Attje Harma Kuiken (; born 27 October 1977) is a Dutch politician and former civil servant serving as the leader of the Labour Party in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

since 22 April 2022. She has been a parliamentarian since 30 November 2006 with a brief interruption in 2010. She served two terms as parliamentary leader of the Labour Party, and was leader of the Labour Party between June and August of 2023.

Early life and education

Attje Harma Kuiken was born on 27 October 1977 in

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

.Drs. A.H. (Attje) Kuiken
(in Dutch), ''Parlement & Politiek''. Retrieved 2 February 2017. She grew up in

Hoogezand-Sappemeer Hoogezand-Sappemeer () is a former municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It was the third most-populous municipality in the province of Groningen, after Groningen and Oldambt. It was formed in 1949 by the merger of the former municipaliti ...

and from the age of ten in Ferwert. She did the vwo program at the Dockinga College, a high school in

Dokkum Dokkum is a Dutch fortified city in the municipality of Noardeast-Fryslân in the province of Friesland. It has 12,669 inhabitants (February 8, 2020). The fortifications of Dokkum are well preserved and are known as the ''bolwerken'' (bulwarks) ...

, from 1990 to 1996.Biografie, onderwijs en loopbaan van Attje Kuiken
(in Dutch),

. Retrieved 3 February 2017. Kuiken studied

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

at the NHL University of Applied Sciences in

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...

from 1996 to 1999 and organization science at the

Tilburg University Tilburg University is a Catholic research university specializing in the social and behavioral sciences, economics, law, business sciences, theology and humanities, located in Tilburg, Netherlands. Tilburg has a student population of about 19,1 ...

from 2000 to 2006. During her second studies, she lived in

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

Politics

Kuiken has been a member of the Labour Party since 2002. She founded a local chapter of the Young Socialists, the youth organisation of the Labour Party, in Breda. She was a member of the

from 30 November 2006 until 19 January 2010. She then went on

maternity leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and "paternity leave ...

and was temporarily replaced by Saskia Laaper. Kuiken has been a member of the House of Representatives again since 11 May 2010. After fellow Labour member Martijn van Dam was appointed State Secretary for Economic Affairs in November 2015, Kuiken was elected vice parliamentary group leader. After the resignation of

Diederik Samsom Diederik Maarten Samsom (; born 10 July 1971) is a Dutch environmentalist and retired politician who was the leader of the Leader of the Labour Party (Netherlands), Labour Party (''Partij van de Arbeid'', PvdA) from 2012 to 2016. He was the firs ...

parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislature, legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. ...

on 12 December 2016, Kuiken succeeded him. After the resignation of Lilianne Ploumen, she again was elected parliamentary leader on 22 April 2022. On 11 June 2023 she was elected as leader of the Labour Party by the national Labour congress. As leader, she led the party to second place in the 2023 provincial elections, in the party's first joined campaign with

GroenLinks (, ; GL) is a Green politics, green List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 March 1989 from the merger of four Left-wing politics, left-wing parties: the Communist Party of the Neth ...

. While the combined parties did not manage to beat the surging

Farmer–Citizen Movement The Farmer–Citizen Movement ( ; BBB) is an agrarian and right-wing populist political party in the Netherlands. It is headquartered in Deventer, Overijssel. The current party leader is founder Caroline van der Plas, who has led it since its ...

to first place, the dominant VVD was successfully resigned to a distant third place. The perceived success of the joint campaign laid the groundwork for Labour and GroenLinks run a formal single list in the snap general elections later that year. She did not stand for the elections of 2023, retiring from politics.

Personal life

Kuiken lives in

and she has a daughter.

References

External links

*
Attje Kuiken
at the House of Representatives website *
Attje Kuiken
at the Labour Party website {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuiken, Attje 1977 births Living people 21st-century Dutch civil servants 21st-century Dutch women politicians Labour Party (Netherlands) politicians Politicians from Groningen (city) Tilburg University alumni 20th-century Dutch women Dutch MPs 2006–2010 Dutch MPs 2010–2012 Dutch MPs 2012–2017 Dutch MPs 2017–2021 Dutch MPs 2021–2023