Politics

Dutch Kurd appointed as new Dutch Minister of Justice

Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius is a member of the Dutch People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and quickly rose in her career in the Netherlands.

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2021/12/31 22:56

Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius’s father is originally from Dersim (Photo: Dutch Government)

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ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, a Dutch citizen with a Kurdish-Turkish background, has been selected to be the Dutch Minister of Justice and Security for the new cabinet after nine months of government formation talks.

Yeşilgöz-Zegerius is currently the State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate.

She was born in Ankara in 1977 but spent most of her time in the Netherlands after her Kurdish father, Yücel Yeşilgöz, who is from the city of Dersim (Tunceli), fled a military coup in 1984.

She is a member of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and quickly rose in her career in the Netherlands.

In 2014, she became a member of the municipal council of Amsterdam for the VVD, focused on security, poverty reduction, and sports.

In 2017 she became a lawmaker in the Dutch parliament.

In May 2021, she was appointed State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy.