Former politician Agnes Wolbert has died. The PvdA member lived in Annen for many years and was a member of the House of Representatives for her party for more than ten years, until she said goodbye to politics in 2017 because she wanted to spend more time with her family.
The Overijsselse native was mainly concerned with healthcare in The Hague and she drew attention to the differences in health between poor and rich people. “There was little attention to it, but the PvdA faction did put it on the agenda,” she said during her farewell reception in 2017.
Harm Brouwer, chairman of PvdA Drenthe from 2004 to 2014, remembers well how Wolbert entered politics. “She actually entered politics under the shadow of her husband (Hans Polman, councilor of Aa en Hunze, ed.). She was known from youth care, where we regularly had conversations with her and in which she seemed very motivated.” Before her political career, Wolbert worked at Bureau Jeugdzorg Groningen.
For the 2006 House of Representatives elections, the PvdA looked for candidates from Drenthe. That search quickly led to Wolbert, says Brouwer. “There was no discussion within the party about getting her on the list for the elections at that time.”
Wolbert’s focus in parliament was mainly on healthcare-related themes. “She was involved in the donor law and she has stood up for people who live in poverty and therefore have a health disadvantage.” According to Brouwer, Wolbert was involved in a project in the Veenkoloniën to help people with a small wallet live a healthier life.
Ethical issues were also high on her agenda. She worked on the law for voluntary euthanasia and after her political career she became chairman of the Dutch Association for a Voluntary End of Life (NVVE).
Brouwer served in the House of Representatives together with Wolbert for the PvdA for about a year and a half. “She was a seriously hard worker. She wanted to convince people, but did so in a very nice way. Not pushy, but a very good conversationalist. She was very motivated from within to do the right thing.”
When she was in the House of Representatives for the PvdA, she was also very involved in municipal and provincial elections. “We always wanted to have a representative from the House of Representatives there and Agnes always showed up. She felt very involved in these elections.”
Wolbert lived with her husband in Zutphen and together they have three children. Agnes Wolbert turned 67 years old.