Julius Terpstra
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
20 May 2020 – 30 March 2021
Preceded byErik Ronnes
Alderman in Leiden
Assumed office
16 June 2022
Member of the Leiden municipal council
In office
30 March 2022 – 14 June 2022
Succeeded bySebastiaan van der Veer
Duoraadslid in the Leiden municipal council
In office
1 May 2014 – 16 May 2020
Succeeded byTobias Sandoval Garcia
Personal details
Born
Julius Huibert Terpstra

(1989-02-21) 21 February 1989 (age 34)
Emmeloord, Flevoland
Political partyChristian Democratic Appeal
Spouse
Kirsten Kok
​
(m. 2018)​
Children1
Alma materLeiden University

Julius Huibert Terpstra (born 21 February 1989) is a Dutch politician, who served as a member of the House of Representatives in the years 2020–21. He is a member of the political party Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). He had served as duoraadslid in the Leiden municipal council and as chair of Christian Democratic Youth Appeal, CDA's youth organization. Following his membership of the House, Terpstra returned to Leiden politics and became alderman for construction following the 2022 municipal elections, having been his party's lead candidate.

Early life and education

Terpstra was born in Emmeloord, a town in Flevoland, on 21 February 1989.[1] He attended Greijdanus College before studying in England for one year.[2] Subsequently, he studied history at Leiden University between 2009 and 2015, earning a Master of Arts degree.[3] While studying, he was a member of the fraternity Navigators and played soccer at LSVV '70.[4][5]

In 2009, he joined the Leiden affiliate of Christian Democratic Youth Appeal (CDJA) as treasurer.[6] One year later, he became the leader of CDJA Leiden, a position in which he served for two years.[7] Terpstra was elected chair of the national organization CDJA in May 2013 by its members.[8] His second term began two years later.[9] During his tenure, he advocated for a constitutional requirement for a balanced budget, increasing spending on defense, banning the sale of tobacco in supermarkets, and reinstituting conscription.[10][11][12][13] Furthermore, he opposed an elected instead of an appointed mayor.[14] Terpstra stepped down as chair on January 1, 2017, to focus on his job and his campaign to become a member of the House of Representatives.[15]

Career

He participated in the 2014 municipal elections, being sixth on CDA's party list in Leiden.[16] Terpstra was not elected, as his party received four seats. In May, he was appointed duoraadslid in the Leiden municipal council. In August 2016, Terpstra took a job at Nautus, an Amersfoort consultancy firm for municipalities.[17] When CDA won three seats in Leiden during the 2018 municipal elections, he was fourth on the party list.[18] He remained a duoraadslid. Shortly after becoming a member of parliament in 2020, he left Nautus and the Leiden municipal council.[17] In the municipal council, he had been on the education and society committee and had focussed on sport policy.[19]

House of Representatives (2020–2021)

Terpstra ran for House member during the 2017 general election. During the campaign, he said that abolishing the student loan system was his priority.[20] He was placed 23rd on the CDA's party list and received 1,477 preferential votes.[21] His party won nineteen seats, resulting in Terpstra not being elected. After Erik Ronnes had vacated his seat to join North Brabant's provincial-executive, Terpstra was sworn in as MP on 20 May 2020.[6] Terpstra became the CDA's spokesperson in the area of housing, spatial planning, and the Environment and Planning Act.[22] In the House, he was a member of the Committee for the Interior.[23]

He has advocated for addressing the Dutch housing shortage and for reducing difficulties that young people face when trying to buy their first house. In July 2020, Terpstra introduced a motion, which was approved unanimously by the House, calling for the consideration of previous rent payments when applying for a mortgage. This would make it easier to get financing for a house for people who have already been paying rent at a higher or similar level as the mortgage would be.[24] He has also unsuccessfully called for the interior minister to force Utrecht to build 25,000–30,000 homes in the polders Rijnenburg and Reijerscop.[25] A motion by Terpstra and Daniel Koerhuis was narrowly passed by the House.[26]

Terpstra was the 20th candidate of the CDA during the 2021 general election.[27] He was not re-elected, as his party won fifteen seats. Terpstra personally received 1,297 votes.[28]

Leiden alderman (since 2022)

