Don Ceder

Don Ceder
Ceder in 2020
Member of the House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office
31 March 2021
Member of the Amsterdam municipal council
In office
29 March 2018 – 31 March 2021[1]
Succeeded byTjitske Kuiper
Duo-commissielid of the States of North Holland
In office
26 May 2015[2] – 12 September 2018
Succeeded byMarijke Terlouw
Personal details
Born
Don Guno Maria Ceder

(1989-10-20) 20 October 1989 (age 35)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Political partyChristian Union
Residence(s)Amsterdam, Netherlands
Alma materVrije Universiteit Amsterdam
OccupationLawyer
Websitedonceder.nl

Don Guno Maria Ceder[3] (born 20 October 1989) is a Dutch lawyer and politician, serving as a member of House of Representatives since the 2021 general election.

After studying law at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, he founded a company with his cousin, but left in 2015 to start his own law practice. He won a seat in the Amsterdam municipal council three years later as a member of the political party Christian Union.

Early life and education

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Ceder was born on 20 October 1989 in the Dutch capital Amsterdam to a Surinamese father and a Ghanaian mother.[4][5] He has a brother, a half-brother, and a half-sister, and he grew up in the Zuidoost neighborhood Bijlmermeer.[6][7] Ceder's parents split up when he was in elementary school, and he was subsequently raised by his mother.[3] He attended the secondary school Sint-Nicolaaslyceum at gymnasium level.[8] He studied law at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam starting at age seventeen and earned his Master of Laws degree in 2013.[9][10] While studying, he had an internship at the Christian Union for nine months.[7] Before, he had been a member of the Labour Party for a short period.[11]

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In January 2014, Ceder and his cousin Calvin Ceder founded a company providing legal advice to people targeted by debt collectors called Anti-Incasso.[4][12] Besides, he worked as spokesperson for Stichting ConTel, a consumer organization helping telecom users.[13]

Ceder left Anti-Incasso to start his own solo law practice in March 2015 called Ceder Advocatuur, that is focussed on defending people in debt.[14][15] He had been admitted to the bar the month before.[8] In 2018, business magazine Forbes placed him on their European 30 Under 30 in Law & Policy list.[16] The following year, he successfully helped a woman get her aborted child registered in the Dutch civil registry shortly after a law was passed that makes this possible after a miscarriage. The woman, who later came to regret the abortion, told her story in an episode of the EO television program NieuwLicht.[17] Ceder started taking on less cases in 2019 because of his position as municipal councilor.[18] He represented over 15 parents who were caught up in the childcare benefits scandal.[19]

Next to his job as lawyer and politician, Ceder is a reservist in the Royal Dutch Army, where he is a second lieutenant.[20]

Politics

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Local and regional

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Ceder first ran for political office in the 2014 municipal election. He was in third place on the Christian Union's party list in Amsterdam, but his party did not win any seats in the municipal council.[21] In the 2015 provincial elections, Ceder was placed second on the shared list of the Christian Union and the Reformed Political Party in North Holland.[22] He was not elected, as his party won one seat, but he was appointed duo-commissielid, meaning that he could not vote but could participate in committee meetings.[5]

Ceder ran again for Amsterdam municipal councilor in the March 2018 election, this time being the party's lijsttrekker. The Christian Union won a single seat, marking the first time the party had been part of the Amsterdam council.[23] He was sworn in on 29 March and was the youngest member of the council.[24][25] Due to his workload as councilman, Ceder left the States of North Holland a few months later.[26] In 2019, he was on the lists for the provincial election (place 9) and the European Parliament election (place 29), but he was not elected.[27][28] In the municipal council, Ceder has advocated providing more public services to undocumented minors and bringing an end to deportations of children who have been living in the Netherlands for over five years.[29][30] He has also proposed ending window prostitution in the city and creating a homeless shelter that is opened 24 hours a day.[31][32]

House of Representatives

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Ceder while attending a 2022 conference for ambassadors

