Isa Kahraman (born 1 April 1974) is a Turkish-born Dutch politician of

New Social Contract New Social Contract ( ; NSC) is a centre to centre-right political party in the Netherlands founded by Pieter Omtzigt. History In early 2021, Omtzigt wrote the manifesto '' A New Social Contract'', with ideas for the Christian Democratic App ...

(NSC) who was elected to 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 ...

in the 2023 general election. His portfolio included veterans, foreign religious minorities, defence, and

development cooperation Development aid (or development cooperation) is a type of aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political development of developing countries. It is distinguished from humanitarian aid by ...

before the latter two were replaced by foreign policy and international culture policy following the swearing in of the

Schoof cabinet The Schoof cabinet is the current demissionary cabinet of the Netherlands, sworn in on 2 July 2024. Led by independent politician and civil servant Dick Schoof as prime minister of the Netherlands, the cabinet was formed after the 2023 Dutch gen ...

. He lives in

Rijssen Rijssen (; Sallands: ) is a city in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is part of Rijssen-Holten, one of thirteen municipalities in Twente. It has almost 28,000 inhabitants. The economy of Rijssen relies mostly on commerce and construction ...

Overijssel Overijssel (; ; ; ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name comes from the perspective of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, Episcopal principality of Utrecht ...

. From

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, he served three terms as a municipal councillor of

Rijssen-Holten Rijssen-Holten (; Sallaans dialect, Sallaans: ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality (Dutch: ''List of municipalities of the Netherlands, gemeente'') in the eastern Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel. The municipality was ...

on behalf of the

Christian Democratic Appeal The Christian Democratic Appeal ( , CDA) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in the Netherlands. Formed as a federation in 1975 by the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolutionary Party, and the Christian Historical ...

(CDA). From 2009 onwards, he led the CDA in the municipal council. Kahraman filed a

parliamentary motion In parliamentary procedure, a motion is a formal proposal by a member of a deliberative assembly that the assembly take a particular action. These may include legislative motions, budgetary motions, supplementary budgetary motions, and petitionary ...

in March 2024 to postpone talks with

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

about a potential accession to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

(EU). The motion was defeated by a narrow margin, while Prime Minister

Mark Rutte Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as the 14th Secretary General of NATO, secretary general of NATO since October 2024. He previously served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands, prime minister of the Neth ...

had indicated in advance that he would not

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

the talks to avoid alienating the Netherlands within the EU.

Early life

Kahraman was born on 1 April 1974 to ethnic Assyrian parents originally from

Midyat Midyat (, , , ) is a municipality and district of Mardin Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,241 km2, and its population is 120,069 (2022). In the modern era, the town is populated by Kurds, Mhallami Arabs and Assyrians. The old Estel neighborho ...

in southeastern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, and arrived in the Netherlands as a young child. He graduated from the

Saxion University of Applied Sciences Saxion University of Applied Sciences () is a Dutch university of applied sciences with three campuses in the eastern Netherlands. It provides more than 100 courses in study fields as archaeology, finance, law, engineering, hospitality, business, ...

in 1998 with a degree in commercial economics and worked as a managing director at an international consulting firm. He also attended the

Nyenrode Business University Nyenrode Business Universiteit (abbreviated as ''NBU''; ) is a Dutch business university and the only private higher education institution that has the university status in the Netherlands. Founded in 1946, it is located on a large estate in the ...

from 2005 to 2008 and graduated with an MS in Management.

Political career

Minority rights advocacy

Kahraman has previously been an advocate for

Assyrians Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from ot ...

and has publicly spoken out against their persecution. In late 2024, Kahraman met with a delegation from the

Bethnahrin National Council The Bethnahrin National Council or Mesopotamia National Council (, MUB), formerly the Bethnahrin Freedom Party (, GHB) and the Patriotic Revolutionary Organization of Bethnahrin (, PROB) is a militant socialist Assyrian-Syriac party in the Dawron ...

and discussed regional developments. In the wake of the

2025 massacres of Syrian Alawites A series of mass killings and massacres against Alawites occurred in Syria from 6 March 2025 to 17 March 2025, with a resurgence in early April. They were part of communal and sectarian violence by fighters aligned with the Syrian caretake ...

, Kahraman submitted a motion to the Dutch

alongside Don Ceder of the Christian Union urging for the government to create feasible solutions to protect minority rights of

Alawites Alawites () are an Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism, a sect of Islam that splintered from early Shia as a ''ghulat'' branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate Ali ...

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

, and

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

House Committee Assignments

* Committee for European Affairs * Committee for Foreign Trade and Development * Committee for Foreign Affairs * Contact group United States * Committee for Defence (chair) * Committee for Asylum and Migration * Delegation to the

NATO Parliamentary Assembly The NATO Parliamentary Assembly serves as the consultative interparliamentary organisation for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It consists of delegates from the parliaments of the 32 NATO member countries as well as from associate ...

Early life

Political career

Minority rights advocacy

House Committee Assignments

Electoral history

References

See also