Marleen Barth


Magdalena Antoinette Maria 'Marleen' Barth is a Dutch politician of the Labour Party and trade unionist, and a former journalist.

Early life and education

Magdalena Antoinette Maria Barth was born on 21 March 1964 in Den Helder in the Netherlands.
Barth studied political science with a speciality in public administration at the University of Amsterdam.

Career

Barth worked as a parliamentary reporter for Trouw, was a member of the House of Representatives, a member of the Provincial Council of North Holland, and chair of the Education Union of the Christian National Trade Union Federation. She was chair of the Dutch Association of Mental Health and Addiction Care from 2008 to 2013.
She was lead candidate for the Labour Party in the [2011 Dutch Senate (Netherlands)|Senate election|2011] and 2015 Senate elections. From 7 June 2011, she was a member of the Senate as well as Senate group leader of the Labour Party. She stepped down as member of the Senate on 8 February 2018, after a controversy about her vacation during a Senate debate.

Personal life

Marleen Barth is married to former D66 MP Jan Hoekema, who has been mayor of Wassenaar from 2007 to 2017.