Anja Hazekamp (born 21 January 1968) is a Dutch politician and

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) for the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. She is a member of the

Party for the Animals The Party for the Animals ( nl, Partij voor de Dieren; PvdD) is a List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. Among its main goals are animal rights and animal welfare. Since 2019, the PvdD's political lead ...

, part of the

European United Left–Nordic Green Left European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

. Previously she was member of the

House of Representatives of the Netherlands The House of Representatives (, pronounced ; commonly referred to as the ', literally "Second Chamber of the States General") is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of the Netherlands, the States General, the other one being the Senate. ...

in 2012 and member of the States of Groningen between 2007 and 2014. She has been a Member of the European Parliament since July 2014 and was reelected in 2019.

Career

She was born on 21 January 1968 in

Vlagtwedde Vlagtwedde () is a village in the very southeast of Groningen province in the northeastern Netherlands. It lies on the Dutch border with the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. History The municipality of Vlagtwedde was created in Decemb ...

, she received her primary and secondary education in

Ter Apel Ter Apel (; Gronings: ''Troapel'') is a village with a population of 8,866 residents in the municipality Westerwolde in the northern Netherlands, in the province Groningen in the region Westerwolde. The town lies on the stream Ruiten Aa, which ...

. Between 1988 and 1989 she studied to become a biology teacher in

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of the ...

. Afterwards she went to study biology at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen in ...

, graduating in 1995. Hazekamp worked as public relations official for the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals between 1992 and 1997. She also worked as a scientific employee for two fauna related organisations in 1995–1997. She was employed by

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

and

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

as a scientific employee on the issue of

animal testing Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and ''in vivo'' testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments that seek to control the variables that affect the behavior or biological system under study. This ...

between 1997 and 2000. She returned to the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals in 2000 and worked for five years as a policy employee. Afterwards she was employee by the

Seal Rehabilitation and Research Centre The Seal Rehabilitation and Research Centre (SRRC; nl, Zeehondencentrum Pieterburen) is located in Pieterburen, Netherlands. Lenie ‘t Hart founded the centre in 1971 and the centre has evolved from a simple "day care" for young seals to a sci ...

as a policy employee until 2009. She became senior policy advisor for , where she worked between 2009 and 2014.

Political career

Hazekamp joined the

and was elected to the States of Groningen, where she served between 15 March 2007 and 25 June 2014. She replaced

Marianne Thieme Marianne Louise Thieme (, born 6 March 1972) is a Dutch politician, author and animal rights activist. A jurist by education, she served as the Party for the Animals' political leader from 2002 to 2019 and a member of the House of Representatives ...

in the

between 24 January 2012 and 14 May 2012, when Thieme was on maternity leave.

European Parliament

Hazekamp led the Party for the Animals list for the European Parliament elections of 2014, the party obtained one seat and Hazekamp was thus elected. The party received 4.2% of the votes thereby gaining the first seat in the European Parliament for the Party for the Animals in history. In the European Parliament elections of 2009 the party failed to gain a seat with 3.5% of the votes. During the run-up to the elections Hazekamp had stated that endless economic growth is impossible on a finite planet, and that it therefore should no longer be policy of the European Union. Hazekamp was reelected in the European Parliament elections of 2019. In the European Parliament Hazekamp is member of the

Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) is a committee of the European Parliament. Responsibilities of the Committee AGRI is the European Parliament committee responsible for: #The operation and development of the Common Agricul ...

and member of the Delegation for relations with Japan. She stated that on the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development she wishes to further interest of animals, the environment and nature.

Electoral history

References

External links

European Parliament page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazekamp, Anja 1968 births Living people People from Vlagtwedde University of Groningen alumni Academic staff of Utrecht University Academic staff of Leiden University Party for the Animals politicians Members of the Provincial Council of Groningen Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Party for the Animals MEPs MEPs for the Netherlands 2014–2019 MEPs for the Netherlands 2019–2024 21st-century women MEPs for the Netherlands