Johannes Leonardus "Hans" Spekman (Dutch pronunciation: [joːˈɦɑnəs leːoːˈnɑrdʏs ɦɑns ˈspɛkmɑn]; born 6 April 1966) is a Dutch politician of the Labour Party. He was a local politician in Utrecht from 1994 to 2006 and a member of the House of Representatives from 2006 to 2012. He was the party chair of the Labour Party between 2012 and 2017.
Hans Spekman | |
|---|---|
 Hans Spekman in 2012 | |
| Chairman of the Labour Party | |
| In office 2 January 2012 – 7 October 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Lilianne Ploumen |
| Succeeded by | Nelleke Vedelaar |
| Member of the House of Representatives | |
| In office 30 November 2006 – 25 January 2012 | |
| Alderman of Utrecht | |
| In office 1 January 2001 – 1 May 2006 | |
| Member of the municipal council of Utrecht | |
| In office 1 April 1994 – 1 January 2001 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Johannes Leonardus Spekman 6 April 1966 Zevenhuizen, Netherlands |
| Political party | Labour Party (1986–present) |
| Residence(s) | Utrecht, Netherlands |
Early life and career edit
Johannes Leonardus Spekman was born on 6 April 1966 in Zevenhuizen in South Holland in the Netherlands.[1]
He worked as a welder, mover, and environmental bookseller.[1]
Politics edit
Spekman has been a member of the Labour Party since 1986.[1]
He was a member of the municipal council of Utrecht from 1 April 1994 to 1 January 2001 and an alderman of Utrecht from 1 January 2001 to 1 May 2006.[1]
Spekman was a member of the House of Representatives from 30 November 2006 to 24 January 2012. He focused on matters of alien and asylum policy, employment and social assistance policy, as well as poverty and benefit fraud control.[1]
Spekman has been chairman of the Labour Party since 2 January 2012, when he succeeded Lilianne Ploumen.[2]
In 2016 he organized a battle for the leadership of the Labour Party between the then–party leader Diederik Samsom and deputy prime minister Lodewijk Asscher. The battle had a disastrous effect on the unity within the party and led to the end of the political career of Samsom. In 2017 Spekman led the campaign of his party in the parliamentary elections for the House of Representatives. On 15 March the Labour Party suffered a historical defeat of 29 seats in the House. The party ended up with nine seats. After the defeat members of the Labour party called for the resignation as party chairman of Hans Spekman.[3][4] On 17 March he announced that he would step down in autumn 2017. A day later, at the PvdA members' council, it was decided with just over 60% of the votes that, in accordance with his own request, Spekman could remain chairman until October 7th.[5] He was succeeded by Nelleke Vedelaar.
Personal life edit
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f "J.L. (Hans) Spekman" (in Dutch), Parlement & Politiek. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ^ "Hans Spekman gekozen als voorzitter PvdA" (in Dutch), NU.nl, 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ^ Korteweg, Ariejan (16 March 2017). "Vertrekkend PvdA-Kamerlid Jan Vos: 'Spekman moet opstappen'". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ^ "PvdA-leden beslissen over toekomst Spekman na nederlaag PvdA - RTL Nieuws". 31 July 2017. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ Hendrickx, Frank (19 March 2017). "Aangeslagen PvdA weet zich even geen raad". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 March 2024.
External links edit
- (in Dutch) Hans Spekman Archived 18 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine at the website of the Labour Party
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