Dutch politicians mourn the Turkish-origin ice cream maker.
According to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Moes (Musa) Pekdemir, who is one of the four permanent residents of The Hague with the Senate, the House of Representatives and the Prime Minister, died at the age of 67.
Pekdemir's death was met with sadness in all segments of politics, from Prime Minister Rutte to far-right leader Geert Wilders. Pekdemir, who has been selling ice cream with his mobile vehicle for 45 years in the political campus known as Binnenhof in The Hague, was known as one of the closest names to Dutch politics.
For years, hundreds of ministers, undersecretaries and deputies, as well as prime ministers and the Queen of the Netherlands, have been customers of “Ice Cream Moes”.
The child of an immigrant family who came to the Netherlands from Turkey in the mid-1960s, Pekdemir has worked in many fields from the age of 13, from bicycle repair to cigarette factory worker. However, his real passion was ice cream making. Corneldi, the only ice cream shop in the street in the center of The Hague, where they lived in those years, had a big share in this.
Explaining in an interview that they were the only Turkish family on the street in those years, Pekdemir says that they were respected and loved by everyone. Moes, who started to work in Corneldi with his wife Mariana in 1974, worked both in the shop and outside with a mobile vehicle.
He found real happiness in selling ice cream on the street. Saying, “I met thousands of beautiful people in this way,” Pekdemir continued his profession at Binnenhof, which is considered the heart of Dutch politics for more than 45 years. This earned him the title of "the most famous ice cream maker in the Netherlands".
After the Hague Municipality banned motorcycles from entering the city center in order to prevent environmental pollution, Pekdemir faced the risk of losing his job, and after the public's reaction, an exception was applied. However, Pekdemir had to leave its 45-year-old place last year due to the restoration of Binnenhof.
Pekdemir also got involved in politics within the local parties. The Heart of The Hague Party, of which he is a member, announced that Pekdemir, who had a cerebral hemorrhage a while ago, passed away on Saturday, June 3rd. Pekdemir's death was met with sadness in Dutch politics.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte tweeted: "Sad news. Moes, the permanent ice cream maker of Binnenhof, passed away. My Binnenhof resident friend has put a smile on the face of day-trippers, politicians and journalists for years. The Hague will miss him. I wish patience and condolences to his relatives," he said.
