Femke Halsema
Encyclopedia
is a former Dutch
politician
. She was a member of the House of Representatives from 1998 till 2011. She was also the leader of the GreenLeft
parliamentary party in the House of Representatives from 2002 till 2010.
, North Holland
into a social-democratic family. Her mother - O.B.M. Fles - was a long-time alderwoman for the social-democratic PvdA party in Enschede
. Halsema thinks that she has probably a Jewish
background on her mother's side.
In 1984 Halsema graduated from high school with a HAVO diploma. After that she took courses at the Vrije Hogeschool (teachers program for Waldorf schools) in Driebergen.
In 1985 she started training as a teacher, specializing in History and Dutch in Utrecht
. She quit the teacher training programme in 1988 without taking her degree, and commenced on a degree course in social sciences at the University of Utrecht.
In 1992 she became a "supernumerary lecturer in scientific methods and techniques" at the faculty for social sciences. She took her degree in 1993, having specialized in criminology
.
After 1993 Halsema's career began to develop. She was seen as a young political talent within the PvdA. She began to work for the Wiardi Beckman Stichting (WBS)
, the scientific institute linked to the PvdA.
In 1995 she wrote the book "Ontspoord. Opstellen over criminaliteit & rechtshandhaving" ("Derailed, Essays about criminality and the law") which was published by the WBS.
In 1996 she became a fellow of the German Marshall Fund
, which involved a two month trip to the United States
. Since 1996 she was an editor of De Helling, a political magazine, linked to GroenLinks; in the same year she started combining her work at the WBS with a position at De Balie
, a well-known Dutch political-cultural centre.
As such she led the project Res Publica in 1997 which involved coordinating a conference about the role of the constitution
in modern society.
In 1997 she also joined the committee which wrote the PvdA programme for the 1998 elections. She also wrote "Land in zicht. een cultuurpolitieke benadering van de Ruimtelijke Ordening" ("Land in sight, a culture-political approach to spatial planning") together with Maarten Hajer
, which was published by the WBS.
Even though she had been asked to stand as a candidate for the PvdA in the 1998 elections she resigned from the PvdA in the autumn of 1997. The direct cause of her break with the party was the perceived police repression during protests during the 1997 European summit
in Amsterdam
. At the same time, she had had misgivings about the course of the PvdA for a longer period of time. She considered the PvdA to have been unable to renew its social-democratic program and use the rising economic tide to invest in the public sector.
After her break with the PvdA she had several smaller jobs: she wrote an editorial column in the newspaper Het Parool
and in the IKON
radio show De Andere Wereld ("The Other World"). She was also an editor of the series "Knowledge, Politics and Public Opinion" for the publisher Van Gennip.
In the elections
, GroenLinks more than doubled its number of seats to eleven. During her first term in parliament, Halsema was spokesperson on justice.
She received some attention when she criticized the new migration law proposed by Job Cohen
.
In the 2002 elections
, Halsema remained third on the party list, with the party losing one seat. During her second term in parliament, Halsema became vice-chairman of the GreenLeft parliamentary party.
In July 2002 she became the party's spokesperson for the important first debate with the new Balkenende Cabinet. In November Paul Rosenmöller
unexpectedly left politics. Halsema became the new political leader of GreenLeft. As party leader, Halsema took on a more prominent role in parliament. She has promoted several legislative initiatives: one making judicial review
of laws possible, and the second, together with D66 leader Boris Dittrich was to fix the price of books.
Halsema led the party in the 2003 elections
, in which the party lost two seats. She remained the parliamentary party's chair and was also spokesperson for culture and media.
Between October 2003 and January 2004, Halsema left the House of Representatives to give birth to twins
. She was replaced temporarily by Marijke Vos
.
After her return to parliament Halsema started an ideological discussion within the party. She claimed that GreenLeft
was "the last left liberal party in the Netherlands" breaking with the socialist
roots of the party.
She also started to call for closer cooperation between the three left-wing parties in parliament, the SP
, the PvdA and GreenLeft
.
She asked PvdA-leader Wouter Bos
to speak out in favour of a left-wing government after the elections in 2006. He refused to do so, not wanting to alienate the Christian-democrat CDA.
On 6 January 2006, she was surprisingly proclaimed "Liberal of the year" by JOVD, the youth organization of the conservative liberal VVD party, because of her new liberal course, and specifically her new view on the welfare state.
On 3 July 2006 the nomination for the party leadership closed with Halsema as the only candidate, reaffirming her leading position in the 2006 Dutch general election
. She chairs the GreenLeft parliamentary party during the current term of the House of Representatives.
On 17 December 2010 she announced by Twitter her immediate departure from politics. She left the House on January 11, 2011.
