| Senna Maatoug | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the House of Representatives | |
| In office 31 March 2021 – 17 December 2024 | |
| Succeeded by | Marleen Haage |
| Alderwoman in Utrecht | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 13 December 2024 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1989-08-19) 19 August 1989 (age 35) Leiden, Netherlands |
| Political party | GroenLinks |
| Alma mater | Leiden University, Utrecht University |
| Website | sennamaatoug |
Senna Maatoug (born 19 August 1989) is a Dutch civil servant and politician of the green political party GroenLinks. As of December 2024, she is alderwoman in Utrecht. Before, she was a member of the House of Representatives from 2021 until 2024.
Education and government career
She studied political science at Leiden University and economics at Utrecht University until 2013, when she obtained a master's and research master's degree. During her study, she also worked at the newspaper Leidsch Dagblad and reached the final of the 2013 World Universities Debating Championship in the category English as a Second Language.
Before becoming a member of parliament, Maatoug worked at the Social and Economic Council, at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, and as an economist at the Ministry of Finance. Besides her job, she taught economics at Leiden University. Maautoug also served on the board of the Druckerfonds, a foundation that financially supports social and cultural initiatives in and around Leiden, between 2018 and 2021, and she is co-founder and co-chair of Het Collectief, a local organization organizing policy discussions.
House of Representatives
She was placed fifth on the party list of GroenLinks in the 2021 general election. During the campaign, Maatoug argued that the number of temporary employment contracts had gotten out of control. She was elected to the House with 19,392 preference votes. Maatoug's specializations were social affairs, employment, pensions, integration, and child care, and she was on the parliamentary Committees for Finance, for Public Expenditure, and for Social Affairs and Employment as well as on the United States contact group and the Parliamentary Inquiry into Fraud Policy and Public Service, initiated as a result of the Dutch childcare benefits scandal.
Together with Labour Party member of parliament Henk Nijboer, she wrote an alternative budget proposal with more spending on health care, education, and welfare, with higher corporate and capital taxes, and with a lower budget deficit compared to the coalition's budget. Furthermore, in reaction to widespread remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic to contain the virus, Maatoug and Steven van Weyenberg (D66) introduced a bill to prohibit companies from denying an employee's request to work from home or from the office without proper reasoning. The Wall Street Journal reported that it would make the Netherlands among the first countries with a right to work from home. The bill – called "Werken waar je wilt" (Working wherever you want) and an amendment to the Flexible Working Act of 2015 – was passed by the House in July 2022. Maatoug said that it would improve employee's work–life balance and that it would lead to lower commuting times. However, the bill was rejected by the Senate in September 2023 in a 37–38 vote. Maatoug also continued a 2020 bill by Wim-Jan Renkema (GroenLinks) – who had left the House – to require companies to have a confidant. It was passed by the House in May 2023 with opposition from the coalition party VVD despite cabinet approval. The CDA supported the bill only after filing an amendment to initially exclude business with fewer than 10 employees. That same year, the House carried an amendment co-filed by Maatoug to shorten the term for personal debt restructuring from three to one and a half years.
Maatoug was re-elected in November 2023 on the shared GroenLinks–PvdA list, and her specialties changed to taxation and childcare. She criticized the Schoof cabinet's 2025 budget, arguing that labor was taxed too heavily in comparison to capital. She called it the result of a combination of strict budgeting and placating the interests of corporations and the wealthy.
Alderwoman of Utrecht
In December 2024, it was announced that Maatoug would leave the House to succeed Lot van Hooijdonk [nl] on 12 December as alderwoman in Utrecht, responsible for mobility, climate, and energy.
Personal life
Maatoug was born and raised in the South Holland city Leiden and still lives there. Her grandparents moved to the Netherlands from Morocco.
