Alexander Hammelburg
Hammelburg in 2021
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
31 March 2021 – 5 December 2023
Member of the Municipal Council
of Amsterdam
In office
5 April 2017[1] – 31 March 2021[2]
Preceded byJan Paternotte
Succeeded byDaniëlle de Jager
Personal details
Born
Alexander Robert Hammelburg

(1982-02-22) 22 February 1982 (age 41)
Hilversum, Netherlands
Political partyDemocrats 66
Children1
Parent
Residence(s)Amsterdam, Netherlands
Alma materUniversity of Amsterdam (MSc)

Alexander Robert Hammelburg (pronounced [ˌaːlɛkˈsɑndər ˈɦɑməlˌbʏr(ə)x]; born 22 February 1982) is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66). He has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2021 general election. He previously worked as a lobbyist for COC Nederland and held a seat in the municipal council of Amsterdam.

Early life and non-political career

Hammelburg was born in 1982 in Hilversum, North Holland as the son of comedian, writer, and journalist Simon Hammelburg.[3][4] When he was young, his parents divorced, and he moved with his mother and sister from the Amsterdam neighborhood of Buitenveldert to Oosterbeek, located in the Arnhem area.[4] Hammelburg grew up there, and he studied political science and Arab studies at the University of Amsterdam in the years 2002–12.[5] He also spent a year at Tel Aviv University and started teaching political science at the university in 2008.[4][5] He left the university in April 2015 to work as an international policy officer for LGBT rights organization COC Nederland, a position he held until his election to the House of Representatives.[6][7]

Politics

Hammelburg served as a member of the board of the North Holland/Flevoland chapter of the Young Democrats, the youth organization of Democrats 66.[8] He was elected to the thirteen-member Amsterdam-Centrum district committee in the 2014 municipal elections.[9] He had also been D66's sixteenth candidate for the Amsterdam municipal council in that election, but his party won fourteen seats.[10]

In April 2017, Hammelburg replaced Amsterdam municipal councilor Jan Paternotte, because Paternotte had been elected to the House of Representatives.[11] Hammelburg simultaneously left the district council.[12] He was re-elected in the 2018 municipal election, having appeared fourth on the party list.[13] Hammelburg served as vice caucus leader, and his specializations were finances, economic affairs, sex workers, drugs, housing, and construction.[8][14] In the council, he advocated replacing lead service lines, and he created a plan to make the city center more attractive to Amsterdam citizens.[15][16]

House of Representatives

Hammelburg was placed twenty-third on the candidate list of D66 for the 2021 general election.[17] He was elected into the House of Representatives on 17 March with 841 preference votes and was installed two weeks later.[18][19] Hammelburg vacated his seat in the Amsterdam municipal council the same day.[2] He was D66's spokesperson for foreign trade, development cooperation, defense, finances, tax affairs, financial markets, and amending article 1 of the Dutch constitution.[20] Hammelburg is part of the Dutch parliamentary delegation to the OSCE and the United States contact group, and he is a member of the Committees for Defense; for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy; for Finance; for Foreign Affairs; for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation; and for Public Expenditure.[3]

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, he proposed for the Dutch government to start setting aside money for the reconstruction of Ukraine, comparing it to the Marshall Plan.[21] He also wanted to provide at least €100 million for the reconstruction effort following the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake, but Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher responded that she did not have the money available.[22][23] Together with Laura Bromet (GL) and Habtamu de Hoop (PvdA), he continued an effort to amend article 1 of the Constitution of the Netherlands to add disability and sexual orientation as grounds on which discrimination is prohibited. Both houses of parliament had already voted in favor of the amendment, but a constitutional amendment required a second affirmative vote following elections. The Senate eventually passed it for a second time in January 2023.[24]

Personal life

Hammelburg is Jewish from his father's side.[4] He lives in Amsterdam, has a daughter, and is openly gay.[20][3][25]

Electoral history

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (December 2023)
Electoral history of Alexander Hammelburg
Year Body Party Pos. Votes Result Ref.
Party seats Individual
2021 House of Representatives Democrats 66 23 841 24 Won [26]
2023 House of Representatives Democrats 66 20 548 9 Lost [27]

