{{Short description|Belgian politician (born 1992)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Nadia Naji | office = Party Co-president of Groen with Jeremie Vaneeckhout | image = Nadia Naji congres Code Groen 2023.jpg | caption = Naji in 2023 | country = Belgium | predecessor = Meyrem Almaci | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1992|02|02|df=y}} | constituency1 = Brussels | term_start1 = 2 July 2024 | birth_place = Brussels, Belgium | party = Groen | office1 = Member of the Flemish Parliament | term_start = 11 june 2022 | term_end = 26 April 2026 | website = {{URL|https://www.groen.be/nadia-naji}} }} '''Nadia Naji''' (born 2 February 1992) is a Belgian politician for Groen. She was co-president, together with Jeremie Vaneeckhout, between June 2022 and December 2024.
== Early life and education ==
Naji is of Algerian and Moroccan descent.<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 June 2022 |title=De drie grote evenwichtsoefeningen voor Nadia Naji en Jeremie Vaneeckhout als ze succes willen boeken als voorzitters van Groen | trans-title=The three big balancing acts for Nadia Naji and Jeremie Vaneeckhout if they want to succeed as chairmen of Groen|work=Het Nieuwsblad |url=https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20220612_97798206|language=NL}}</ref> Her father is a welder and her mother stayed at home. Naji is bilingual: she spoke French at home but went to school in Dutch. Her family was struggling financially and Naji had to pay for her own education through various student jobs from the age of 16 onwards.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nadia Naji |url=https://www.groen.be/nadia-naji |access-date=2026-04-29 |website=Groen |language=nl}}</ref>
She studied Communication management in Brussels and acquired a masters in Media Studies at the University of Antwerp.
Before entering politics, she worked from 2017 to 2020 as a journalist for ''BRUZZ''.<ref name="bladi">{{cite news |title=Belgique : une Marocaine élue coprésidente de Groen |url=https://www.bladi.net/belgique-marocaine-copresidente-groen,93907.html |access-date=31 March 2024 |work=bladinet |language=fr |trans-title=Belgium: a Moroccan woman elected co-president of Groen}}</ref>
== Political career ==
From January 2021 until April 2022 she worked as a staff member for Brussels regional deputies {{Ill|Arnaud Verstraete|nl}} and {{Ill|Juan Benjumea Moreno|nl}}. In April 2022 she became an advisor to Elke Van den Brandt, minister in the Brussels-Capital Region government.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Brusselse Nadia Naji kandidaat-co-voorzitter voor Groen |url=https://www.bruzz.be/politiek/brusselse-nadia-naji-kandidaat-co-voorzitter-voor-groen-2022-05-02 |access-date=2026-04-29 |website=Bruzz |language=nl}}</ref>
On 11 June 2022 she was elected party co-president of Groen, together with Jeremie Vaneeckhout.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 June 2022 |title=Groen heeft nieuw voorzittersduo |trans-title=Groen has a new chairman duo|work=VRT |url=https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2022/06/11/voorzittersverkiezingen-groen/|language=NL}}</ref> They decided to run as a duo of co-presidents, instead of president and vice-president, following the example of the German Greens and the Belgian francophone Greens of Ecolo.<ref>{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=2022-05-02 |title=Kristof Calvo geen kandidaat-voorzitter bij Groen, Jeremie Vaneeckhout en Nadia Naji willen covoorzitters worden |trans-title=Kirstof Calvo not a candidate for Green presidency, Jeremie Vaneeckhout and Nadia Naji want to become co-presidents |url=https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2022/05/01/jeremie-vaneeckhout-en-nadia-naji-zijn-kandidaat-co-voorzitters/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220503132329/https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2022/05/01/jeremie-vaneeckhout-en-nadia-naji-zijn-kandidaat-co-voorzitters/ |archive-date=2022-05-03 |access-date=2026-04-29 |work=VRT NWS |language=nl}}</ref>
She was selected to be the main candidate for her party in the Brussels constituency for the 2024 Flemish Parliament elections.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 Dec 2023 |title=Naji, Van den Brandt en Van der Straeten trekken groene lijst in Brussel |trans-title=Naji, Van den Brandt and Van der Straeten lead green list in Brussels|work=BRUZZ |url=https://www.bruzz.be/politiek/naji-van-den-brandt-en-van-der-straeten-trekken-groene-lijst-brussel-2023-12-09|language=NL}}</ref> She was elected a Member of the Flemish Parliament with 6122 preference votes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://elections2024.belgium.be/en/preference-votes?el=VL&id=VLC21004&party=27|title=Preference votes | Elections 2024|website=Federal Public Service Interior|accessdate=Jul 10, 2024}}</ref>
In October 2024 Naji and Vaneeckhout decided to step down as co-presidents, citing the disappointing electoral results of Green in the national, regional and local elections during 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-10-18 |title=Groen-covoorzitters Jeremie Vaneeckhout en Nadia Naji zetten stap opzij na tegenvallende verkiezingsresultaten |trans-title=Green co-presidents Jeremie Vaneeckhout and Nadia Naji step aside after disappointing election results |url=https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/10/18/naji-en-vaneeckhout-groen-geen-kandidaat-voor-volgende-voorzit/ |access-date=2026-04-29 |website=VRT NWS |language=nl}}</ref> They were succeeded by Bart Dhont and Natacha Waldmann.
==Personal life ==
Naji married her partner of seven years on 1 April 2023; they had no guests at the ceremony in Karreveld Castle in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and honeymooned in Scandinavia.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ver Berne |first1=Kat |title=Nadia Naji over geheim huwelijk: 'Het was een ode aan de liefde' |url=https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20230425_95689973 |access-date=22 April 2024 |work=De Standaard |date=25 April 2023 |language=nl-BE |trans-title=Nadia Naji about secret marriage: 'It was an ode to love'}}</ref>
== See also ==
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Naji, Nadia}} Category:Members of the Flemish Parliament Category:1992 births Category:Living people Category:Groen (political party) politicians Category:Politicians from Brussels Category:21st-century Belgian politicians Category:Belgian people of Algerian descent