Electoral history
| Year | Body | Party | Pos. | Votes | Result | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party seats | Individual | |||||||
| 2021 | House of Representatives | GroenLinks | 5 | 19,392 | 8 | Won | ||
| 2023 | House of Representatives | GroenLinks | 13 | 11,323 | 25 | Won | ||
References
- ^ De With, Theo (10 November 2020). "Leidse Senna Maatoug hoogste nieuwkomer op kandidatenlijst GroenLinks" [Senna Maatoug from Leiden is highest newcomer on party list GroenLinks]. Leidsch Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- Terpstra, IJsbrand; Maatoug, Senna (16 November 2020). "Maandag 16 november, 19.00 uur" [Monday 16 November, 19:00]. Politiek071 (in Dutch). Sleutelstad Radio. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- ^ Bormans, Abel; Scheifes, Ilja; De Vos, Evert (10 March 2021). "Wie zijn de nieuwe partijtijgers?" [Who are the new political tigers?]. De Groene Amsterdammer (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- De Gelder, Willem (6 January 2013). "Leiden gooit hoge ogen op WK debatteren" [Leiden impresses during debating world championship]. Sleutelstad (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- ^ De Witt Wijnen, Philip. "GroenLinks kiest voor parlementaire ervaring en diversiteit" [GroenLinks chooses for parliamentary experience and diversity]. nrc.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- ^ "Senna Maatoug". GroenLinks (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- Van Bakel, Gerry (17 April 2019). "Praat mee in Old School over 'Meer of minder Europa'" [Join the conversation in Old School about 'More or less Europe']. Sleutelstad (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- "Druckerfonds: Jaarverslag 2019" [Druckerfonds: Annual report 2019] (PDF). Stichting H.L. Druckerfonds (in Dutch). p. 4. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- Van Wely, Roeland (23 August 2021). "Nieuwe bestuursleden en meer vermogen bij het Druckerfonds" [New board members and more money for Druckerfonds]. Sleutelstad (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 17 maart 2021" [Results general election 17 March 2021] (PDF). Kiesraad (in Dutch). 26 March 2021. p. 265. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
- "Enquêtecommissie zoekt nog twee jaar naar de waarheid rond fraudebeleid" [Parliamentary inquiry will seek the truth about fraud policy for another two years]. FD (in Dutch). 3 February 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- "Senna Maatoug". Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
- "Senna Maatoug". GroenLinks (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 May 2021.
- De Horde, Cor (9 February 2022). "Linkse tegenbegroting: meer koopkracht, meer lasten bedrijven" [Leftist alternative budget: Higher purchasing power, higher corporate tax burden]. FD (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 February 2022.
- "Werknemer krijgt meer recht op thuiswerken" [Employee receives more rights to work from home]. FD (in Dutch). 5 July 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
- Papachristou, Lucy (7 July 2022). "Netherlands Poised to Make Work-From-Home a Legal Right". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
- Toe Laer, Elfanie (26 September 2023). "Thuiswerken wordt tóch geen recht" [Remote working will not become law after all]. FD (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- Van der Leij, Lien (8 February 2023). "VVD in verzet tegen wetsvoorstel verplichte vertrouwenspersoon" [VVD in opposition to bill mandatory confidant]. FD (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 March 2023.
- "Tweede Kamer wil verplichte vertrouwenspersoon bedrijven" [House of Representatives wants to mandate confidant for companies]. Noordhollands Dagblad (in Dutch). ANP. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
- De Jonge, Adriaan (25 January 2023). "Tweede Kamer stemt voor kortere schuldentrajecten" [House of Representatives votes in favor of shorter debt restructuring]. Binnenlands Bestuur (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 February 2023.
- "Portefeuilles Tweede Kamer" [House of Representatives portfolios]. GroenLinks–PvdA (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 March 2024.
- Berentsen, Laurens; Wolzak, Marine (10 November 2024). "GroenLinks-PvdA: 'Werkenden de dupe in belastingplannen'" [GroenLinks–PvdA: 'Working class is the victim of tax plans']. Het Financieele Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 November 2024.
- Stift, Ruben (4 December 2024). "GroenLinks-PvdA'er Maatoug verlaat voortijdig Tweede Kamer en wordt wethouder in Utrecht" [GroenLinks–PvdA member Maatoug leaves the House of Representatives prematurely and will become alderwoman in Utrecht]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 7 December 2024.
- Mulducci, Annalaura (13 March 2021). "Senna Maatoug (Kamerkandidaat GroenLinks): 'Als een mens keuzes maakt, is dat politiek'" [Senna Maatoug (House candidate GroenLinks): 'When someone makes choices, that is politics']. Leidsch Dagblad (in Dutch).
- "Proces-verbaal verkiezingsuitslag Tweede Kamer 2021" [Report of the election results House of Representatives 2021] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 29 March 2021. pp. 102–103. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
- "Proces-verbaal van de uitslag van de verkiezing van de Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal 2023 d.d. 4 december 2023" [Report of the results of the election of the House of Representatives on 4 December 2023] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 4 December 2023. pp. 23–31, 199. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
External links
- Personal website (in Dutch)
- S. (Senna) Maatoug MPhil, MSc, Parlement.com (in Dutch)
- 1989 births
- Living people
- 21st-century Dutch civil servants
- 21st-century Dutch economists
- 21st-century Dutch women politicians
- Dutch people of Moroccan descent
- Dutch women economists
- GroenLinks politicians
- Leiden University alumni
- Academic staff of Leiden University
- Dutch MPs 2021–2023
- Dutch MPs 2023–
- Utrecht University alumni