Joël Voordewind
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
30 November 2006 – 31 March 2021
Personal details
Born
Joël Stephanus Voordewind

(1965-07-09) 9 July 1965
Sleen, Netherlands
Political partyChristian Union
RelationsMarried
Residence(s)Amsterdam, Netherlands
Alma materVU University Amsterdam (MA, Political science)
OccupationPolitician, development aid worker
Website(in Dutch) ChristianUnion website
Joël Voordewind in the House of Representatives, next to fellow party member Carola Schouten (2017).

Joël Stephanus Voordewind (born 9 July 1965 in Sleen, Drenthe) is a Dutch politician and former development aid worker. As a member of the Christian Union (ChristenUnie) he was an MP from 2006 until 2021. He focused on matters of foreign policy, defense, development aid, youth and family. Since 7 July 2022, he has been an alderman of Alkmaar.

Biography

Voordewind, after receiving a degree in political sciences (with a specialization in international relations) at VU University Amsterdam, started working as an assistant for the Dutch Labour parliamentary party. He began in 1991 and left the party in 1994. After this he worked for the European Union, the United Nations and an international Christian aid organisation named Dorcas Aid. For some time he was committed as a spokesman to the Dutch Secretary of Defence.

After some time Voordewind came to the conclusion that because of his Christian convictions, it would be better if he switched to a Christian party. He made this decision in 1999 and began to work for the parliamentary group of the Christian Union. In 2001 he became their campaign leader for the Dutch general election in 2002. He also led the campaign towards the general election in 2003. In 2003 he was a member of the States-Provincial of North Holland. Until 2006 he was head of the public relations division of the party. He was chairman of the local Christian Union in the Dutch capital Amsterdam for which in 2002 and 2006 he stood for the local council, but both times the CU gained no seats.

Voordewind was elected into the Dutch Parliament in 2006. He was the fourth name on the candidate list of the Christian Union, which doubled its number of seats from three to six. For this party he was the spokesman for all issues concerning the health system, welfare and sports, defence and European Affairs.

He is married and the father of two children. He lives in Amsterdam and is a member of a Dutch Vineyard-church.

Electoral history

Ooverview of Dutch elections Voordewind participated in
Election Party Candidate number Votes
2002 Dutch municipal elections in Amsterdam Christian Union 1 2.309
2002 Dutch general election Christian Union 20
2003 Dutch general election Christian Union 16 491
2006 Dutch municipal elections in Amsterdam Christian Union 1 2.065
2006 Dutch general election Christian Union 4 1.849
2010 Dutch municipal elections in Amsterdam Christian Union 30 136
2010 Dutch general election Christian Union 3.813
2012 Dutch general election Christian Union 13.877
2014 Dutch municipal elections in Amsterdam Christian Union 4 403
2015 Dutch provincial elections in North Holland Christian Union 27
2017 Dutch general election Christian Union 3 6.166
2018 Dutch municipal elections in Amsterdam Christian Union 49 20
2022 Dutch municipal elections in Amsterdam Christian Union 42 60

References

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