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A civil servant, educator and member of the parliament, Ahmed Marcouch has recently been elected as the mayor of Arnhem, a city located in the eastern part of the Netherlands. Born on the 2nd of May 1969, the Beni-Boughafer (Nador region) native immigrated to the Netherlands when he was 10 years old and managed later to be part of the political scene of the European country.
His father had to leave for the Netherlands in 1970 to work. It was in Amsterdam that he settled down making part of the «Gastarbeider» or an invited laborer literally. Living with 8 brothers and sisters, Ahmed Marcouch lost his mother when he was 3 years old. The family then joined the father in Amsterdam where he had a second family with 5 more children.
Once in the Dutch capital, the young man went to school for the first time where he learned the local language for two years and carried his studies in the field of technical education. He debuted his career in a retirement home in Amsterdam before becoming a police officer in 1993 and then a sergeant for 10 years. During that period, he started teaching sociology in a training center after focusing on the city’s youths. Eventually, Marcouch was named head of the youth’s politics.
The fight against homophobia
Marcouch became a member and spokesperson of the Union of Moroccan Mosques in Amsterdam. From 2006 to 2010 he was chair of the ward Amsterdam-Slotervaart one of the capital’s districts, being the first Moroccan and Muslim to ever gain that position. His program was essentially focusing on the matters of community development, education and security. He was also notoriously respected for defending youngsters and fighting against homophobia.
He is one of those who have contributed to the emancipation of the gay community in Amsterdam among others. A battle that allowed him to receive the 2011 LGBT Innovation Prize for gay rights granted by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. His position was the source of the troubles he had with the opposition and the Moroccan community. Despite the criticism, Marcouch was able to fight for his ambitious dreams. On the 9th of June, 2010, he became a member of the Second Chamber of the States General, the Lower House of the Netherlands Parliament, with the Dutch Labour Party. He left the parliament on the 23rd of March 2017, for not being able to get re-elected in the 2017 elections.
On July the 3rd, Ahmed Marcouch was appointed by the City Council of Arnhem new mayor. He will be on duty on 1st of September and will succeed Herman Kaiser, who left abandoned on the 1st of June because of some health issues, according to the Dutch newspaper Dutch News. His election is now only a formality since his appointment should be confirmed by the Ministers' council as reported by the Netherlands Times. A statement should be issued once his name is received by the Interior Ministry which will then send it to the king.
He did not hesitate to share his nomination on social networks, where he told the inhabitants of the city of Arnhem how «happy and honored he was to be [their] mayor in the beautiful city of Arnhem, Arnhem. Thank you for this vote of confidence!»
Arnhemmers, heel blij en vereerd om jullie BM te mogen worden in het mooie en veelzijdige #Arnhem. Dank voor dit vertrouwen! @ArnhemRaad
— Ahmed Marcouch مركوش (@ahmedmarcouch) 3 juillet 2017
