Khadija Arib

Khadija Arib
خديجة عريب
Arib in 2021
Speaker of the House of Representatives
In office
13 January 2016 (2016-01-13) – 7 April 2021
Acting: 12 December 2015 – 13 January 2016
Preceded byAnouchka van Miltenburg
Succeeded byVera Bergkamp
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
1 March 2007 (2007-03-01) – 4 November 2022
Succeeded byJulian Bushoff
In office
19 May 1998 – 30 November 2006
Personal details
Born
Khadija Arib

(1960-10-10) 10 October 1960 (age 64)
Hedami, Morocco[1]
Citizenship
  • Netherlands
  • Morocco
Political partyLabour Party
SpouseNordine Dahhan (divorced)
Children3
Alma materUniversity of Amsterdam (M.Sc., Sociology)
Occupation
  • Politician
  • civil servant
  • educator
  • social worker

Khadija Arib (Dutch: [xaːˈdiʑaː ʔaːˈrip]; Arabic: خديجة عريب; born 10 October 1960) is a Moroccan-Dutch politician of the Labour Party, who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands from 12 December 2015 to 7 April 2021. In the 2016 Speaker of the Dutch House of Representatives election on 13 January, she was elected to the position, which she had served as Acting Speaker since the resignation of Anouchka van Miltenburg on 12 December 2015. Arib became a member of the House of Representatives following the 1998 Dutch general election and served until 2022, with a brief interruption between 2006 and 2007.

Early life

Khadija Arib was born on 10 October 1960 in Hedami near Casablanca, Morocco.[1] She came to the Netherlands when she was 15 years old.[citation needed] Her parents worked at a laundry service in Schiedam.[1] Arib studied sociology at the University of Amsterdam.[2] Before her political career, she was a civil servant, educator and social worker.[1]

Politics

Arib is a member of the Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid, PvdA) and a member of Parliament from 19 May 1998 to 29 November 2006 and since 1 March 2007. In the House, she focussed on matters of racism, discrimination, abuse, domestic violence, and youth care. She has been criticised (mainly by members of the Party for Freedom) for her dual citizenship and for her part in an advisory committee to the King of Morocco.[3] In 2012, she made an unsuccessful attempt to become speaker and became first deputy speaker instead. She was elected speaker in an interim election on 13 January 2016, defeating three other candidates.[4] On 29 March 2017 Arib was re-elected as speaker, she was the only candidate for the position.[5]

After the 2021 Dutch general election, Arib lost her position as speaker. She became a member of the opposition and was part of the PvdA group. She was appointed chair of a committee to prepare the parliamentary inquiry into the approach to the corona pandemic. NRC reported in September 2022 that the presidium and clerk of the House of Representatives had voted unanimously to start an investigation into misconduct following two anonymous letters that accused Arib of abuse of power and creating an unsafe work environment.[6] Arib left the parliament on 3 November 2022, and she was succeeded by Julian Bushoff.[7]

After the investigation finished in October 2023, the presidium stated that Arib had created a socially unsafe work environment and a summary was released. The investigation concluded that Arib had systematically interfered in decisions of the civil service organization and that she had raised her voice to at least ten employees. Arib subsequently started a lawsuit to discredit the investigation, arguing that the presidium and the parliamentary clerk were not authorized to order one.[8]

In March 2024, Arib became chair of the Schiphol Social Council (MRS), which had been established the year before to advise Amsterdam Airport Schiphol on its plans on behalf of local residents. Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Mark Harbers appointed her to a four-year term.[9]

Political positions

During her career, Arib has been a champion for women's rights and the empowerment of women with a migrant background in the Netherlands;[10] she was a founding member and president of the Moroccan Women in the Netherlands Foundation. In 1989, she was held prisoner in Morocco with her 3 children, after publicly addressing issues concerning the position of women in Moroccan society. After intervention by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she was allowed to return to the Netherlands.[11]

Electoral history

A (possibly incomplete) overview of Dutch elections Khadija Arib participated in
Election Party Candidate number Votes
1998 Dutch general election Labour Party 12 4.438
2002 Dutch general election Labour Party 18 8.602
2003 Dutch general election Labour Party 12 13.827
2006 Dutch general election Labour Party 34 6.028
2010 Dutch general election Labour Party 30 5.121
2012 Dutch general election Labour Party 30 6.625
2017 Dutch general election Labour Party 2 48.440
2021 Dutch general election Labour Party 2 52.493

Bibliography

  • 1992: Marokkaanse vrouwen in Nederland (Moroccan women in the Netherlands) with Essa Reijmers[1]
  • 2009: Couscous op zondag (Couscous on Sundays)[1]
  • 2011: Allah heeft ons zo gemaakt (Allah made us like this)[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Drs. K. (Khadija) Arib (in Dutch), Parlment & Politiek. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  2. ^ 'Sociologie zit in mijn genen' Archived 16 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine (in Dutch), University of Amsterdam. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  3. ^ Olgun, Ahmet (3 March 2007). "Arib klaagt over dubbele standaard" [Arib complains about double standard]. NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  4. ^ "Khadija Arib elected Speaker of the House". House of Representatives. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  5. ^ "Arib herkozen als voorzitter". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). 30 March 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  6. ^ Aharouay, Lamyae; Logtenberg, Hugo (19 October 2024). "Griffier: oud-Kamervoorzitter Arib vindt dat 'iedereen tegen haar is'" [Clerk: Former Speaker of the House Arib believes that 'everyone is against her'] (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  7. ^ "Julian Bushoff, student en Kamerlid, wil ook 'gewoon 25' kunnen zijn". 24 November 2022. Archived from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Oud-Kamervoorzitter Arib: 'Vreselijk dat carrière eindigt in rechtszaal'" [Former Speaker of the House Arib: 'Terrible that career ends in the courtroom']. NOS (in Dutch). 18 October 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  9. ^ "Oud-Kamervoorzitter Arib wordt voorzitter omwonendenraad Schiphol" [Former Speaker of the House Arib will become chair of Schiphol Social Council]. NOS (in Dutch). 16 February 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  10. ^ Roudaby, Youssef (14 January 2016). "Qui est Khadija Arib, la Marocaine nommée à la tête de la Chambre basse du parlement néerlandais?" [Who is Khadija Arib, Moroccan, appointed head of the lower house of the Dutch Parliament?]. The Huffington Post Marocco (in French). Archived from the original on 21 January 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. ^ Blok, Simon; Houppermans, Olivier; Lange, Yasha (28 April 2010). "De partij, dat zijn zij" [The party, that is them]. De Groene Amsterdammer (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 January 2016.
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Political offices
Preceded by Speaker of the House of Representatives
2016–2021 		Succeeded by