Els de Groen

In this Dutch name, the birth surname is Kouwenhoven and the marital name is de Groen.

Els de Groen
De Groen in 1987
Member of the European Parliament for the Netherlands
In office 2004–2009
Personal details
Born	Elly Kouwenhoven (1949-12-23) 23 December 1949 The Hague, Netherlands
Political party	Europa Transparant The Greens–European Free Alliance
Profession	Journalist writer politician

Elly de Groen-Kouwenhoven (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɛli də ɣruŋ ˈkʌuə(n)ˌɦoːvə(n)]; née Kouwenhoven; born 23 December 1949), generally known as Els de Groen, is a Dutch author and politician, who served as a Member of the European Parliament 2004–2009. She was a member of Europe Transparent, which sat with the Greens/EFA party group. As an MEP, she was a member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the Committee on Petitions, as well as a member of the delegation to the EU–Bulgaria Joint Parliamentary Committee and a substitute for the delegation for relations with the countries of Southeast Europe.

Career

• Senior secondary teaching certificate
• French teacher (1970–1975)
• Writer, essayist and commentator
• Literary reviewer, children's books (1985–1992)
• Editor of the Algemeen Dagblad's children's newspaper (1986–1989)
• Has worked for 20 years on news magazines
• Author of various works of fiction and non-fiction for adults
• Her work over the last 20 years has placed a strong emphasis on Eastern Europe
• Unpaid adviser to the Dutch foundation 'Roma-Emancipatie' in Oss (since 2002)
• Various literary awards

External links

• Official website
• European Parliament biography
• (in Dutch) Parlement.com biography
• Declaration (PDF) of financial interests (in Dutch)