Alfons Adrianus (Thierry) Aartsen (born 19 December 1989) is a Dutch politician who has been serving as a Member of the House of Representatives since September 2018. He served as a councillor of Breda municipality between 2010 and 2018. Aartsen is a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).
Thierry Aartsen | |
|---|---|
 Aartsen in 2018 | |
| Member of the House of Representatives | |
| Assumed office 13 September 2018 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alfons Adrianus Aartsen 19 December 1989 Breda, Netherlands |
| Political party | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) |
Biography
editAartsen completed the havo at the Newmancollege in Breda. Afterwards, he studied European Studies at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, where he obtained a bachelor's degree.[1]
Aartsen joined the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) in 2007.[1] In 2010, Aartsen was elected a member of the Breda municipal council. He was re-elected twice, in 2014 and 2018. He served as the chairman of the VVD in the council from 2015 to 2018. Aartsen also worked as an account manager at FME-CWM from 2013 to 2018.[1]
For the 2017 general election, Aartsen placed 46th on the VVD's list of candidates, which was not high enough for him to be elected. In September 2018, the VVD announced that they had selected Aaartsen to succeed Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert. On 13 September, he was sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives.[2] When he took office, he received criticism for a number of tweets that he had posted a few years earlier concerning suicides by train causing him delays. He apologised for the tweets.[3]
Following his re-election in 2023, Aartsen became the VVD's spokesperson for socioeconomic policy, labor migration, retirement benefits, and the Dutch royal house.[4] He wrote a white paper on labor migration in 2024, marking a partial break with the VVD's prior stance against limiting the practice. Aartsen attributed housing, education, and healthcare issues to increased migration overall, which he described as the most pressing political issue. He argued that reliance on unskilled foreign workers should be reduced by subsidizing automation and by ultimately increasing labor costs for specific sectors. Aartsen also suggested that companies along with municipalities should take on greater responsibility for housing labor migrants.[5][6]
Electoral history
edit| Year | Body | Party | Pos. | Votes | Result | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party seats | Individual | |||||||
| 2017 | House of Representatives | VVD | 46 | 1,342 | 33 | Lost[a] | [7] | |
| 2021 | House of Representatives | VVD | 11 | 5,441 | 34 | Won | [8] | |
| 2023 | House of Representatives | VVD | 13 | 4,071 | 24 | Won | [9] | |
Notes
edit- ^ Aartsen was appointed to the body later during the term due to a vacancy.
References
edit- ^ a b c "A.A. (Thierry) Aartsen". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 August 2020.
- ^ "Raadslid Thierry Aartsen wordt Kamerlid". Breda Nieuws (in Dutch). 7 September 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
- ^ "Omstreden twitteraar Aartsen (VVD) geïnstalleerd als Kamerlid" (in Dutch). NOS. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
- ^ "Portefeuilleverdeling" [Portfolio allocation]. People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ Aartsen, Thierry (26 August 2024). "Regeringspartij VVD verandert van koers: komst arbeidsmigranten sterk ontmoedigen" [Coalition party VVD changes course: Strongly discourage arrival of labor migrants]. Algemeen Dagblad (Interview) (in Dutch). Interviewed by Hans van Soest. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
- ^ Verkerk, Jorit (26 August 2024). "VVD bepleit 'slimmere' arbeidsmigratie in visiestuk, dreigt met fiscale ingrepen" [VVD argues for 'smarter' labor migration in white paper, threatens with changes in taxation]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 August 2024.
- ^ "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 2017 (getekend exemplaar)" [Results House of Representatives 2017 (signed example)] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 21 March 2017. pp. 22–23. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
- ^ "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. 14–15. 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. 15–16. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
External links
edit- Thierry Aartsen – Tweede Kamer (in Dutch)
- Thierry Aartsen – VVD (in Dutch)