Ines Kostić

Dutch politician (born 1984)

Ines Kostić
Member of the House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 December 2023
Member of the
Provincial Council of North Holland
Incumbent
Assumed office
28 March 2019
Personal details
Born
Ines Kostić

(1984-10-21) 21 October 1984 (age 39)
Mostar, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia
Political partyParty for the Animals
Children1
Residence(s)Hilversum, Netherlands
Alma mater
  • University of Groningen (BA)
  • University of Antwerp (MSc)

Ines Kostić (born 21 October 1984) is a Bosnian-born Dutch political scientist and politician of the Party for the Animals (PvdD), who has served as a member of the Provincial Council of North Holland since 2019, and as a member of the House of Representatives since 2023.[1] They are the first non-binary person to have been elected into the House of Representatives.[2]

Early life

Kostić was born in Mostar in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina to a Bosnian mother and a Croat-Serb father, and they were raised there.[3][4] At the age of 10, they fled the Bosnian War with their parents, seeking refuge in the Netherlands. From Ter Apel, they were transferred to an asylum seekers' center in The Hague. The family was later assigned a house in Niekerk, located in the Province of Groningen.[3] Kostić obtained a bachelor's degree in art, culture and media studies from the University of Groningen.[1] They subsequently completed a master's programme in political science at the University of Antwerp.[1]

Politicis

In May 2017, Kostić became a board member of the Animal Politics Foundation – the international branch of the Party for the Animals.[1] They won a seat in the Provincial Council of North Holland in the 2019 provincial election, and were re-elected in the 2023 provincial election.[1] They were the parliamentary leader of the Party for the Animals in the council.[5]

On 22 November 2023, Kostić ran in the snap general election as the second candidate on the PvdD list, and was elected into the House of Representatives.[6] They were installed as MP on 6 December 2023 as the first non-binary member in Dutch parliamentary history, and they are their party's spokesperson for environment, agriculture, the interior, infrastructure, housing, education, culture, social affairs, and healthcare.[1][3][7] When the right-wing Schoof cabinet was formed, Kostić asked ministers-designate of the populist Party for Freedom (PVV) about their views on the Great Replacement conspiracy theory in response to previous controversial statements. A motion filed by Kostić urging the government to meet nature conservation commitments was passed by the House with the support of two coalition parties.[5]

Personal life

Kostić is non-binary, and they are a vegan. As of 2024, they lived in Hilversum with their girlfriend and daughter Iskra.[3]

Electoral history

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (December 2023)
Electoral history of Ines Kostić
Year Body Party Pos. Votes Result Ref.
Party seats Individual
2017 House of Representatives Party for the Animals 28 1,377 5 Lost [8]
2021 House of Representatives Party for the Animals 12 10,013 6 Lost [9]
2023 House of Representatives Party for the Animals 2 15,232 3 Won [10]
2024 European Parliament Party for the Animals 40[a] 2,544 1 Lost [11]

Notes

  1. ^ Kostić participated as a lijstduwer.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "I. (Ines) Kostic MSc". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Minder stemmen op een vrouw bij Kamerverkiezingen, maar Ines Kostic is wel eerste non-binaire Kamerlid in de geschiedenis". Leidsch Dagblad (in Dutch). 29 November 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d Kostić, Ines (31 July 2024). "Non-binair Kamerlid Ines Kostic moest muren zelf breken: 'Zullen we er maar een vrouwtje van maken?'" [Non-binary MP Ines Kostić had to shatter the glass ceiling herself: 'Shall we just write down 'woman'?']. Algemeen Dagblad (Interview) (in Dutch). Interviewed by Wouter Peer. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  4. ^ "Interview met Ines Kostic". PINK! (in Dutch). 15 January 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b Kieskamp, Wilma (19 August 2024). "Kamerlid Ines Kostic vluchtte als kind voor oorlog: 'Kijk in de politiek uit voor vijanddenken'" [MP Ines Kostić fled war as a child: 'Beware of enemy thinking in politics']. Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  6. ^ Simonides, Jorik (2 November 2023). "Nummer 2: 'Partij voor de Dieren is van de ondernemersgeest'". BNR (in Dutch). Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Ines Kostić". Party for the Animals (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 2017 (getekend exemplaar)" [Results House of Representatives 2017 (signed example)] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 21 March 2017. pp. 128–129. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Proces-verbaal verkiezingsuitslag Tweede Kamer 2021" [Report of the election results House of Representatives 2021] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 29 March 2021. pp. 135–136. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  10. ^ "Proces-verbaal van de uitslag van de verkiezing van de Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal 2023 d.d. 4 december 2023" [Report of the results of the election of the House of Representatives on 4 December 2023] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 4 December 2023. pp. 105–106. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Proces-verbaal centraal stembureau uitslag verkiezing Europees Parlement Model P22-1" [Central electoral council report of the results of the election of the European Parliament Model P22-1] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 19 June 2024. pp. 19–20, 41. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  • v
  • t
  • e
House of Representatives
6 December 2023 – present
Party for Freedom
(PVV – 37)
GroenLinks–Labour Party
(GL/PvdA – 25)People's Party for
Freedom and Democracy
(VVD – 24)New Social Contract
(NSC – 20)Democrats 66
(D66 – 9)Farmer–Citizen Movement
(BBB – 7)Christian Democratic Appeal
(CDA – 5)Socialist Party
(SP – 5)DENK
(DENK – 3)Party for the Animals
(PvdD – 3)Forum for Democracy
(FVD – 3)Reformed Political Party
(SGP – 3)Christian Union
(CU – 3)Volt Netherlands
(Volt – 2)JA21
(JA21 – 1)
 Bold  indicates the parliamentary leader (first mentioned) and the Speaker;  (Brackets)  indicate a temporarily absent member;
 Italics  indicate a temporary member;  ‹Guillemets›  indicate a member who has left the House of Representatives
See also: Members of the Senate of the Netherlands, 2023–2027