Tunahan Kuzu

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Tunahan Kuzu
Tunahan Kuzu in 2021
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
20 September 2012 – 5 December 2023
Leader of DENK in the House of Representatives
In office
9 February 2015 – 21 March 2020
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byFarid Azarkan
Member of the municipal council of Rotterdam
In office
22 May 2008 – 27 September 2012
Personal details
Born (1981-06-05) 5 June 1981 (age 42)
Istanbul, Turkey
Political partyLabour Party
(2012–2014)
Independent (2014–2015)
DENK (2015–present)
Residence(s)Rotterdam, Netherlands
Alma materErasmus University Rotterdam

Tunahan Kuzu (born 5 June 1981) is a Dutch politician of Turkish background who served as an MP from 20 September 2012 until 5 December 2023.[1] Initially he was a member of the Labour Party (PvdA) and on 13 November 2014 Kuzu and Selçuk Öztürk left the Labour Party and formed the Group Kuzu/Öztürk, later renamed DENK ("Think").[2] On 18 November 2014, he became Parliamentary group leader. In the 2017 Dutch general election, the party secured three seats in the House of Representatives. He was succeeded as party leader by Farid Azarkan in 2020.

Early life[edit]

Kuzu grew up in Maassluis and studied public administration at Erasmus University Rotterdam. He worked as a health care advisor for PricewaterhouseCoopers, and was also a member of the municipal council of Rotterdam from 2008 to 2012.

Controversies[edit]

Relations with Israel[edit]

Kuzu attracted international attention in September 2016 when he refused to shake the hand of Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu before a meeting at the States General of the Netherlands. In a statement posted to Facebook Kuzu explained his action as a protest against human rights abuses committed against Palestinian civilians in the Palestinian territories.[3][4]

In May 2019, during a visit to Jerusalem to learn about the situation of the Palestinians in Israel, Kuzu was held up on the Temple Mount while carrying a Palestinian flag. According to Farid Azarkan, Kuzu was "taken by a large group of heavily armed soldiers". Kuzu was not arrested, however, he was stopped and released after an hour.[5]

Electoral history[edit]

A (possibly incomplete) overview of Dutch elections Kuzu participated in
Election Party Candidate number Votes
2010 Dutch municipal elections in Rotterdam Labour Party 10 1.697
2012 Dutch general election Labour Party 27 23.067
2014 Dutch municipal elections in Rotterdam Labour Party 29 418
2017 Dutch general election Denk 1 129.025
2018 Dutch municipal elections in Rotterdam Denk 20
2019 Dutch provincial elections in North Holland Denk 24 2.881
2019 Dutch provincial elections in South Holland Denk 50 9.789
2019 European Parliament election in the Netherlands Denk 14 20.350
2021 Dutch general election Denk 2 70.374
2022 Dutch special municipal elections in Amsterdam Denk 15 1.973
2022 Dutch municipal elections in Rotterdam Denk 17

References[edit]

  1. ^ "DENK-Kamerlid Tunahan Kuzu vertrekt na de verkiezingen". RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 2023-09-11. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  2. ^ Two Turkish deputies expelled from Dutch labor party; Today's Zaman; 14 November 2014
  3. ^ Mackey, Robert (7 September 2016). "Anti-Racist Dutch MP Refuses to Shake Netanyahu's Hand". The Intercept. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  4. ^ Sims, Alexandra (14 September 2016). "Dutch MP refuses to shake hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  5. ^ "Kuzu met Palestijnse vlag staande gehouden in Jeruzalem". nos.nl (in Dutch). 17 May 2019. Retrieved 2020-06-10.


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