He ran for member of parliament (MP) during the 2017 general election, being placed seventh on the party list.[5] His party won five seats, and Ceder received 8,276 preferential votes – not enough to be elected.[33] When MP Stieneke van der Graaf went on maternity leave in March 2019 and Ceder was asked to temporarily fill her seat, he declined, saying he wanted to continue his work as council member.[34] He again appeared on the Christian Union's party list for the 2021 election as number four.[35] During the anti-abortion Week of Life, he called for a reevaluation of the Dutch 24-week limit for legal abortions, arguing that some fetuses are viable before that time.[36] Ceder also defended the five-day waiting period for abortions, also in case of rape, in an interview during the campaign.[37] He was elected, having received 10,318 preference votes, and was sworn in as member of parliament on 31 March 2021.[38] Ceder left the municipal council that same day.[1] In the House, he was on the Committees for Digital Affairs, for Foreign Affairs, for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, for the Interior, for Kingdom Relations, and for Social Affairs and Employment, and he serves as his party's spokesperson for asylum, immigration, social affairs, employment, youth, foreign affairs, digital affairs, kingdom relations, history of slavery, and anti-discrimination.[39][40]

A motion by Ceder was carried by the House in July 2021 in which he called for an independent investigation into the Netherlands' history of slavery. The results were finally published in the report State and Slavery.[41] Furthermore, Ceder was critical of the cabinet for a lack of central leadership during the evacuations of Afghanistan following the fall of Kabul in August 2021.[42] When the Dutch asylum system was suffering from capacity problems and refugees had to sleep outside at the Dutch application center in Ter Apel the following year, Ceder represented his party in negotiations among the coalition parties. The resulting asylum deal included additional funding for accommodation as well as the postponement of family reunions. Ceder defended the deal together with party leader Gert-Jan Segers during an extra party congress, saying that he regretted the latter compromise but that the deal on the whole was a step forward.[43] Ceder also focused on municipal welfare, working on a bill to allow municipalities to be more lenient with reimbursements by recipients in case of mistakes.[44] Furthermore, he presented a plan in 2023 to reform debt collection. He railed against the amount of money made by the industry and decried buy now, pay later services that make part of their profit through late payments. Ceder proposed that the creditor should keep responsibility over the debt collection to prevent malpractices by owners of resold debt, and he wanted to mandate collectors to investigate whether the debtor could pay the debt.[45][46]

Ceder was an advocate of a ban of social media platform TikTok, which was especially popular amongst children. Its updated privacy policy had raised fears that it would allow the Chinese government to access user data.[47]

He was re-elected to the House in November 2023, and his areas of expertise were expanded to include defense, education, culture, and science.[40]

Personal life

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Ceder was a resident of the Amsterdam borough Zuidoost as of 2018, and he got married in January 2023.[48][49] He is a member of the Safe Haven Church, which formerly belonged to the Pentecostalist denomination Victory Outreach, and played a disciple in the 2018 edition of The Passion, that was held in his hometown.[50][51] In his twenties, he danced and acted in plays.[48] He also performs as a DJ.[5]

Ceder has a stutter.[52]

Electoral history

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Electoral history of Don Ceder
Year Body Party Pos. Votes Result Ref.
Party seats Individual
2017 House of Representatives Christian Union 7 8,276 5 Lost [33]
2021 House of Representatives Christian Union 4 10,318 5 Won [38]
2023 House of Representatives Christian Union 3 11,213 3 Won [53]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Openbare vergadering op woensdag 31 maart 2021" [Public meeting on Wednesday 31 March 2021]. Gemeente Amsterdam (in Dutch). 19 April 2021. pp. 13 and 14. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Beëdiging Don Ceder" [Swearing in of Don Ceder]. ChristenUnie Noord-Holland (Press release) (in Dutch). 27 May 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  3. ^ a b Radhakishun, Prem; Ceder, Don (15 March 2021). "ChristenUnie: Don Ceder" [Christian Union: Don Ceder]. Zwarte Prietpraat (in Dutch). NPO Radio 1. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Mr. D.G.M. (Don) Ceder". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Parlementair Documentatie Centrum. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d Keultjes, Hanneke (18 October 2016). "Advocaat Don Ceder gaat van de Bijlmer naar het Binnenhof" [Lawyer Don Ceder moves from the Bijlmer to the Binnenhof]. Het Parool (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  6. ^ Segers, Gert-Jan (6 November 2020). "Don Ceder, de lessen van zijn moeder en wat hij wil doen als Kamerlid" [Don Ceder, the lessons from his mother and what he wants to achieve as MP]. Buzzsprout (Podcast) (in Dutch). Christian Union. Event occurs at 02:42. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  7. ^ a b Ceder, Don (14 February 2017). "Andere stem" [Different voice]. De Volkskrant (Interview) (in Dutch). Interviewed by Robert Vuijsje.
  8. ^ a b Ceder, Don. "Don Ceder, Advocaat" [Don Ceder, Lawyer]. Youth Case (Interview) (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  9. ^ "Amsterdammer Don Ceder op kandidatenlijst ChristenUnie" [Amsterdammer Don Ceder on the Christian Union party list]. Het Parool (in Dutch). 18 October 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  10. ^ "Don Ceder". Forbes. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  11. ^ Beverdam, Gerard; Sloot, Eduard (25 February 2017). "Waarom deze jonge christenen de Tweede Kamer in willen" [Why these young Christians want to enter the House of Representatives]. Nederlands Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  12. ^ Meershoek, Patrick (26 September 2014). "Incasso is soms puur wildwest" [Debt collection is sometimes like the Wild West]. Het Parool (in Dutch). p. 7.
  13. ^ "Stichting wil compensatie om 'gratis' telefoon bij abonnement" [Foundation wants compensation for 'free' phone with subscription]. NU.nl (in Dutch). ANP. 31 December 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  14. ^ Ceder, Don (2 March 2016). "Stagiaire-ondernemer Don Ceder: 'Qua diversiteit valt er nog veel te verbeteren'" [Entrepreneur trainee Don Ceder: 'A lot of improvement could be made in the area of diversity']. Advocatie (Interview) (in Dutch). Interviewed by Joris Rietbroek. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  15. ^ "Het jonge talent van 2019" [The young talent of 2019]. Advocatie Magazine (in Dutch). March 2019. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  16. ^ De Graaff, Abel (23 January 2018). "Amsterdamse advocaat en politicus Don Ceder is volgens Forbes één van de invloedrijkste personen van Europa" [Amsterdam lawyer and politician Don Ceder is one of the most influential persons in Europe according to Forbes]. Quote (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  17. ^ Tempelman, Olaf (20 April 2019). "Vrouw met spijt van abortus laat foetus inschrijven in Basisregistratie Personen" [Woman who regretted abortion registers fetus in civil registry]. De Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  18. ^ Couzy, Michiel; Koops, Ruben (1 September 2020). "ChristenUnie-raadslid Don Ceder: 'Ik betaal een prijs, maar doe dat graag'" [Christian Union councilor Don Ceder: 'I am paying a price but have no problem with that']. Het Parool (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  19. ^ "Compensatie roept gemengde reacties op bij slachtoffers toeslagenaffaire" [Compensation causes mixed reaction amongst victims childcare benefits scandal]. NOS (in Dutch). 22 December 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  20. ^ Brouwer, Evert (19 February 2021). "Defensie en de Tweede Kamerverkiezingen" [Defense and the general election]. Defensiekrant (in Dutch). No. 6. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  21. ^ Bol, Stephan (10 March 2014). "Stemlokaal: de mooiste posters" [Polling station: the prettiest posters]. Nederlands Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  22. ^ Meershoek, Patrick (2 December 2014). "Noord-Holland = Den Haag" [North Holland = The Hague]. Het Parool (in Dutch). p. 4.
  23. ^ Bakker, Michiel (23 March 2018). "CU-raadslid Ceder na zetelwinst: Christelijke politiek Amsterdam springlevend" [CU council member Ceder after winning a seat: Christian politics is fully alive in Amsterdam]. Reformatorisch Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  24. ^ "Nieuwe gemeenteraad Amsterdam geïnstalleerd" [New municipal council of Amsterdam installed]. NU.nl (in Dutch). ANP. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  25. ^ Couzy, Michiel; Koops, Ruben (31 March 2018). "Even voorstellen: de nieuwe gemeenteraad van Amsterdam" [First an introduction: the new Amsterdam municipal council]. Het Parool (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  26. ^ "Bundel van de PS van 12 september 2018" [Bundle of the 12 September 2018 states-provincial] (PDF). Noord-Holland (in Dutch). 12 September 2018. p. 3. