Joël Stephanus Voordewind (born 9 July 1965 in
Sleen
Sleen is a village in Drenthe, Netherlands of about 2,500 people. Sleen has been inhabited for centuries. Much ancient history can be found in the area, particularly in the forests (which are planted, though). At birth and during the Republiek de ...
,
Drenthe) is a Dutch politician and former
development aid
Development aid is a type of foreign/international/overseas aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political development of developing countries. Closely-related concepts include: develop ...
worker. As a member of the
Christian Union (''ChristenUnie'') he was an MP from 2006 until 2021. He focused on matters of
foreign policy,
defense,
development aid
Development aid is a type of foreign/international/overseas aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political development of developing countries. Closely-related concepts include: develop ...
,
youth
Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yo ...
and family. Since 7 July 2022, he has been an
alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...
of
Alkmaar.
Biography
Voordewind, after receiving a degree in
political sciences (with a specialization in
international relations
International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...
) at
VU University Amsterdam
The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, being founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research ...
, started working as an assistant for the Dutch
Labour parliamentary party. He began in 1991 and left the party in 1994. After this he worked for the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
, the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
and an international Christian aid organisation named
Dorcas Aid. For some time he was committed as a spokesman to the Dutch Secretary of Defence.
After some time Voordewind came to the conclusion that because of his Christian convictions, it would be better if he switched to a Christian party. He made this decision in 1999 and began to work for the
parliamentary group
A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council.
Parliamenta ...
of the Christian Union. In 2001 he became their campaign leader for the
Dutch general election in 2002. He also led the campaign towards the
general election in 2003. In 2003 he was a member of the
States-Provincial of
North Holland. Until 2006 he was head of the
public relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...
division of the party. He was chairman of the local Christian Union in the Dutch capital
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
for which in 2002 and 2006 he stood for the local council, but both times the CU gained no seats.
Voordewind was elected into the Dutch Parliament in 2006. He was the fourth name on the candidate list of the Christian Union, which doubled its number of seats from three to six. For this party he was the spokesman for all issues concerning the health system, welfare and sports, defence and European Affairs.
He is married and the father of two children. He lives in Amsterdam and is a member of a Dutch
Vineyard-church.
Electoral history
References
*
Parlement.com biography
External links
*
Alderman Joël Voordewind Municipality of Alkmaar website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Voordewind, Joel
1965 births
Living people
21st-century Dutch politicians
Aldermen in North Holland
Association of Vineyard Churches
Christian Union (Netherlands) politicians
Dutch anti-poverty advocates
Dutch evangelicals
Dutch humanitarians
Dutch nonprofit directors
Dutch political scientists
Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands)
People from Alkmaar
People from Coevorden
People in international development
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni