Ahmed Aboutaleb,

Ahmed Aboutaleb was born in Beni Sidel (Morocco) on 29 August 1961.
He studied Electrical Engineering at a vocational technical school (LTS), Aviation and Electrical Engineering at an intermediate technical school (MTS) and graduated in Electrical Engineering at a Technical College (HTS) in 1987 with telecommunications as his main subject.
He worked as a discussion leader for RVU Television (an educational broadcaster), as a programme producer at Radio Stad Amsterdam and Radio Noord-Holland and as a reporter for Veronica Radio, NOS radio and RTL4 News.

From 1991 to 1994 he was a public relations official for the Ministry of Social Welfare, Public Health and Culture and went on to become Head of  the Public Relations Department of the Social and Economic Council (SER) until 1997. Until 1998 he was Manager of the Communications and Publications Sector of Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

He then became Director of the FORUM Institute for Multicultural Development and in 2002 he was appointed Director of the Social, Economic and Cultural Development Sector of the Amsterdam City Council. In 2004 he was appointed alderman of Amsterdam charged with Work and Income, Education, Youth, Diversity and Urban Policy.

Mr Aboutaleb has been a member of many boards including the Supervisory Board of the Mondriaan Onderwijsgroep (regional training centre) in The Hague, the Education Council and the Urban Policy Review Committee. He was co-initiator of the Dutch Coalition for Peace in the Middle East and a member of the board of Babylon, a centre for studies in multilingualism in multicultural societies, affiliated to the Faculty of Arts of the Catholic University of Brabant (Tilburg University).

Mr A. Aboutaleb was appointed State Secretary of Social Affairs and Employment in the fourth Balkenende government on 22 February 2007.

Responsibilities state secretary Aboutaleb
•   Decentral labour market policy;
•   Re-employment and municipal reintegration policy;
•   Integral policy Structure Implementation Work and Income;
•   European Social Fund;
•   Social Security policy;
•   Poverty policy and Debt assistance;
•   Sheltered employment;
•   National Insurance (General Old Age Pensions Act, Surviving Dependants Act)including implementation;
•   International affairs ensuing from portfolio;
•   Enforcement and combating of fraud (see point 7 working agreements)
Working agreements
1  Legal quality of rules on labour market policy are also part of the portfolio of the minister;
2 The minister will involve the state secretary as much as possible in the preparation of the Participation summit;
3 The minister will involve the state secretary in the cabinet’s position on law relating to dismissal;
4  The state secretary will involve the minister in the cabinet’s position on General Old Age Pensions Act;
5  The minister takes the lead in talks with the social partners, the state secretary takes the lead in talks with the Association of Netherlands Municipalities;
6  The minister and state secretary jointly decide on the (deployment of) instruments with regard to labour market policy. The state secretary is responsible for implementation;
7  Specification of the division of responsibilities between minister and state secretary with regard to enforcement and Labour Inspectorate.
  Minister
-   Labour Inspectorate (institutional, annual plan, role vis-à-vis other inspectorates;
-   Work and Income Inspectorate (institutional, annual plan, role vis-à-vis other inspectorates);
-   Enforcement with regard to policy areas for which the minister is responsible (e.g. labour conditions policy, Working Hours Act, Aliens Employment Act, Minimum Wages Act, Employees’ insurance).
      State Secretary
-   Enforcement with regard to policy areas for which the state secretary is responsible (e.g. National Insurance and Work and Social Assistance Act);
-   Enforcement policy within SZW-scope (enforcement programme);
-   Combating of fraud;
-   Social Information and Investigation Service (institutional, annual plan).