With the concept freedom Halsema seeks to connect herself with the "freedom-loving traditions of the left". Like Isaiah Berlin
, Halsema discerns two traditions of freedom: negative
and positive liberty
. For Halsema negative liberty is the freedom of citizens from government interference. She wants to apply this concept especially to the multicultural society
and rule of law
, where she seeks to reduce the influence of government. Positive liberty is, according to Halsema, the emancipation of citizens from poverty. Halsema wants to apply this concept especially to the economy, the welfare state
and the environment
, where the government should take more action.
With pragmatism
Halsema contrasts her politics with those of the new populist political right, such as Pim Fortuyn
. While the right, in Halsema's eyes, has become dogmatic and tries to reform society on the basis of new principles, Halsema claims that the left has got more feeling for the "narrow margins of politics." According to Halsema the left now emphasizes equitable outcomes, as opposed to merely fair-minded principles.
This new course has been integrated into several practical proposals on the economy, which together form "Vrijheid Eerlijk Delen" ("Sharing Liberty Fairly"). These proposals have led to considerable debate. Halsema proposes that the main goal of the welfare state should be the emancipation of citizens from poverty. To ensure this she proposes a new model for the welfare state, which is modeled on the Danish welfare state. In her perception of the welfare state the government should endeavour to ensure full employment
by cutting taxes on labour, increasing labour flexibility and creating more government jobs. If there is more work, so this theory goes, everybody can get a job, after a maximum of one year of unemployment. She also called for the implementation of a partial basic income
.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. She was a member of the House of Representatives from 1998 till 2011. She was also the leader of the GreenLeft
GreenLeft
GreenLeft is a green political party operating in the Netherlands.GreenLeft was formed on 1 March 1989 as a merger of four left-wing political parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and the Evangelical People's Party...
parliamentary party in the House of Representatives from 2002 till 2010.
Pre-political career
Halsema was born in HaarlemHaarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...
, North Holland
North Holland
North Holland |West Frisian]]: Noard-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the northwest part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam.-Geography:...
into a social-democratic family. Her mother - O.B.M. Fles - was a long-time alderwoman for the social-democratic PvdA party in Enschede
Enschede
Enschede , also known as Eanske in the local dialect of Twents, is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region...
. Halsema thinks that she has probably a Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
background on her mother's side.
In 1984 Halsema graduated from high school with a HAVO diploma. After that she took courses at the Vrije Hogeschool (teachers program for Waldorf schools) in Driebergen.
In 1985 she started training as a teacher, specializing in History and Dutch in Utrecht
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
. She quit the teacher training programme in 1988 without taking her degree, and commenced on a degree course in social sciences at the University of Utrecht.
In 1992 she became a "supernumerary lecturer in scientific methods and techniques" at the faculty for social sciences. She took her degree in 1993, having specialized in criminology
Criminology
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...
.
After 1993 Halsema's career began to develop. She was seen as a young political talent within the PvdA. She began to work for the Wiardi Beckman Stichting (WBS)
Wiardi Beckman Stichting
The Wiardi Beckman Stichting is a Dutch think tank linked to the left-of-center Labour Party .The foundation is named after Herman Bernard Wiardi Beckman, a member of the Dutch Senate, who during the Second World War was summoned by Queen Wilhelmina to become a member of the war cabinet, but who...
, the scientific institute linked to the PvdA.
In 1995 she wrote the book "Ontspoord. Opstellen over criminaliteit & rechtshandhaving" ("Derailed, Essays about criminality and the law") which was published by the WBS.
In 1996 she became a fellow of the German Marshall Fund
German Marshall Fund
The German Marshall Fund of the United States is a nonpartisan American public policy and grantmaking institution dedicated to promoting greater cooperation and understanding between North America and Europe....
, which involved a two month trip to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Since 1996 she was an editor of De Helling, a political magazine, linked to GroenLinks; in the same year she started combining her work at the WBS with a position at De Balie
De Balie
De Balie is a well-known and internationally respected theatre and a centre for politics, culture and media. With a café-restaurant at Kleine-Gartmanplantsoen 10, at Leidseplein in Amsterdam, The Netherlands....
, a well-known Dutch political-cultural centre.
As such she led the project Res Publica in 1997 which involved coordinating a conference about the role of the constitution
Constitution of the Netherlands
The Constitution of the Netherlands is the fundamental law of the European territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The present constitution is generally seen as directly derived from the one issued in 1815, constituting a constitutional monarchy. A revision in 1848 instituted a system of...
in modern society.
In 1997 she also joined the committee which wrote the PvdA programme for the 1998 elections. She also wrote "Land in zicht. een cultuurpolitieke benadering van de Ruimtelijke Ordening" ("Land in sight, a culture-political approach to spatial planning") together with Maarten Hajer
Maarten Hajer
Maarten A. Hajer is a Dutch political scientist and urban and regional planner. Since 1998, he has been a professor of Public Policy at the University of Amsterdam. Since 1 October 2008, he has been Director of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency .Hajer is the author of many scientific...
