Laetitia Juliëtte Griffith (born 1 November 1965) is a retired Surinamese–born

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

politician of the

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party in ...

(VVD) and jurist.

Career

Born in

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname' ...

, Suriname, Griffith moved to the Netherlands in 1987 to study law. She graduated in 1992 from the

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 ...

. In 1993 she started work at the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

. In 2000 Griffith joined the

after being advised to do so by Minister Benk Korthals. After the fall of the

First Balkenende cabinet The first Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Netherlands government from 22 July 2002 until 27 May 2003. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the nationalistic Pim Fortuyn List (L ...

she became a member of the House of Representatives. On 16 May 2005 she became 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 ...

in the

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 ...

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

. On 19 May 2006 it was announced that Griffith would succeed

Ayaan Hirsi Ali Ayaan Hirsi Ali (; ; Somali: ''Ayaan Xirsi Cali'':'' Ayān Ḥirsī 'Alī;'' born Ayaan Hirsi Magan, ar, أيان حرسي علي / ALA-LC: ''Ayān Ḥirsī 'Alī'' 13 November 1969) is a Somali-born Dutch-American activist and former politicia ...

as parliamentarian. On 15 March 2010 she announced her retreat from politics.Griffith (VVD) stopt als Kamerlid
, '' NRC Handelsblad'', March 16, 2010. In 2012 she became a member of the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
Mr. L.J. (Laetitia) Griffith
Parlement & Politiek 1965 births Living people Aldermen of Amsterdam Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Dutch women jurists Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau Members of the Council of State (Netherlands) Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Municipal councillors of Amsterdam People from Paramaribo People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians Surinamese emigrants to the Netherlands Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni 20th-century Dutch civil servants 21st-century Dutch civil servants 21st-century Dutch women politicians 21st-century Dutch politicians 20th-century Dutch women {{Netherlands-VVD-politician-stub