Following his membership of the House, Terpstra started working for construction firm Heijmans in July 2021. He was the CDA's lead candidate in the March 2022 Dutch municipal election in Leiden.[1][29] The local campaign was notable for humorously distancing itself from the national party. Its website stated that voters might think twice about voting for the CDA nationally, but that the local party is allowed to be different due to the lack of Kim Jung Hoekstra practices, combining the names of party leader Wopke Hoekstra and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.[30] The CDA lost one of its three seats – following national polling trends – and Terpstra was sworn into the council on 30 March.[31][32][33] The CDA joined Leiden's new governing coalition as its only non-leftist member party. Terpstra represented his party in the municipal executive as alderman responsible for housing, construction, and welfare.[34] His term started on 16 June, having stepped down as councilor two days before.[35][36] That same month, investigative journalism platform Follow the Money wrote that sites Terpstra and Koerhuis had promoted for housing developments as members of parliament were partially owned by major property developers. Terpstra subsequently denied having had ties with developers.[37] In August 2023, Terpstra proposed to the municipal council to bar investors from buying houses in Leiden worth less than €355,000 in order to reduce competition on the housing market. Additionally, he suggested restricting the splitting of houses into student residences as well as mandating that landlords apply for a permit in certain neighborhoods to ensure good renting practices.[38]

Terpstra was offered a seat in the House of Representatives following the resignation of Raymond Knops in February 2023. He declined it to stay on as alderman.[39]

Personal life

While an MP, Terpstra lived in the South Holland city Leiden with his wife Kirsten Kok.[23] They met while studying and married in July 2018, and they have a daughter.[4][40] Nederlands Dagblad reported in 2013 that Terpstra was a member of the Reformed Church (Liberated).[3]

