Vera Alida Bergkamp (; born 1 June 1971) is a Dutch politician. A member of the

Democrats 66 Democrats 66 (; abbreviated D66, ) is a Social liberalism, social liberal List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands, which positions itself in the Centrism, centre of the Left–right political spectrum, p ...

(D66) party, she has been a member of the House of Representatives since 20 September 2012. On 7 April 2021, she was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Early life and education

Bergkamp was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

to a Dutch mother and a Moroccan father. At the age of 20, she adopted her mother's surname, because her father's surname was too difficult to write and to pronounce. Bergkamp studied

human resource management Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

at the

Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences The Hogeschool van Amsterdam, University of Applied Sciences (HvA), or Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS), is a large institute for higher professional education in the Netherlands, established in 1993. The HvA mainly offers bachelor ...

. She also holds a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from the

Vrije Universiteit 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 ...

Career

From 2008 to 2012, Bergkamp was the director of the

human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include m ...

department of the Social Insurance Bank (SVB), a Dutch quango responsible for administering national insurance schemes. From 2010 to 2012, she chaired the

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 33 ...

organisation COC Nederland, as well as held a seat in the district council of

Amsterdam-Centrum Amsterdam-Centrum is the inner-most borough and historical city centre of Amsterdam, Netherlands, containing the majority of the city's landmarks. Established in 2002, Amsterdam-Centrum was the last area in the city to be granted the status of s ...

. In the 2012 general election, Bergkamp was elected into the House of Representatives as a member of D66. She was re-elected in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

and

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

. On 7 April 2021, she succeeded Khadija Arib as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Personal life

Bergkamp is openly

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

. She is married and has two children.

References

External links

Profile at Parlement.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bergkamp, Vera 1971 births Living people 21st-century Dutch women politicians 21st-century Dutch politicians Democrats 66 politicians Dutch columnists Dutch human resource management people Dutch people of Moroccan descent Dutch political consultants Lesbian politicians LGBT members of the Parliament of the Netherlands LGBT rights activists from the Netherlands LGBT writers from the Netherlands Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Municipal councillors of Amsterdam-Centrum Speakers of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni Dutch women columnists Writers from Amsterdam 20th-century Dutch women

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links