References

  1. ^ "Openbare vergadering op woensdag 5 april 2017" [Public meeting on Wednesday 5 April 2017]. Gemeente Amsterdam (in Dutch). 3 May 2017. pp. 24 and 25. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Openbare vergadering op woensdag 31 maart 2021" [Public meeting on Wednesday 31 March 2021]. Gemeente Amsterdam (in Dutch). 19 April 2021. p. 14. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Alexander Hammelburg". Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d Kleijwegt, Margalith. "Joods in de Kamer" [Jewish in the House] (PDF). Benjamin (in Dutch). Vol. 32, no. 125. JMW. pp. 10–13. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  5. ^ a b Strikkers, Henk (23 March 2021). "24 oud-UvA'ers in nieuwe Tweede Kamer" [24 former UvA students in the new House of Representatives]. Folia (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Nevenactiviteiten van Alexander Hammelburg" [Side activities of Alexander Hammelburg]. Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Strijd om verlenging mandaat VN-SOGI-expert" [Fight for renewal mandate UN SOGI expert]. COC (Press release) (in Dutch). 1 July 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Kandidatenboek Tweede Kamerverkiezing 2021" [Candidate book House of Representatives 2021] (PDF). D66 (in Dutch). November 2020. p. 124. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  9. ^ "De zetelverdeling voor de bestuurscommissies Amsterdam" [The seat distribution of the Amsterdam district councils]. Het Parool (in Dutch). 21 March 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  10. ^ "Proces-verbaal van de verkiezingsuitslag van de gemeenteraad" [Official report of the election results of the city council] (PDF) (in Dutch). Gemeente Amsterdam. p. 44. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021 – via Partij voor de Dieren Amsterdam.
  11. ^ "Reinier van Dantzig nieuwe voorman D66 Amsterdam" [Reinier van Dantzig new leader of D66 Amsterdam]. Het Parool (in Dutch). 15 March 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  12. ^ "Afscheid Alexander Hammelburg als Bestuurscommissielid Amsterdam-Centrum" [Farewell of Alexander Hammelburg, Amsterdam-Centrum district committee member]. D66 (Press release) (in Dutch). 18 April 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  13. ^ "D66 presenteert kandidatenlijst voor gemeenteraadsverkiezingen" [D66 presents its party list for the municipal elections]. D66 (Press release) (in Dutch). 25 November 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  14. ^ "Gemeenteraadslid Hülya Kat op plek 16 van D66, ook advocaat Sidney Smeets op de kieslijst" [Municipal councilor Hülya Kat on spot sixteen, lawyer Sidney Smeets also on D66 party list]. AT5 (in Dutch). 11 November 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  15. ^ Van Zoelen, Bart; Koops, Ruben (23 January 2020). "Gemeente: loden drinkwaterleidingen moeten binnen jaar weg" [Municipality: lead service lines have to got within a year]. AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  16. ^ Van de Crommert, Richard (26 May 2020). "Elfpuntenplan voor binnenstad" [Eleven-point plan for city center]. De Telegraaf (in Dutch). p. 12.
  17. ^ Koops, Ruben; Meijs, Floor (18 March 2021). "Twaalf Amsterdammers maken entree in Tweede Kamer" [Twelve Amsterdam residents enter House of Representatives]. Het Parool (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  18. ^ "A.R. (Alexander) Hammelburg MSc". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  19. ^ "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 17 maart 2021 Proces-verbaal" [Results general election 17 March 2021 Report] (PDF). Kiesraad (in Dutch). 29 March 2021. pp. 62 and 188. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  20. ^ a b "Alexander Hammelburg". D66 (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  21. ^ "'Marshallplan' voor Oekraïne: 'Nu al beginnen met plannen voor de wederopbouw'" ['Marshall Plan' for Ukraine: 'Start already with plans for the reconstruction']. BNR Nieuwsradio (in Dutch). 7 April 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  22. ^ "Kamer wil fonds en taskforce voor hulp aan Turkije en Syrië" [House wants fund and taskforce to assist Turkey and Syria]. Reformatorisch Dagblad (in Dutch). ANP. 14 February 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  23. ^ "Minister heeft nu geen geld voor opbouw Turkije en Syrië" [Minister does not have money now for reconstruction Turkey and Syria]. Trouw (in Dutch). ANP. 22 February 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  24. ^ Meijer, Remco (17 January 2023). "Discriminatieverbod wegens handicap en seksuele gerichtheid in Grondwet. 'We worden niet langer weggemoffeld'" [Prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of disability and sexual orientation in the Constitution. 'We are nog longer hidden'] (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  25. ^ Alexander Hammelburg, Kandidaat-Kamerlid [Alexander Hammelburg, House candidate] (in Dutch). D66. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2021 – via YouTube.
  26. ^ "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, 188. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  27. ^ "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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