One in ten MPs is UG alumnus
‘Isn’t that the best trivia?’ says Remco Kouwenhoven, head of alumni relations at the UG. ‘There are twelve universities and not nearly every MP has a university degree, which means 10 percent is higher than the average. We’re really happy about it.’
The 150 new members of the Lower House aren’t an exception: the UG has always had a lot of MPs and staff among its alumni, says Kouwenhoven. ‘We’re nicely represented, which means we’ve made a sizeable contribution to governing the nation.’
Ten women
Remarkably, of the fifteen alumni currently in the House, ten are women. ‘That’s a great ratio.’ The most well-known MP among them is number 2 on the list at SP, Renske Leijten, who worked with CDA’s Pieter Omtzigt on the child allowance scandal.
The alumni in the House come from various faculties and are evenly distributed across political parties. ‘From business administration to archaeology, and from the PVV to the Animal Rights Party.’ However, there’s no one from the really scientific departments, while law and international relations are very well-represented, with three alumni each.
‘The fifteen MPs were almost sixteen, by the way’, says Kouwenhoven. Harry van der Molen, CDA MP, studied communication and information sciences at the UG from 2004 to 2006, but did not graduate.
UG alumni in the Lower House
- Sandra Beckerman, SP, archaeology 2007, PhD 2015
- Sietze Fritsma, PVV, social geography 1998
- Folkert Idsinga, VVD, fiscal economy 1996
- Roelien Kamminga, VVD, international relations 2004
- Hūlya Kat, D66, Dutch law 2009
- Anne Kuik, CDA, Dutch law recht 2013
- Renske Leijten, SP, BA in Dutch 2004
- Agnes Mulder, CDA, international relations 1998
- Henk Nijboer, PvdA, economy 2007
- Hilde Palland-Mulder, CDA, Dutch law 2002
- Kati Piri, PvdA, international relations 2007
- Lammert van Raan, PvdD, business administration 1987
- Aukje de Vries, VVD, social geography 1989
- Hanneke van der Werf, D66, journalism 2008
- Dennis Wiersma, VVD, BA in sociology 2009