Fonda Sahla

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Fonda Sahla
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
27 October 2021 – 5 December 2023
Preceded byRens Raemakers
Member of The Hague municipal council
In office
29 March 2018[1] – 4 November 2021[2]
Succeeded byAnno Fekkes
Personal details
Born (1979-05-29) 29 May 1979 (age 45)
The Hague, Netherlands
Political partyDemocrats 66
Children3
RelativesSoumaya Sahla (sister)
OccupationPolitician

Fonda Sahla (born 29 May 1979) is a Dutch politician of the social liberal party Democrats 66 (D66). She has served as a member of the House of Representatives from 2021 to 2023, initially as the temporary replacement of Rens Raemakers but later as the successor of Rob Jetten. Sahla's involvement in her local community led her to become politically active. She was elected to The Hague's municipal council in 2018 and participated in the March 2021 general election but was not directly elected.

Early life and education

[edit]

Sahla was born in 1979 in The Hague.[3] She has seven siblings, and her parents had immigrated to the Netherlands from Morocco as guest workers.[4][5] Sahla initially grew up in The Hague's Rivierenbuurt but moved to Transvaal at age seven.[6] She went to an mbo school, which would later become ROC Mondriaan, and worked as a pharmacy assistant.[7][8]

Community work and politics

[edit]

She became involved in her community because of her experiences in education with her oldest son. Sahla came under the impression that her son was not given the same opportunities as children on primary schools with less immigrants.[9] She joined the parent council of primary school Het Galjoen around 2008 as well as the council of the umbrella organization consisting of about 50 schools.[5][10][11] She sent a critical letter to Ingrid van Engelshoven, The Hague's alderwoman for education and a D66 member, in 2013, and this contact resulted in Sahla deciding to become politically active.[9] In 2016, she was one of the founders of the weekend school Transvaal Universiteit at Het Galjoen.[12] She also helped set up other neighborhood projects such as a group of mothers and office hours with the local police officer and with mental healthcare professionals, and she served as porch music project leader at the Residentie Orchestra starting in 2019.[6][13][14][15]

Sahla first appeared on the ballot in the 2018 municipal elections as D66's fifth candidate in The Hague.[10] She was elected to the city's municipal council and became D66's spokesperson for education, youth, and neighborhoods.[1][16] She successfully called for an investigation into the availability of study spaces for students, saying that she had heard of students leaving the city in the weekends to look for a place to study.[17] She also pled for special education classes in regular schools and for addressing loneliness among youth.[18][19] In 2020, Sahla received the annual inspiration award from D66's Els Borst Netwerk.[9] She has also served on the board of the chapter of The Hague of that organization, which promotes gender equality within the party.[16] During the COVID-19 pandemic, she proposed to expand summer education in order to solve learning losses caused by school closures. Her plan passed the municipal council.[20]

Sahla ran for member of parliament (MP) in the March 2021 general election, being placed 27th on D66's party list.[6] She received 3,087 preference votes, and her party won 24 seats – not enough for Sahla to be elected.[21] She became the temporary replacement of MP Rens Raemakers when he went on sick leave in October 2021.[22] Sahla was sworn in on 27 October and received support from former VVD leader Frits Bolkestein, who had been a guest teacher at Transvaal Universiteit.[13][23] She became the second hijab-wearing member of the House of Representatives in Dutch parliamentary history after Kauthar Bouchallikht.[24] Sahla simultaneously vacated her seat in the municipal council.[2] Her focus in the House was on youth care services, youth crime, youth protection, and the Participation Act, and she became a member of the Petitions Committee and the Committees for Education, Culture and Science; for Finance; for Health, Welfare and Sport; and for Justice and Security.[3][25] Sahla became a permanent member of parliament on 18 January 2022 before Raemakers returned from his sick leave, when Rob Jetten left the body to become a minister in the new fourth Rutte cabinet.[26][27] Her specialties changed to youth care, preschool, long-term healthcare, and caregiving, and she also became vice chair of the Committee for Social Affairs and Employment.[3][25]

Sahla was supposed to be D66's sixth candidate in The Hague in the 2022 municipal elections, but decided to be one of her party's lijstduwers after her House membership had become permanent.[28][29][30]

Personal life

[edit]

Sahla is married and has three children. She is a resident of The Hague's neighborhood Transvaal.[3][6] Her sister, Soumaya Sahla, received media attention during Fonda's House term after Geert Wilders, an anti-Islam politician, pointed out her former membership of the terrorist Hofstad Network.[31] The reports led her to stop her activities for the VVD.[32]

Electoral history

[edit]
Electoral history of Fonda Sahla
Year Body Party Pos. Votes Result Ref.
Party seats Individual
2021 House of Representatives Democrats 66 27 3,087 24 Lost[a] [33]
2023 House of Representatives Democrats 66 15 1,795 9 Lost [34]