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  27. ^ "Kandidaten 2019-2023" [Candidates 2019–2023]. ChristenUnie Noord-Holland (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  28. ^ "Proces-verbaal zitting 15-04-2019 - geldigheid en nummering kandidatenlijsten, verkiezing Europees Parlement" [Records session 15-04-2019 - validity and numbering of party list, European Parliament election]. Kiesraad (in Dutch). 15 April 2019. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  29. ^ Gualthérie van Weezel, Tjerk (20 December 2018). "ChristenUnie: ook Amsterdamse kinderen zonder burgerservicenummer hebben recht op stage of stadspas" [Amsterdam children without a national identity number also have a right to an internship or a city pass]. De Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  30. ^ "Meerderheid gemeenteraad pleit voor kinderpardon" [Majority municipal council advocates pardon for children]. Het Parool (in Dutch). 11 September 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  31. ^ Claus, Sybilla (7 October 2019). "ChristenUnie: Sluit alle ramen op de Wallen" [Christian Union: Close all windows in De Wallen]. Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  32. ^ Provoost, Ben (10 July 2019). "Amsterdamse CU'er Ceder oreert met één hand in zijn broekzak" [Amsterdam CU member Ceder orates with one hand in his pocket]. Reformatorisch Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  33. ^ a b "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 2017 (getekend exemplaar)" [Results House of Representatives 2017 (signed example)] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 21 March 2017. pp. 118–119. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  34. ^ "Don Ceder (CU) gaat niet naar de Tweede Kamer: 'We zijn met wat moois bezig in Amsterdam'" [Don Ceder (CU) will not enter the House of Representatives: 'We are in the middle of something beautiful in Amsterdam']. AT5 (in Dutch). 14 January 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  35. ^ Meesterburrie, Arjan (9 October 2020). "Carola Schouten achter lijsttrekker Segers op kandidatenlijst ChristenUnie" [Carola Schouten after lijsttrekker Segers on party list Christian Union]. nrc.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  36. ^ Van der Kolk, Ruth (14 November 2020). "Mars voor het Leven met vijftig mensen en digitaal: 'Geen losse leuzen. Laten we meer praten over abortus'" [March for Life with fifty people and digitally: 'No empty slogans. Let's talk more about abortion']. Nederlands Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  37. ^ Zuidervaart, Bart (8 March 2021). "Nog enkele debatten te gaan: wie daagt Rutte uit in de laatste campagneweek?" [Still a few debates to go: Who will challenge Rutte in the last week of the campaign?]. Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  38. ^ a b "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. 131–132. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  39. ^ "Don Ceder". Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  40. ^ a b "Over Don Ceder" [About Don Ceder]. ChristenUnie (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  41. ^ Koekkoek, Cécile (29 June 2023). "Literatuur over ons koloniale verleden is aan een opmars bezig. Wat zijn de opvallendste boeken?" [Literature about our colonial history is on the rise. What are the most striking books?]. De Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  42. ^ "ChristenUnie: deze week debat over Afghanistan met Rutte" [Christian Union: A debate about Afghanistan with Rutte this week]. NPO Radio 1 (in Dutch). 6 September 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  43. ^ "ChristenUnie blijft worstelen met asieldeal: 'Net te dragen'" [Christian Union continues to struggle with asylum deal: 'Just barely accept']. NOS (in Dutch). 1 October 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  44. ^ "Kamerleden willen geen verplichte terugvordering meer bij fout met uitkering" [House members do not want compulsory compensation anymore in case of mistake with welfare]. NOS (in Dutch). 23 February 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  45. ^ "ChristenUnie wil af van perverse incassopraktijk bij schuldenaren" [Christian Union wants to get rid of perverted debt collection practices]. Noordhollands Dagblad (in Dutch). ANP. 18 April 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  46. ^ Van der Leij, Lien (30 April 2023). "'We moeten af van armoede als verdienmodel'" ['We should get rid of poverty as a revenue model']. Het Financieele Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  47. ^ "ChristenUnie wil TikTok-verbod, ook kabinet maakt zich zorgen over privacy" [Christian Union wants TikTok ban, cabinet is also worried about privacy]. NOS (in Dutch). 11 November 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  48. ^ a b Ceder, Don (9 December 2018). "Don Ceder: 'Levendigheid is uniek voor Zuidoost'" [Don Ceder: 'Vibrancy is unique to Zuidoost']. Het Parool (Interview) (in Dutch). Interviewed by Misha Melita. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  49. ^ Ceder, Don [@donceder] (9 January 2023). "#newlyweds💍🤍✨". Retrieved 4 February 2023 – via Instagram.
  50. ^ Ketelaar, Titia (14 March 2017). "Voor de ChristenUnie zit de groei in de Bijlmer" [There is potential growth for the Christian Union in the Bijlmer]. nrc.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  51. ^ Van Houten, Maaike (27 March 2018). "The Passion kan in Amsterdam Zuidoost op een warm onthaal rekenen" [The Passion can count on a warm welcome in Amsterdam-Zuidoost]. Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  52. ^ Beverdam, Gerard (10 October 2020). "Don Ceder moest schaamte over stotteren overwinnen: 'Nu moet ik er om lachen dat ik advocaat en politicus ben'" [Don Ceder had to overcome shame about stutter: 'I now have to laugh about the fact that I'm a lawyer and a politician']. Nederlands Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  53. ^ "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. 109–110. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
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