)
  2. "Faslane 365". Archived from the original on 2013-05-16. Retrieved 2013-05-14.
  3. "Defensie treitert ex-werknemer", Blik op Nieuws, 28 September 2005, Archived November 23, 2005, at the Wayback Machine at the Internet Archive, 23 November 2005 (in Dutch)
  4. "Tweede Kamer worstelt opnieuw met Spijkers", de Stentor , 7 March 2008, updated 10 March 2008, Archived March 10, 2008, at the Wayback Machine at the Internet Archive, 10 March 2008 (in Dutch)
  5. "Defensie vindt zaak-Spijkers 'afgehandeld'", Binnenlands Bestuur, 17 July 2009 (in Dutch)
  6. Handelingen 20012002, No. 86, p. 5098 (in Dutch)
  7. "Het is niet de bedoeling geweest van Krista om op kosten van de belastingbetaler te gaan fietsen": "'Van Velzen (SP) wachtgeld kwijt'", De Telegraaf , 11 October 2010 (in Dutch)
  8. 150 Volksvertegenwoordigers Archived 2007-08-30 at the Wayback Machine (in Dutch) (profile no longer online)
  9. "Doopsgezind en politiek gaan samen", Kerknieuws, 8 June 2010 (in Dutch)
  10. "Poten af van tinky winky?!" Archived 2014-03-05 at the Wayback Machine Krista van Velzen.sp (official blog) 29 May 2007 (in Dutch)
  11. "Kamermeerderheid wil meer homorechten" coc.nl, 14 November 2006 (in Dutch)