Annabel Nanninga
Annabel Nanninga (born 6 November 1977 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch politician and journalist who was the co-founder of the JA21 party. She currently leads the party in the Senate and is a representative of the Provincial Council of North Holland. She has been a member of Amsterdam city council since 2018.[1]
Annabel Nanninga | |
|---|---|
| Leader of the JA21 in the Senate of the Netherlands | |
| Assumed office 18 December 2020 | |
| Member of the Senate | |
| Assumed office 26 October 2020 | |
| Member of the States of North Holland | |
| Assumed office 20 March 2019 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Annabel Nanninga 6 November 1977 Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Political party | JA21 |
| Other political affiliations | Forum for Democracy (2017 to 2020) |
Early life and career
Nanninga was born in Amsterdam where she attended Barlaeus Gymnasium (high school). She stated in an interview with RTL Nederland that she often played truant, describing her school as "elitist," and self-educated herself by going to the library while skipping classes. Nanninga subsequently dropped out of school as a teenager and held various jobs including in an ice cream parlor, as a caterer and in a fashion store.[2]
In 2012, she took an interest in blogging and journalism and began submitting op-eds to GeenStijl, PowNed, and Veronica Magazine among others.[3] In 2014, she co-founded the Dutch online news platform Jalta.nl with Joshua Livestro and was the site's managing editor until 2015. The website hired notable figures such as Frits Bolkestein, Thierry Baudet and Hafid Bouazza to write columns. She was also a columnist for DeJaap magazine.[4]
Political career
In the 2018 Dutch municipal elections, she was the party leader for Forum for Democracy (FVD) in Amsterdam.[5][6] FvD received three seats in the municipal council. Nanninga was sworn in as a councilor on March 29, 2018. In March 2019 she also became a member of the Provincial Council of North Holland. Incidentally, she was also elected in the Provincial Council of Utrecht in the same elections.[7] In October 2020 Nanninga went on maternity leave and was temporarily replaced by Hugo Berkhout and later by Robert Baljeu in the Senate.[8]
In November 2020, she left the FvD following a series of controversies within the party and founded the JA21 with former FvD candidate Joost Eerdmans. On February 15, 2021, she returned to the Senate from her leave and joined the Van Pareren faction, which was renamed the Nanninga faction and has 7 seats. The faction subsequently became part of JA21.
Controversies
Nanninga posted a series of tweets on her Twitter page in 2006 which were deemed antisemitic. These tweets were retroactively deleted during 2020–21, however multiple internet archives contain screenshots of the tweets in which she made antisemitic remarks and jokes about the Holocaust. In subsequent interviews, Nanninga remarked that the tweets were intended to be satirical in nature. Nanniga also encountered some controversy over articles she had published in which she criticised the influx of migrants during the European refugee crisis and made jokes regarding migrants and asylum seekers arriving by boat. Nanninga later claimed she was attempting to emulate the writing style of Gerard Reve.[9]
Electoral history
| Election | Party | Candidate number | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Dutch municipal elections in Amsterdam | Forum for Democracy | 1 | 14,753 |
| 2019 Dutch provincial elections in North Holland | Forum for Democracy | 15 | 7,509 |
| 2019 Dutch provincial elections in Utrecht | Forum for Democracy | 14 | |
| 2019 Dutch Senate election | Forum for Democracy | 3 | |
| 2021 Dutch general election | JA21 | 30 | 11,396 |
| 2022 Dutch municipal special elections in Amsterdam | JA21 | 1 | 11,821 |
Personal life
Nanninga has three children: her first daughter was born when she was 19 years old; her second daughter followed three years later. In 2020 she had a son.[10]
References
- ^ "Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal - Nanninga terug in Eerste Kamer in Fractie-Nanninga". www.eerstekamer.nl. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
- ^ Van ijsjes verkopen naar politiek: de carrière van FvD-kopstuk Annabel Nanninga, RTL Z, 29 maart 2019. op 15 mei 2019.
- ^ Vivienne Groenewoud (2016-08-16). "In de nieuwste VROUW glossy - Annabel Nanninga (38): Ik word regelmatig bedreigd". Vrouw.nl. Vrouw (De Telegraaf). from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
- ^ "Annabel Nanninga stapt over van Jalta.nl naar TPO.nl". ThePostOnline. 14 December 2015. from the original on 1 June 2019.
- ^ Elif Isitman (2017-10-22). "Columnist Annabel Nanninga wordt FvD-lijsttrekker in Amsterdam - Elsevierweekblad.nl". Elsevierweekblad.nl. from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
- ^ "Columniste Nanninga lijsttrekker Forum voor Democratie in Amsterdam". NOS. from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
- ^
- ^ Berkhout (FVD) en Keunen (VVD) beëdigd als lid van de Eerste Kamer, eerstekamer.nl, 26 oktober 2020. op 3 maart 2021.
- ^ Het is weer lente! De Grote Oversteek begint, Geenstijl, 9 april 2014. op 11 augustus 2021.
- ^ Van ijsjes verkopen naar politiek: de carrière van FvD-kopstuk Annabel Nanninga, RTL Z, 29 maart 2019. op 15 mei 2019.