Khadija Arib

AMSTERDAM — Moroccan Dutch politician Khadija Arib of the Labour Party (PvdA) was elected on Wednesday as the new chairwoman of the House of Representatives.

Arib won with 83 of the 134 valid votes.

“I’m a very touched,” Arib said, immediately following the acceptance of the presidency of the House.

“It will be a President of the House for everyone, who will work with great conviction and I will “act where necessary,” she added.

Arib praised her fellow candidates for supporting her during all the previous rounds.

The Moroccan-Dutch, 55, who has been a member of parliament since 1998, will preside the House of Representatives until March next year, when parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place.

With her remarkable political career, Arib has become the first Muslim to achieve such privileged political position in the Netherlands.

Arib was born in Morocco and immigrated to the Netherlands when she was 15. Throughout her political career, Arabi focused on women’s rights and racial justice.

Before joining the parliament, she was a social worker. She studied sociology at the University of Amsterdam.