References

  1. ^ a b "J.H. (Julius) Terpstra MA". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Parlementair Documentatie Centrum. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  2. ^ Van Wesel, Marleen (February 23, 2017). "Mijn moeder zegt: focus nu op je studie". Mare (in Dutch). Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Beverdam, Gerard (May 27, 2013). "Opas begrijpen de keus van Julius voor het CDA niet". Nederlands Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Segaar, Eva (September 1, 2018). "HUWELIJK julius terpstra (29) en kirsten kok (25)". Elsevier Weekblad (in Dutch). Vol. 74, no. 35. p. 72.
  5. ^ "Een klein stukje van de kloof tussen studenten en de rest". Leidsch Dagblad (in Dutch). July 17, 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Beëdiging en afscheid Kamerleden". Tweede Kamer (Press release) (in Dutch). May 20, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  7. ^ "WIE IS JULIUS". Julius Terpstra (in Dutch). Archived from the original on March 4, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2020 – via Wayback Machine.
  8. ^ "Julius Terpstra, de nieuwe CDJA-voorzitter". Parlement.com (Press release) (in Dutch). May 26, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  9. ^ "Julius Terpstra als voorzitter herkozen in nieuw Dagelijks Bestuur". Parlement.com (Press release) (in Dutch). June 8, 2015. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  10. ^ Terpstra, Julius; Ligtenberg, Marlies (September 30, 2015). "Leg verplicht begrotingsevenwicht vast in grondwet". Het Financieele Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  11. ^ Terpstra, Julius; Van de Burgwal, Matthijs (August 12, 2015). "Haal de krijgsmacht snel uit de gevarenzone". Trouw (in Dutch). p. 21.
  12. ^ Sloot, Eduard (August 17, 2016). "'Verbod verkoop tabak in supermarkt'". Nederlands Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  13. ^ Van den Brink, Tijs; Meuwese, Stan; Terpstra, Julius (February 23, 2017). "'Voer maatschappelijke dienstplicht in'". Dit is de Dag (in Dutch). NPO Radio 1. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  14. ^ Baas, Thijs (February 8, 2014). "CDJA-resolutie moet gekozen burgemeester blokkeren". BNR Nieuwsradio (in Dutch). Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  15. ^ "Julius Terpstra stopt als voorzitter van het CDJA". CDJA (Press release) (in Dutch). December 22, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  16. ^ Dijke, Janneke (January 16, 2014). "Leiden kan niet zonder Den Haag" (in Dutch). Leidsch Dagblad.
  17. ^ a b "Nevenactiviteiten van Julius Terpstra". Tweede Kamer (in Dutch). Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  18. ^ Van Kleef, Reanne (December 14, 2017). "Kandidatenlijst CDA Leiden vastgesteld na kleine wijzigingen". Sleutelstad (in Dutch). Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  19. ^ Glastra, Binnert (May 12, 2010). "Leids duo-raadslid Julius Terpstra voor CDA in de Tweede Kamer". Leidsch Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  20. ^ Hemmen, Roelof (November 11, 2016). "11 november | Dirk de Wachter en baas boven baas". Hemmen (in Dutch). BNR Nieuwsradio. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  21. ^ "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 2017 (getekend exemplaar)" (PDF). Kiesraad (in Dutch). March 21, 2017. pp. 78–112. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  22. ^ "Julius Terpstra". CDA (in Dutch). Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  23. ^ a b "Biografie, onderwijs en loopbaan van Julius Terpstra". Tweede Kamer (in Dutch). Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  24. ^ "CDA: Hypotheek moet makkelijker voor starters in de knel". BNR Nieuwsradio (in Dutch). July 2, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  25. ^ "Minister Ollongren wil Utrecht niet dwingen huizen te bouwen in Rijnenburg". RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). November 9, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  26. ^ Hoving, Richard (January 12, 2021). "Kamer over bouwen in Utrechtse polder Rijnenburg". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  27. ^ "Kandidaten". CDA (in Dutch). Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  28. ^ "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 17 maart 2021" (PDF). Kiesraad (in Dutch). March 26, 2021. pp. 24–62. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  29. ^ De Waard, Chris (December 23, 2021). "CDA Leiden wil regiofusie met buurgemeenten" [CDA wants merger with neighboring municipalities]. Sleutelstad (in Dutch). Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  30. ^ "CDA Leiden zet zich af van landelijke fractie: 'Hier geen Kim Jong Hoekstra-praktijken'" [Leiden CDA distances itself from national caucus: 'No Kim Jong Hoekstra practices here']. AD (in Dutch). 22 February 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  31. ^ "Gemeenteraad 21 maart 2018" [Municipal council 21 March 2018]. Databank verkiezingsuitslagen (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  32. ^ "Gemeenteraad (installatie nieuwe raad) 30-03-2022" [Municipal council (installation new council) 30-03-2022]. Leiden (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  33. ^ "Liveblog uitslagen gemeenteraadsverkiezingen 2022" [Live blog 2022 municipal election results]. Sleutelstad (in Dutch). 16 March 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  34. ^ Leefmans, Loman (8 June 2022). "Terpstra en Jermoumi nieuwe Leidse wethouders" [Terpstra and Jeroumi new Leiden aldermen]. Leidsch Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  35. ^ "Agenda van de digitale vergadering van de gemeenteraad Leiden van de Gemeente Leiden" [Order of business of the digital meeting of the Leiden municipal council of the municipality of Leiden]. Gemeente Leiden (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  36. ^ "Agenda van de digitale vergadering van de gemeenteraad Leiden van de Gemeente Leiden" [Order of business of the digital meeting of the Leiden municipal council of the municipality of Leiden]. Gemeente Leiden (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  37. ^ De Waard, Chris (22 June 2022). "Leidse bouwwethouder Terpstra: 'Als Kamerlid geen banden met projectontwikkelaars'" [Leiden construction alderman Terpstra: 'As MP no ties with property developers']. Sleutelstad (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  38. ^ De Waard, Chris (23 August 2023). "Leiden neemt serie maatregelen om kopers en huurders te beschermen" [Leiden takes a series of measures to protect home buyers and renters]. Sleutelstad (in Dutch). Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  39. ^ De Waard, Chris (31 January 2023). "Terpstra verruilt wethouderschap niet voor plek in Tweede Kamer" [Terpstra will not give up his aldermanship for a seat in the House of Representatives]. Sleutelstad (in Dutch). Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  40. ^ "Julius Terpstra lijsttrekker CDA Leiden" [Julius Terpstra lead candidate Leiden CDA]. Unity.NU (in Dutch). October 7, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
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