Kiem Ling Roy Ho Ten Soeng (; born 16 June 1945) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). Born in

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

and of

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

descent, he was often considered the first immigrant

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

in the Netherlands, although Dzsingisz Gabor was mayor of Haaksbergen in 1983 till 1990. Roy is the first mayor of Chinese descent in the Netherlands and in Europe. Ho Ten Soeng was originally a teacher and has worked in Suriname,

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

and the Netherlands. First as a teacher and later as a history teacher in secondary schools in Zaanstad and Haarlem. In 1990, Ho Ten Soeng became an alderman in

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland, about 30 km north of Amsterdam. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination. The ...

and on 1 January 2000 he became mayor of

Venhuizen Venhuizen (; fy, Fenhúze) is a town in the north-western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia, in the municipality of Drechterland. Venhuizen was a separate municipality until 1 January 2006, when it was ...

. His congregation became involved in a merger process with the municipality of

Drechterland Drechterland () is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. The municipality was formed in 1979, in a merger of the former municipalities of Hoogkarspel, Westwoud and Oosterblokker. Its o ...

. He is very active in the field of volunteering. In this context, he also founded the Chinese Consultative Body, he is chairman of the Network Chinese Volunteers and is requested regularly in churches of the Moravians (EBG) as active pastor. Currently he is a "VNG Ambassador Safety" for North Holland. Roy was from 1 December 2005 acting mayor of

Medemblik Medemblik () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. It lies immediately south of the polder and former municipality of Wieringermeer. History Medemblik was a prosperous ...

. He held that position until the merger with Noorder-Koggenland and Wognum on 1 January 2007. In 2008, Ho Ten Soeng was involved with the scouting of immigrant and female mayor candidates for the Dutch

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

. In early 2011 he was on the 12th place on the list of candidates of

50PLUS 50PLUS (; abbreviated 50+) is a political party in the Netherlands that advocates pensioners' interests. The party was founded in 2009 by Maurice Koopman, Alexander Münninghoff, and Jan Nagel. Henk Krol served as the party's leader from 2016 to ...

for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. For the 2012 general election he stood in sixth place on the list of candidates.

References

External links

*
article about Ho Ten Soeng's talent

article of RNW
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ho Ten Soeng, Roy 1945 births Living people Dutch politicians of Chinese descent Christian Democratic Appeal politicians Dutch people of Chinese descent Surinamese people of Chinese descent Surinamese emigrants to the Netherlands People from Paramaribo

See also

References

External links