, which was published by the WBS.
Even though she had been asked to stand as a candidate for the PvdA in the 1998 elections she resigned from the PvdA in the autumn of 1997. The direct cause of her break with the party was the perceived police repression during protests during the 1997 European summit
Amsterdam Treaty
The Amsterdam Treaty, officially the Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty of the European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, was signed on 2 October 1997, and entered into force on 1 May 1999; it made substantial changes to the Maastricht Treaty,...
in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. At the same time, she had had misgivings about the course of the PvdA for a longer period of time. She considered the PvdA to have been unable to renew its social-democratic program and use the rising economic tide to invest in the public sector.
After her break with the PvdA she had several smaller jobs: she wrote an editorial column in the newspaper Het Parool
Het Parool
Het Parool is an Amsterdam-based daily newspaper. It was founded as a resistance paper during World War II by Frans Van Heuven Goedhart and Jaap Nunes Vaz...
and in the IKON
IKON
IKON is a Russian, Moscow-based company providing a wide range of services in the field of music marketing including different business areas such as talent management; booking; tour logistics; organization of concerts; sound recording; rights...
radio show De Andere Wereld ("The Other World"). She was also an editor of the series "Knowledge, Politics and Public Opinion" for the publisher Van Gennip.
Political career
In 1998 she became a GroenLinks candidate for the House of Representatives. As number three on the list she was the highest new candidate and practically guaranteed a seat in the House.In the elections
Dutch general election, 1998
The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on 6 May 1998.-Result:...
, GroenLinks more than doubled its number of seats to eleven. During her first term in parliament, Halsema was spokesperson on justice.
She received some attention when she criticized the new migration law proposed by Job Cohen
Job Cohen
Marius Job Cohen is a Dutch social democratic politician and former legal scholar of Jewish background. Since 2010 he has been the leader of the Labour Party and since June 17, 2010 he has been a member of the House of Representatives, where he also is the Parliamentary group leader of the Labour...
.
In the 2002 elections
Dutch general election, 2002
The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on May 15, 2002....
, Halsema remained third on the party list, with the party losing one seat. During her second term in parliament, Halsema became vice-chairman of the GreenLeft parliamentary party.
In July 2002 she became the party's spokesperson for the important first debate with the new Balkenende Cabinet. In November Paul Rosenmöller
Paul Rosenmöller
Paul Rosenmöller is a Dutch television presenter and former politician and trade unionist. Between 1989 and 2003, he was member of the Dutch House of Representatives for GroenLinks .-Biography:...
unexpectedly left politics. Halsema became the new political leader of GreenLeft. As party leader, Halsema took on a more prominent role in parliament. She has promoted several legislative initiatives: one making judicial review
Judicial review
Judicial review is the doctrine under which legislative and executive actions are subject to review by the judiciary. Specific courts with judicial review power must annul the acts of the state when it finds them incompatible with a higher authority...
of laws possible, and the second, together with D66 leader Boris Dittrich was to fix the price of books.
Halsema led the party in the 2003 elections
Dutch general election, 2003
The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on January 22, 2003.-Background:...
, in which the party lost two seats. She remained the parliamentary party's chair and was also spokesperson for culture and media.
Between October 2003 and January 2004, Halsema left the House of Representatives to give birth to twins
TWINS
Two Wide-Angle Imaging Neutral-Atom Spectrometers are a pair of NASA instruments aboard two United States National Reconnaissance Office satellites in Molniya orbits. TWINS was designed to provide stereo images of the Earth's ring current. The first instrument, TWINS-1, was launched aboard USA-184...
. She was replaced temporarily by Marijke Vos
Marijke Vos
Maria Bernadina Vos is a Dutch politician.-Pre-political career:Vos's father was a judge in 's-Hertogenbosch. Her grandfather, A.H.J. Engels was member of parliament for the Roman-Catholic RKSP....
.
After her return to parliament Halsema started an ideological discussion within the party. She claimed that GreenLeft
GreenLeft
GreenLeft is a green political party operating in the Netherlands.GreenLeft was formed on 1 March 1989 as a merger of four left-wing political parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and the Evangelical People's Party...
was "the last left liberal party in the Netherlands" breaking with the socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
roots of the party.
She also started to call for closer cooperation between the three left-wing parties in parliament, the SP
Socialist Party (Netherlands)
The Socialist Party is a democratic socialist political party in the Netherlands. After the 2006 general election, the Socialist Party became one of the major parties of the Netherlands with 25 seats of 150, an increase of 16 seats. The party was in opposition against the fourth Balkenende cabinet...
, the PvdA and GreenLeft
GreenLeft
GreenLeft is a green political party operating in the Netherlands.GreenLeft was formed on 1 March 1989 as a merger of four left-wing political parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and the Evangelical People's Party...
