Wil Velders-Vlasblom

Wil Velders-Vlasblom (2 May 1930 - 20 January 2019) was a Dutch politician and woman's rights activist. She was the first woman alderman in Utrecht,[1] and later served as mayor of Beverwijk. During the 1970s and a portion of the 1980s, Velders-Vlasblom was the face of the PvdA party in Utrecht.[2]

Wil Velders-Vlasblom
Wil Velders-Vlasblom (1977)

Early life and education

Wilhelmina ("Wil") Velders-Vlasblom was born in Schiedam, 2 May 1930. Her father was a coppersmith at a shipyard. She had four brothers.[3][1] Velders-Vlasblom grew up in Rotterdam. Before World War II, her parents were members of the SDAP (predecessor of the PvdA) and she was then a member of the Arbeiders Jeugd Centrale (AJC). In 1943, the Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs (MULO) she was attending was bombed, and she was unable to finish school.[1] At the age of sixteen, she studied an administrative law course through a trade union where she learned about the "pay gap".[3]

Career

After the war, she married and with her husband and young son, moved to Utrecht in 1950.[1][3] Five years later, she became politically active in the PvdA, eventually becoming secretary of the Rooie Vrouwen in de PvdA, the women's organization within the party.[3] Her activism included a woman's right to abortion.[3] In 1969, she joined the Utrecht city council in 1969. In September 1974, she became the first woman alderman in Utrecht, and in November 1986, her appointment as mayor of Beverwijk followed.[2] She retired from the position in June 1995.[1] Velders-Vlasblom died in Utrecht, 20 January 2019 at the age of 88.[4]

References
  1. "In memoriam Wil Velders-Vlasblom (1930-2019)". PvdA Utrecht (in Dutch). 23 January 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  2. "Nestorix - Wil Velders-Vlasblom, een rooie vrouw avant la lettre". Nieuws030. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  3. "In Memoriam: Wil Velders-Vlasblom - In Memoriam". Atria (in Dutch). 29 January 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  4. Van Dam, Jan (22 January 2019). "Wil Velders-Vlasblom (88), eerste vrouwelijke wethouder van Utrecht, overleden". ad.nl. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
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