$Tweede Kamerfractie ChristenUnie 2017$ 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,

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