MEP celebrates 55 years on Monday, February 9, 2026
Parliamentarian Endy Croes congratulates the MEP party on its 55 years of existence. This Monday, February 9, 2026, the MEP party celebrates 55 years since its founding. The MEP party has a long trajectory with great achievements, and today we briefly review the history of the third (3rd) leader of MEP, Evelyn Wever-Croes, who has led MEP from August 2011 until today. Betico Croes led MEP for 15 years from 1971, Nel Oduber led MEP for 25 years, and Evelyn Wever-Croes has led MEP from 2011 until now for a total of 15 years. These are the three leaders who have led MEP during its 55 years of existence.
MEP was founded on February 9, 1972
On February 9, 1971, the immortal leader Betico Croes, in the presence and with the approval of neighborhood leaders from all corners of Aruba, founded the MEP party (Movimiento Electoral di Pueblo – People’s Electoral Movement) with a social-democratic ideology. The decision of February 9, 1971, was ratified during the first MEP Congress, which took place on Sunday, February 14, 1971, at the Rialto Theater in Playa. The first MEP board consisted of the Leader and President of the board, the architect of our Status Aparte, Betico Croes, and board members Efrain de Kort, Watty Vos, Daniel Leo, Jossy Croes, Sixto Feliciano, and Cezare Terzano.
Evelyn Wever-Croes becomes the 3rd leader of MEP on August 28, 2011
The MEP party organized its Congress in accordance with its Statutes on August 28, 2011, to elect a new leader for the party. In this election, three candidates were nominated, and Evelyn Wever-Croes won by a large margin and was elected as the new MEP leader. Thus, MEP became known for having its third leader in its history and, for the first time, a female leader. From 2015 onward, Evelyn Wever-Croes was unanimously re-elected on several occasions. Evelyn led a strong opposition, and in the election of September 22, 2017, MEP obtained 20,061 votes, representing 37.6% of the electorate, good for 9 seats, and formed a government with the POR and RED parties.
Evelyn Wever-Croes becomes the first female Prime Minister
After the election of September 22, 2017, in which MEP won 9 seats, MEP formed a government with POR (2 seats) and RED (1 seat). Evelyn Wever-Croes was sworn in on November 17, 2017, as the first Prime Minister of Aruba. Evelyn Wever-Croes entered history as the first female Prime Minister of Aruba. For MEP, this is certainly an honor.
Evelyn Wever-Croes: Determination and courage in difficult times
Evelyn Wever-Croes demonstrated that she is a leader with vision and determination when she took command of a financially broken Aruba due to the mismanagement of AVP. With a firm hand, she transformed deficits into surpluses, stabilizing our economy until the pandemic presented an unprecedented challenge. As a reliable leader, Evelyn guided Aruba through the darkest moments of COVID-19 and fought hard battles against the strict conditions of the Netherlands, managing to remove the COHO and RAFT laws from the table. Thanks to her capacity, Aruba not only recovered but rebounded stronger, confirming that Evelyn is the only leader with the courage to protect our autonomy and move our country forward. Under her leadership, for the first time in 40 years since our Status Aparte, Aruba achieved a surplus for three consecutive years.
Evelyn Wever-Croes makes MEP the largest party
Evelyn Wever-Croes led MEP to victory on June 25, 2021, obtaining 20,700 votes, good for 9 seats, making MEP the largest party again. At the same time, Evelyn Wever-Croes became the vote-getter of Aruba with 7,518 personal votes. Among other things, this is certainly recognition of gratitude for the magnificent work Evelyn carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic for her country Aruba. In the election of December 6, 2024, Evelyn Wever-Croes once again became the top vote-getter of Aruba for the second consecutive time with 6,474 votes. The people continued to express their confidence in the female leader of MEP.
Foundation for digitalization in education
Education lies very close to the heart of MEP leader and former Prime Minister of Aruba, Evelyn Wever-Croes. Therefore, through FUTURA, Evelyn ensured the creation of a digitalization fund, generating additional resources to invest in various digital projects that each school submitted monthly. In addition, the digi-board project, which Evelyn promoted, has also been a successful initiative.
Evelyn Wever-Croes 15 years as MEP Leader
In August 2026, Evelyn Wever-Croes will complete 15 years as leader of MEP. Certainly not an easy task, but one that the people of Aruba have embraced and appreciated. Thank you, Evelyn Wever-Croes, for all your work as MEP leader and as Prime Minister. Thanks to all supporters who made this possible. A special thanks to your household, your children, and your entire family who supported you in this journey. Aruba and MEP are proud of you!
