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Nora Achahbar

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Nora Achahbar
State Secretary for Benefits and Customs
In office
2 July 2024 – 15 November 2024
Prime MinisterDick Schoof
MinisterEelco Heinen
Preceded byAukje de Vries
Personal details
Born
Nora Achahbar

(1982-06-21) 21 June 1982 (age 42)
Sidi Slimane, Morocco
Citizenship
  • Morocco
  • Netherlands
Political partyNSC (2023–present)
Children2
Alma materLeiden University
Occupation

Nora Achahbar (Dutch: [ˈnoːraː ˈɑɕaːbɑr];[1][2] born 21 June 1982) is a Dutch jurist, judge and politician of the New Social Contract (NSC) party. She served as State Secretary for Benefits and Customs in the Schoof cabinet between July and November 2024.

Early life and career

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Achahbar was born in Sidi Slimane, Morocco. Her father moved to the Netherlands as a guest worker aged 18, working as a cook in The Hague. Achahbar grew up at the edge of its Schilderswijk [nl] neighborhood, and she described her childhood in poverty in an interview to Trouw.[3][4] She graduated high school with a VWO diploma and went on to study Dutch law at Leiden University.[3][5] She was an intern for the parliamentary group of Democrats 66 and the Council for the Judiciary [nl], and she subsequently worked as a judge ad hoc in a Haarlem court, a police detective in Leiden, and a lawyer. For ten years, Achahbar served as a public prosecutor in The Hague, where she dealt with cases related to fraud, terrorism, violent crime, and burglary.[3][5][6] Simultaneously, she was a judge ad hoc specialized in administrative and criminal law in the period 2020–2021.[7]

State Secretary for Benefits and Customs

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Achahbar joined the newly established political party New Social Contract, and she ran for the House of Representatives as its 26th candidate in the November 2023 general election. She did not enter the House, as the party secured 20 seats.[8][9] After the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB formed the Schoof cabinet, Achahbar was sworn in as State Secretary for Benefits and Customs on 2 July 2024.[8][10] Her portfolio includes the aftermath of the Dutch childcare benefits scandal and reforms to the benefits system.[11] The cabinet aimed to finish the recovery operation for the scandal's victims by 2027 despite a slow pace of procedures. Achahbar criticized the myriad of compensation schemes. She established an emergency committee to advise on a new centralized recovery approach that would look beyond just financial compensation.[4][12][13]

On 11 November 2024, when the Council of Ministers discussed the Amsterdam attacks, in which supporters of the Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. were targeted, Achahbar reportedly considered some remarks offensive, radical, and potentially racist. After the council meeting, Prime Minister Dick Schoof said that the events pointed to a broader integration issue, and State Secretary Jurgen Nobel stated that a significant portion of Islamic youth did not endorse Dutch norms and values.[14][15] Achahbar announced on 15 November to the Council that she would resign as state secretary.[16] Her intended resignation triggered crisis talks to prevent a cabinet collapse between the cabinet and leaders of the four coalition parties, who finally agreed that other cabinet members of NSC would stay on.[17] In a letter, Achahbar cited "polarizing interactions during the past weeks" as the cause of her resignation, which was granted the same day.[16][18] She later denied that her departure was because of racism, and she said that some remarks that circulated were incorrect.[19]

Electoral history

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Electoral history of Nora Achahbar
Year Body Party Pos. Votes Result Ref.
Party seats Individual
2023 House of Representatives New Social Contract 26 1,373 20 Lost [9]

