Britta Böhler (born 17 July 1960) is a Dutch lawyer in international law and human rights, and a former member of the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

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

GreenLeft (, ; GL) is a green political party in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 March 1989 from the merger of four left-wing parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, the Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and the ...

Party. She was born in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

and became a Dutch citizen to run for political office.profile Böhler
on novatv.nl

Early life, education and academia

Böhler was born in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

. Her father was the financial director of a publishing house and her mother, a civil servant. Both her parents were members of the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

. After attending public grammar school and the Goethe Gymnasium, Böhler began the study of

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

in 1979 at the Albert-Ludwigs Universität in Freiburg. She chose law because it would allow her flexibility in the Germany of the seventies. Between 1979 and 1980 she also studied

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

, and between 1980 and 1982,

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. In 1984, she graduated in law, specializing in

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

. During her studies she became sympathetic toward the people of

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, and

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

. Between 2012 and 2017, Böhler was a professor at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

. In April 2019, she assumed as a law and ethics professor at the

University of Maastricht A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

Lawyer

In 1985, Böhler became a lawyer in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. She also was a ''referendar'', (a type of associate in a law office) and

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

candidate in law. In 1989, she became a lawyer at the law firm

Peat Marwick KPMG is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services network, based in London, United Kingdom. As one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big Four accounting firms, along with Ernst & Young (EY), Deloitte, and PwC. KPMG is a ne ...

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, working mainly in

corporate law Corporate law (also known as company law or enterprise law) is the body of law governing the rights, relations, and conduct of persons, companies, organizations and businesses. The term refers to the legal practice of law relating to corpora ...

. In 1991, she moved to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, where she was employed at Loeff Claeys Verbeke (now

Loyens & Loeff Loyens & Loeff N.V. (L&L) is an international law and tax firm headquartered in Rotterdam. It has offices in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland (home markets), as well as representation offices in major international financial cen ...

). In 1992, Böhler received a PhD in law from Albert-Ludwigs Universität: having written a thesis on the legal philosopher, '' Gerhart Husserl: Leben und Werk'' (Life and Work). In 1994, she served as an observer at the South African general elections, the first elections after the dismantling of

Apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

. South Africa and its people left a strong impression on Böhler and led her to politicize her practice of law. Between 1994 and 1995 she was a lawyer at Van den Biessen en Prakke, a left wing law firm. In 1995, she became a partner at Böhler Franken Koppe Wijngaarden, a law firm that works on "the border between politics and law", where she specialized in international law and human rights. There, she worked on several political cases. These are cases in which, according to Böhler, the case is about more than the hearing of the trial of a crime, where the political aspect, the history and the motivation of the client matter. Böhler defended Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan in 1999, and was described by the Turkish authorities as a PKK militant and expelled from Turkey. She also defended

Volkert van der Graaf Volkert van der Graaf (born 9 July 1969) is a Dutch convicted murderer who assassinated politician Pim Fortuyn, the leader of the Pim Fortuyn List (LPF) party, on 6 May 2002. Van der Graaf shot Fortuyn outside a radio studio in Hilversum short ...

, the murderer of

Pim Fortuyn Wilhelmus Simon Petrus Fortuijn, known as Pim Fortuyn (; 19 February 1948 – 6 May 2002), was a Dutch politician, author, civil servant, businessman, sociologist and academic who founded the party Pim Fortuyn List (Lijst Pim Fortuyn or LPF) in ...

, since 2002 and represented people who did not want Jorge Zorreguieta to attend the marriage of his daughter

Máxima Zorreguieta Máxima may refer to * ''Máxima'' (magazine) * Máxima FM, Spanish radio station * Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, consort to the King of the Netherlands * Máxima (TV series) ''Máxima'' is a Dutch biographical television series developed by ...

and crown prince

Willem-Alexander Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born 27 April 1967) is King of the Netherlands since 30 April 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht during the reign of his maternal grandmother, Queen Juliana, as the eldest ch ...

. In 2005, she defended Samir Azzouz, member of the Hofstadgroep. She also was legal counsel for

Ayaan Hirsi Ali Ayaan Hirsi Ali (; born 13 November 1969) is a Dutch and American writer, activist, conservative thinker and former politician. She is a critic of Islam and an advocate for the rights and self-determination of Muslim women, opposing forced mar ...

during the crisis about her nationality. Böhler has received several awards for her work, including the Dean Award for best lawyer in Amsterdam in 2003 and the Clara Wichmann prize in 2005. In 2003 she appeared on the program " Zomergasten", a 4-hour marathon interview. In addition to her work as a lawyer, Böhler also held several positions in

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

Netherlands, between 2002 and 2003, she was chair. Between 1995 and 2003, she was a member of the board of Lawyers for Lawyers. She is currently a lawyer at .

Member of the Senate

In November 2006, Böhler announced her candidacy for Senate as a member of the

party. In 2006, she had advised the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

on their

election program A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...

. She changed to GreenLeft because "self realization and the individual take a central place in their program and because the party pays close attention to the conservation and defense of the principles of the

Rechtsstaat ''Rechtsstaat'' (; lit. "state of law"; "legal state") is a doctrine in continental European legal thinking, originating in Germany, German jurisprudence. It can be translated into English as "rule of law", alternatively "legal state", state of l ...

". In February 2007 she was placed on second place on the list, behind Tof Thissen. In order to run for office, Böhler had to obtain Dutch citizenship. She was elected to the

in 2007. In the Senate, Böhler managed the portfolios of

finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

and

justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

and

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. She gave her

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

on the law on police records.Handelingen 2006/2007, nr. 35 : blz. 1063–1065 She was a member of the committees on European Cooperation, Finance, Justice, Agriculture, Nature and food quality, Social affairs and employment, Defense, Development cooperation and housing, Spatial planning and the environment / housing and integration, as well as the committee on

Justice and Home Affairs Council The Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) is one of the configurations of the Council of the European Union and is composed of the justice and home affairs ministers of the 27 European Union member states. Composition JHA is composed of the just ...

, which oversees

Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters The area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) of the European Union (EU) is a policy domain concerning home affairs and migration, justice as well as fundamental rights, developed to address the challenges posed to internal security by coll ...

of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

Awards

Publications

* "Gerhart Husserl: Leben und Werk" (1992, thesis) * "De zwerftocht van een leider: Achter de schermen van de zaak Öcalan" (2004) * "Crisis in de rechtspraak. Spraakmakende zaken, verborgen processen" (2004)

Early life, education and academia

Lawyer

Member of the Senate

Awards

Publications

References

External links