Merlien Welzijn

Merlien Welzijn
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 6 December 2023 –11 November 2025
Personal details
Born	(1973-12-20) 20 December 1973 (age 51) Paramaribo, Suriname
Nationality	Dutch
Political party	New Social Contract

Merlien Welzijn (born 20 December 1973) is a Suriname-born Dutch politician of the New Social Contract (NSC) who was a member of the House of Representatives between December 2023 and November 2025. ^[1]

Biography

Welzijn is of Surinamese descent. ^[2] She has an older brother and two younger sisters. When Welzijn was around seven, her parents separated, and her father took care of the children. They were homeless for a year, staying at family and friends. Welzijn cited the experience as her reason to become politically active. ^[3] Before her election, she served as board member of a housing corporation. ^[4]

She ran for the House of Representatives in November 2023 as NSC's tenth candidate, and she was elected. ^[5] Her portfolio contained housing, poverty, participation, and child care. ^[6] Welzijn advocated for addressing a student housing shortage by encouraging homeowners to rent out rooms. She suggested increasing the allowed lodgings per house from one to two and relaxing rent protection regulations to permit eviction when a house is sold. ^[3] During budget debates, she proposed to identify and bundle delayed housing projects such that they could be expedited, in a similar fashion to the Crisis and Recovery Act  [ nl ] for infrastructure projects. ^[7] She encouraged housing minister Mona Keijzer to negotiate mainly with housing corporations instead of private investors to ensure the affordability of new homes. ^[4] Welzijn was not re-elected in October 2025, as NSC lost all its seats, and her term ended on 11 November. ^[8]

House committee assignments

• Committee for Social Affairs and Employment
• Committee for Housing and Spatial Planning
• Committee for Climate Policy and Green Growth
• Delegation to the Interparliamentary Committee on the Dutch Language Union ^[9]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Merlien Welzijn

Year	Body	Party		Pos.	Votes	Result		Ref.
						Party seats	Individual
2023	House of Representatives		New Social Contract	10	3,496	20	Won	[5]
2025				3	2,067	0	Lost	[10]

References

1. "Drs. R.M. (Merlien) Welzijn". www.parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
2. "Vier Tweede Kamerleden met Surinaamse roots". Dagblad Suriname (in Dutch). 4 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
3. Verweij, Elodie (29 August 2024). "Van dakloos naar Kamerlid: 'Voel het als mijn roeping om te voorkomen dat mensen dakloos worden'" [From homeless to member of parliament: 'It is my calling to prevent people from becoming homeless']. Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 August 2024.
4. Wolzak, Martine (29 November 2024). "NSC: 'Minister mag niet morrelen aan betaalbaarheidseisen woningbouw'" [NSC: 'Minister should not interfere with affordability demands housing construction']. Het Financieele Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 3 December 2024.
5. "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. 185–186. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
6. "Tweede Kamerfractie" [House of Representatives group]. New Social Contract (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 February 2025.
7. König, Eppo (22 October 2024). "NSC wil tijdelijke crisiswet om woningnood te verhelpen" [NSC wants temporary crisis legislation to resolve housing shortage]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 October 2024.
8. "Tromgeroffel en tranen: zeventig vertrekkende Kamerleden uitgezwaaid" [Drum rolls and tears: Seventy departing MPs sent off]. NOS (in Dutch). 11 November 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
9. "Merlien Welzijn". House of Representatives . Retrieved 27 December 2024.
10. "Proces-verbaal van het centraal stembureau met de uitslag van de verkiezing van de Tweede Kamer 2025 d.d. 7 november 2025" [Report of the central electoral committee with the results of the 2025 election of the House of Representatives dated 7 November 2025](PDF). Electoral Council (in Dutch). 7 November 2025. pp. 147–148. Retrieved 11 November 2025.

See also

• List of members of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, 2023–2025