References

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  1. ^ "WEBINAR Officier van justitie: van sollicitatie tot functie, 12 maart 2024". YouTube. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Nora Achahbar: beoogd staatssecretaris van Financiën (Toeslagen en hersteloperatie toeslagenaffaire)". YouTube. Nieuw Sociaal Contract. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  3. ^ a b c De Haan, Marko (15 November 2024). "Bij toeslagenouders slaat het vertrek van Achahbar in als een bom" [Victims of childcare benefits scandals are shocked by Achahbar's departure]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  4. ^ a b Achahbar, Nora (10 September 2024). "Staatssecretaris Toeslagen Nora Achahbar (NSC): 'Het is niet raar dat mensen wantrouwend zijn'" [State Secretary for Benefits and Customs Nora Achahbar (NSC): 'It is not surprising that people have become distrustful']. Trouw (Interview) (in Dutch). Interviewed by Esther Lammers. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  5. ^ a b Van Soest, Hans (15 November 2024). "Als dochter van een gastarbeider had Nora Achahbar (NSC) moeite met de woorden 'integratieprobleem'" [As the daughter of a migrant worker, Nora Achahbar (NSC) had difficulties with the words 'integration issue']. Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  6. ^ Frijns, Roelant (15 November 2024). "'Racistische uitspraken' werden de gedreven Achahbar te veel" ['Racist remarks' were too much for the ambitious Achahbar]. Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  7. ^ "Staatssecretaris Achahbar kondigt vertrek aan vanwege integratiediscussie binnen kabinet" [State Secretary Achahbar announces departure because of integration debate within cabinet]. RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 15 November 2024. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Nora Achahbar gaat voor NSC het toeslagendossier beheren" [Nora Achahbar will manage the benefits portfolio for NSC]. NOS (in Dutch). 13 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Model P 22-1: Proces-verbaal van de uitslag van de verkiezing van de Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal" [Model P 22–1: Report of the results of the election of the House of Representatives] (PDF). Staatscourant (in Dutch). Vol. 2024, no. 119. 24 January 2024. pp. 143–144. Retrieved 13 June 2024 – via Overheid.nl.
  10. ^ "Ministers en staatssecretarissen kabinet-Schoof beëdigd" [Ministers and state secretaries of Schoof cabinet sworn in]. NOS (in Dutch). 2 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Nora Achahbar". Government of the Netherlands (in Dutch). Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  12. ^ Hendrickx, Frank; Huisman, Charlotte (6 November 2024). "Staatssecretaris zet in op 'totaalherstel' van toeslagenaffaire: 'Het kan zo niet langer'" [State secretary focuses on 'comprehensive recovery' from childcare benefits scandal: 'This can't continue']. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  13. ^ Lammers, Esther (6 November 2024). "Spoedcommissie moet afhandeling toeslagenaffaire versnellen" [Emergency committee should speed up recovery from the childcare benefits scandal]. Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  14. ^ Du Pré, Raoul (11 November 2024). "Premier Schoof ziet groot probleem met de integratie: 'Hun gedrag is schokkend, moreel volstrekt ontaard'" [Prime Minister Schoof observes major issue with integration: 'Their behavior is shocking, completely morally corrupt']. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  15. ^ Hendrickx, Frank; Du Pré, Raoul (15 November 2024). "Integratiedebat brengt verdeeld kabinet-Schoof aan het wankelen" [Integration debate causes divided Schoof cabinet to shake]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  16. ^ a b "Koning verleent ontslag aan Achahbar" [King grants Achahbar's resignation]. NOS (in Dutch). 15 November 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  17. ^ "Val kabinet afgewend: Achahbar vertrekt, andere NSC'ers blijven in kabinet" [Cabinet collapse prevented: Achahbar will depart, other NSC members will remain in the cabinet]. NOS (in Dutch). 15 November 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  18. ^ "Achahbar: kan door polariserende omgangsvormen niet verder als staatssecretaris" [Achahbar: Cannot continue as state secretary due to polarizing interactions]. NOS (in Dutch). 15 November 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  19. ^ "Oud-staatssecretaris Achahbar ontkent dat ze is opgestapt vanwege racisme" [Former State Secretary Achahbar denies that she stepped down because of racism]. NU.nl (in Dutch). 19 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
Political offices
Preceded by State Secretary for Benefits and Customs
2024 		Vacant
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