Gerda Verburg

Infobox_Politician
name =Gerritje (Gerda) Verburg


caption =
birth_date =Birth date and age|1957|8|19|df=y
birth_place =Zwammerdam, Netherlands
residence = Woerden, Netherlands
death_date =
death_place =
office = minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality
salary =
term_start = 2007
term_end = present
predecessor = Cees Veerman
successor = Incumbent
office2 = Member of Parliament
salary2 =
term_start2 = 1998
term_end2 = 2006
predecessor2 =
successor2 =
party = Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA)
religion = Protestant (Reformed)
constituency =
majority =
spouse =
children =
website =
footnotes =

Gerritje (Gerda) Verburg (Zwammerdam, 19 august 1957) is a Dutch politician for the Christian Democratic Appeal. She is minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality in the Fourth cabinet Balkenende.

Verburg comes from a family of farmers. She attended MAVO and HAVO at protestant schools in Bodegraven and Alphen aan de Rijn. In 1976 she began to study human resources in Kampen, but dropped out after four years. Verburg began to work for Christian Rural Youth as general-secretary. In 1982 she began to work for the National Federation of Christian Trade Unions in the Netherlands. Between 1982 and 1986 as youth worker of the construction trade union and between 1986 and 1990 as chair of the CNV-youth labour union. Between 1990 and 1997 she was on the union's board and she represented the union in the Social Economic Council and the European Trade Union Confederation. Between 1997 and 1998 she worked as a businesswoman in communication and projects.

In 1998 election she entered the Tweede Kamer for the CDA. She was one of the few CDA-members who voted in favour of the legalisation of gay marriages. [ [http://www.parlement.com/9291000/biof/02246 profile] on parlement.com] Verburg herself is openly lesbian.citation |url=http://gaykrant.nl/index.php?id=9&a=bericht&bericht=3069 |title=Opnieuw homo-minister ("Again a Gay Minister") |periodical=Gay Krant |date=2007-06-25 |accessdate=2007-09-22] In 2003 she was candidate-chair for the Tweede Kamer, but she was defeated by Frans Weisglas. Since 2003 Verburg has been vice-chair of the parliamentary party. She was the chair of the CDA-parliamentary commission on social affairs.

Verburg is minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality in the Fourth cabinet Balkenende. She was criticized by the Volkskrant for not having any experience with the field [ [http://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/article397179.ece Gerda Verburg (CDA) - Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit] in De Volkskrant] .

References