.
She asked PvdA-leader Wouter Bos
Wouter Bos
Wouter Jacob Bos is a Dutch management consultant and former politician of the Labour Party . He was Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister in the Cabinet Balkenende IV from February 22, 2007 till February 23, 2010...
to speak out in favour of a left-wing government after the elections in 2006. He refused to do so, not wanting to alienate the Christian-democrat CDA.
On 6 January 2006, she was surprisingly proclaimed "Liberal of the year" by JOVD, the youth organization of the conservative liberal VVD party, because of her new liberal course, and specifically her new view on the welfare state.
On 3 July 2006 the nomination for the party leadership closed with Halsema as the only candidate, reaffirming her leading position in the 2006 Dutch general election
Dutch general election, 2006
The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on November 22, 2006. And followed the call for new elections after the fall of the Second Balkenende cabinet....
. She chairs the GreenLeft parliamentary party during the current term of the House of Representatives.
On 17 December 2010 she announced by Twitter her immediate departure from politics. She left the House on January 11, 2011.
Political views
Halsema sees herself as a left-liberal, in Dutch she prefers "vrijzinnig" (free-thinking) over "liberaal" (liberal) because the conservative liberal VVD is seen as the pre-eminent 'liberal' party. In 2004 she started a debate within her party about a new political course. Her new course emphasizes two concepts: freedom and pragmatism.With the concept freedom Halsema seeks to connect herself with the "freedom-loving traditions of the left". Like Isaiah Berlin
Isaiah Berlin
Sir Isaiah Berlin OM, FBA was a British social and political theorist, philosopher and historian of ideas of Russian-Jewish origin, regarded as one of the leading thinkers of the twentieth century and a dominant liberal scholar of his generation...
, Halsema discerns two traditions of freedom: negative
Negative liberty
Negative liberty is defined as freedom from interference by other people, and is set in contrast to positive liberty, which is defined as an individual's freedom from inhibitions of the social structure within the society such as classism, sexism or racism and is primarily concerned with the...
and positive liberty
Positive liberty
Positive liberty is defined as having the power and resources to fulfill one's own potential ; as opposed to negative liberty, which is freedom from external restraint...
. For Halsema negative liberty is the freedom of citizens from government interference. She wants to apply this concept especially to the multicultural society
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
and rule of law
Rule of law
The rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
, where she seeks to reduce the influence of government. Positive liberty is, according to Halsema, the emancipation of citizens from poverty. Halsema wants to apply this concept especially to the economy, the welfare state
Welfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
and the environment
Social environment
The social environment of an individual, also called social context or milieu, is the culture that s/he was educated or lives in, and the people and institutions with whom the person interacts....
, where the government should take more action.
With pragmatism
Pragmatism
Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition centered on the linking of practice and theory. It describes a process where theory is extracted from practice, and applied back to practice to form what is called intelligent practice...
Halsema contrasts her politics with those of the new populist political right, such as Pim Fortuyn
Pim Fortuyn
Wilhelmus Simon Petrus Fortuijn, known as Pim Fortuyn was a Dutch politician, civil servant, sociologist, author and professor who formed his own party, Pim Fortuyn List ....
. While the right, in Halsema's eyes, has become dogmatic and tries to reform society on the basis of new principles, Halsema claims that the left has got more feeling for the "narrow margins of politics." According to Halsema the left now emphasizes equitable outcomes, as opposed to merely fair-minded principles.
This new course has been integrated into several practical proposals on the economy, which together form "Vrijheid Eerlijk Delen" ("Sharing Liberty Fairly"). These proposals have led to considerable debate. Halsema proposes that the main goal of the welfare state should be the emancipation of citizens from poverty. To ensure this she proposes a new model for the welfare state, which is modeled on the Danish welfare state. In her perception of the welfare state the government should endeavour to ensure full employment
Full employment
In macroeconomics, full employment is a condition of the national economy, where all or nearly all persons willing and able to work at the prevailing wages and working conditions are able to do so....
by cutting taxes on labour, increasing labour flexibility and creating more government jobs. If there is more work, so this theory goes, everybody can get a job, after a maximum of one year of unemployment. She also called for the implementation of a partial basic income
Basic income in the Netherlands
The issue of the basic income gained prominence on the political agenda in Netherlands between the mid-1970s and mid-1990s but it has disappeared from the political agenda over the last fifteen years.-Political background:...
.
Personal life
Femke Halsema lives in Amsterdam with her two children, the twins Suzy and Bruno, and her partner, the documentary filmmaker Robert Oey.External links
- Femke Halsema's biography on Parlement.com (in Dutch)
- Linkse Lente, weblog of Femke Halsema and others (in Dutch)
- Ask Femke, Femke Halsema answers all your questions (in Dutch)
- De Heiling