Notes

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  1. ^ Sahla was appointed to the body later during the term due to a vacancy.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Vergadering gemeenteraad Den Haag gehouden op donderdag 29 maart 2018 (Geopend te 19.30 uur)" [The Hague municipal council meeting held on Thursday 29 March 2018 (Opened at 19:30)]. Den Haag (in Dutch). pp. 2–3. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Vergadering gemeenteraad Den Haag gehouden op donderdag 4 november 2021 (Geopend te 10.00 uur)" [The Hague municipal council meeting held on Thursday 4 November 2021 (Opened at 10:00)]. Den Haag (in Dutch). pp. 10–11 and 13. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d "Fonda Sahla". Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Bijna helft van Haagse jongeren kampt met eenzaamheid" [Nearly half of young people from The Hague are dealing with loneliness]. Den Haag FM (in Dutch). 3 December 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  5. ^ a b Kramers, Olivia; Van Dinteren, Ria (June 2021). "Alle stemmen horen voor een betere wereld" [Hear all voices for a better world]. Tijdschrift voor Ontwikkeling in Organisaties (in Dutch). No. 2. pp. 36–39. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d Lelieveld, Bart (20 March 2021). "Het moet gek lopen wil Transvaals D66-raadslid straks niet trots én met hoofddoek Tweede Kamer binnenstappen" [Something strange needs to happen if this D66 councilor from Transvaal will not enter the House of Representatives proudly and with a hijab]. AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  7. ^ Fonda Sahla: een speciale boodschap voor de Haagse leraar [Fonda Sahla: A special message for a teacher from The Hague] (in Dutch). Leraar in de Zon. 27 December 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ Kieskamp, Wilma (23 August 2023). "D66-Kamerlid Fonda Sahla: 'Het moet voor de kansen van een kind niet uitmaken in welke wijk het woont'" [D66 House member Fonda Sahla: 'A child's opportunities should not depend on the neighborhood they live in']. Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  9. ^ a b c Schouten, Theresia (27 June 2020). "Haags raadslid Fonda Sahla uitgeroepen tot meest inspirerende D66-vrouw" [The Hague council member Fonda Sahla named most inspiring D66 woman]. AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  10. ^ a b Van Beek, Marijke (22 February 2018). "Deze moslims voelen zich prima thuis bij het progressieve D66" [These Muslims feel right at home at the progressive D66]. Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  11. ^ Raad en Daad: portretten van Haagse politici #6 Fonda Sahla [Raad en Daad: Portraits of politicians from The Hague #6 Fonda Sahla] (in Dutch). Den Haag Centraal. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ "Universiteit geopend in Haagse wijk Transvaal" [University opened in The Hague neighborhood of Transvaal]. West (in Dutch). 8 October 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Suzanne Kröger (GroenLinks) en Fonda Sahla (D66) beëdigd als Kamerlid" [Suzanne Kröger (GroenLinks) and Fonda Sahla (D66) sworn in as House members]. Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal (Press release) (in Dutch). 27 October 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  14. ^ Sahla, Fonda (27 June 2020). "Haagse Fonda Sahla winnares EBN Inspiratieprijs 2020" [Fonda Sahla from The Hague winner of 2020 EBN Inspiration Award]. D66 Els Borst Netwerk (Interview) (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  15. ^ "F. (Fonda) Sahla". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  16. ^ a b "Fonda Sahla". D66 Den Haag (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  17. ^ Graveland, Germa (2 April 2019). "Studieplek ook in weekeinde" [Place to study also win the weekends]. De Telegraaf (in Dutch). p. 14.
  18. ^ "'Integratieklas op scholen'" ['Integration class on schools']. De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 27 March 2019. p. 15.
  19. ^ De Groot, Ingrid (6 December 2018). "D66: 'Eenzaamheid jongeren alarmerend'" [D66: 'Loneliness among youth alarming']. AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  20. ^ "Scholieren kunnen na thuisonderwijs naar zomercampus om leerachterstanden in te lopen" [Students can go to summer campus after homeschooling to solve learning losses]. Den Haag FM (in Dutch). 21 January 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  21. ^ "Tweede Kamer 17 maart 2021" [House of Representatives 17 March 2021]. Databank Verkiezingsuitslagen (in Dutch). Kiesraad. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  22. ^ "Weer gezondheidsklachten: D66-Kamerlid Rens Raemakers opnieuw met ziekteverlof" [Again health problems: D66 MP Rens Raemakers again on sick leave]. RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 15 October 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  23. ^ Lelieveld, Bart (16 October 2021). "Kersvers Haags D66-Kamerlid Fonda Sahla krijgt steun van VVD-mastodont Frits Bolkestein" [Brand new D66 MP Fonda Sahla from The Hague receives support from VVD giant Frits Bolkestein]. AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  24. ^ Waarlo, Niels; Le Clercq, Arnout (18 March 2021). "Deze opvallende politici en oude bekenden komen voor het eerst in de Kamer" [These striking politicians and well-known faces will enter the House for the first time]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  25. ^ a b "Fonda Sahla". D66 (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  26. ^ "Beëdiging nieuwe Kamerleden" [Swearing in of new House members]. Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal (Press release) (in Dutch). 17 January 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  27. ^ "Benoemingen leden Tweede Kamer, Eerste Kamer en Europees Parlement" [Appointments members House of Representatives, Senate, and European Parliament]. Kiesraad (Press release) (in Dutch). 12 January 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  28. ^ "D66 Den Haag presenteert definitieve kandidatenlijst" [The Hague D66 present definitive party list]. D66 Den Haag (Press release) (in Dutch). 30 October 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  29. ^ "Fonda Sahla (D66) blijft definitief in de Tweede Kamer" [Fonda Sahla (D66) will definitively keep her House of Representatives membership]. Den Haag FM (in Dutch). 11 January 2022. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  30. ^ "Onze kandidaten" [Our candidates]. D66 (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  31. ^ "Partijen spreken Wilders aan op uitspraken over collega-Kamerleden" [Parties call Wilders to account for statements about fellow House members]. Nederlands Dagblad (in Dutch). ANP. 18 January 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  32. ^ "Soumaya Sahla betuigt spijt, legt werkzaamheden voor VVD neer" [Soumaya Sahla expresses her regret, ends activities for VVD]. NOS (in Dutch). 26 January 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  33. ^ "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. 62–100. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  34. ^ "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. 19–20. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
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