Anne Kuik

Anne Kuik (born 22 January 1987) is a Dutch politician of Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). She was a member of the Dutch House of Representatives between 23 March 2017 and 5 December 2023.

Early life and education

Kuik grew up in Nieuw-Amsterdam in the province of Drenthe. From 1999 to 2005, Kuik attended grammar school at the Hondsrug College in Emmen. From 2005 to 2013 she studied Dutch law at the University of Groningen. She graduated in civil law and constitutional and administrative law. During her studies she was a member of student association .

Career

During her student years, she was a member of the CDA faction in the Groningen municipal council from 2007 to 2010. She later joined the municipal council herself and became party leader in 2012. She was the party leader for the 2014 municipal elections. As a councilor, she became known in 2014 for the election of ''Best Councilor in the Netherlands'', where she finished second behind Heerlen councilor Ron Meyer of the Socialist Party (SP). Kuik resigned from the party chairmanship in May 2014 when her boyfriend, , became ''wethouder'' (alderman) for traffic and culture for D66 in Groningen. Between January 2015 and October 2016 she was also a presenter on NPO Radio 1 at the Evangelische Omroep of, among others, .

For the House of Representatives elections in March 2017, Kuik stood for the CDA in 11th place on the list of candidates and obtained 15,906 preferential votes. During that term, Kuik was spokesperson for development cooperation, secondary vocational education (MBO), prevention policy, prostitution policy and human trafficking. On 19 April 2017, Kuik gave her maiden speech during a debate about vaccinations and invasive exotic species, specifically the tiger mosquito.

In 2018, she was the first Dutch parliamentarian to sign the Barcelona Declaration, encouraging the fight against tuberculosis. Because of this signature, she was known as ('' tering'' being a pejorative archaism of tuberculosis). As a spokesperson in the field of prostitution policy, Kuik advocated a ban on paid sex, following the Swedish model, in September 2020. To expose abuses in prostitution, Kuik also launched the podcast ('Woman for sale?'). In the run-up to the parliamentary inquiry into natural gas extraction in Groningen, Kuik was part of the temporary committee that had to prepare this at the end of 2020.

At the House of Representatives elections in March 2021, Kuik was third on the CDA candidate list. She received 32,945 preference votes, above the preference threshold. Her portfolio remained virtually the same, but focused on security and terrorism instead of secondary vocational education. After already having worked on the preparations, Kuik was part of the parliamentary inquiry committee for natural gas extraction in Groningen. Since April 2021, she has also been a member of the Presidium of the House of Representatives. Kuik went on maternity leave on 3 May until 22 August 2022.

Personal life

Kuik married former Groningen councilor Paul de Rook (D66) in July 2018. The civil wedding was performed by then D66 councilor Ton Schroor. The church wedding was performed by then CDA party chairman Ruth Peetoom. On 8 June 2022, De Rook and Kuik became parents of a daughter.

Electoral history

References

External links

Anne Kuik
on the official website of CDA

Anne Kuik
on the official website of the House of Representatives

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuik, Anne
Living people
1987 births
Christian Democratic Appeal politicians
People from Emmen, Netherlands
University of Groningen alumni
21st-century Dutch women politicians
Municipal councillors of Groningen (city)
Dutch MPs 2017–2021
Dutch MPs 2021–2023
Christian Democratic Appeal MPs