THE HAGUE - Annabel Nanninga will represent the JA21 party in the Dutch House of Representatives’ Committee on Kingdom Relations. She currently serves as a member of the Senate but is expected to take up her new role in the lower house soon. In last week’s general election, Nanninga was placed second on JA21’s candidate list, following party co-founder Joost Eerdmans.

Nanninga, 48, first rose to national prominence for her outspoken and often controversial commentary as a columnist for platforms such as GeenStijl.nl. She faced strong criticism after referring to African boat refugees as “dobbernegers” (a derogatory term meaning “floating blacks”). In 2018, she became the leader of Forum for Democracy (FvD) in the Amsterdam City Council and later served as a member of the Provincial States and the Senate for the same party.

In 2020, Nanninga and Eerdmans broke away from FvD following a series of antisemitic tweets circulating within the party, forming their own faction in the Senate under the name Fractie Nanninga. Since 2023, she has chaired the JA21 group in the Senate.

Meanwhile, other parliamentary parties are in the process of allocating committee portfolios. The VVD and CDA factions are expected to finalize their assignments next week. On Wednesday, it was announced that Heera Dijk will take over the Kingdom Relations portfolio for D66, while re-elected MP Don Ceder (Christian Union) remains the only returning member of the Kingdom Relations Committee.