After three months of coalition talks, the full roster of ministers and state secretaries who will make up the Netherlands’ new minority cabinet is now known. There are quite a few fresh faces.
The lineup was completed yesterday with the final D66 nominees announced. Let’s break this list down.
Minister for Agriculture
First up, 34-year-old Jaimi van Essen of D66 has been appointed as the Minister for Agriculture.
According to NOS, Van Essen, currently a climate councillor in Deventer, is expected to tackle one of the government’s toughest challenges: solving the nitrogen crisis whilst reducing the number of farms.
That challenge is sure to cause some upheaval, to say the least. D66 has previously advocated halving the livestock population, a position farming organisations haven’t forgotten. Let‘s see if the farmers’ riots will return.
Minister for Defence
The VVD secured the Defence portfolio, with Dilan Yeşilgöz stepping into the role.
The current Defence Minister, Ruben Brekelmans, will head to parliament to lead the VVD faction in the Tweede Kamer (House of Representatives).
Ministers of Finance and Health
Finance Minister Eelco Heinen keeps his position for the VVD, whilst VVD’s Sophie Hermans takes on the challenge of the Health Ministry.
She is expected to be responsible for implementing the coalition’s planned healthcare reforms (aka drastic cuts).
Minister of Social Affairs
For D66, veteran Hans Vijlbrief will become Minister of Social Affairs. He has the unenviable task of selling Social Security reforms that include raising the retirement age and shortening benefit durations.
Vijlbrief previously served as a state secretary handling earthquake damage compensation and the closure of gas extraction operations in the Groningen province.
Digital Economy and housing
The coalition also announced that cyber expert Willemijn Aerdts of D66 will become State Secretary for Digital Economy, while D66’s Elanor Boekholt-O’Sullivan, now a high-ranking military officer with the rank of lieutenant general, will oversee Housing and Spatial Planning.
The ambitious goal is to build 100,000 homes annually; perhaps she can also leverage her military experience to remove red tape and move things forward.
A cabinet with no ministerial veterans from the CDA
One striking detail about this cabinet? Not a single CDA nominee has previous ministerial experience.
The party’s candidates bring expertise from roles as provincial deputies, MPs, MEPs, and corporate positions, but none have sat at a ministerial desk before.
According to NOS, this “new generation” approach fits with CDA leader Henri Bontenbal’s vision, who stated last week that fresh faces were essential for the party’s direction.
Overall, 12 of the 28 cabinet candidates across all three parties have previous ministerial experience — but that number drops significantly when you look at the CDA specifically.
What happens next: security screenings and the ‘bordesfoto‘
All candidates will undergo security screenings and interviews with Jetten before the official royal swearing-in.
The cabinet aims for a February 23 ceremony, though that date is not yet confirmed. They will then get their picture taken with the king, as is tradition.
One notable absence from this process? Parliamentary hearings with candidates. These were introduced two years ago but were recently scrapped after the PVV withdrew support, leaving no majority to continue them.
As readers will recall from the coalition agreement announcement two weeks ago, this will be a minority cabinet with just 66 seats in the 150-seat parliament.
Every single piece of legislation will require convincing opposition parties to vote along, so there will be no guaranteed majorities, no easy wins, and we’ll just have to see if anything materialises.
The complete starting cabinet lineup of Jetten 1
Here’s everyone who’ll be running the Netherlands (or at least trying to):
General Affairs
- Rob Jetten (D66) — Prime Minister
Foreign Affairs
- Tom Berendsen (CDA) — Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Sjoerd Sjoerdsma (D66) — Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation
Justice and Security
- David van Weel (VVD) — Minister of Justice and Security
- Claudia van Bruggen (D66) — State Secretary of Justice and Security (legal protection and prison system)
- Bart van den Brink (CDA) — Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Asylum and Migration
Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations
- Pieter Heerma (CDA) — Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations
- Eric van der Burg (VVD) — State Secretary of Home Affairs (kingdom relations and effective governance)
- Elanor Boekholt-O’Sullivan (D66) — Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning
Education, Culture and Science:
- Rianne Letschert (D66) — Minister of Education, Culture and Science
- Judith Tielen (VVD) — State Secretary of Education, Culture and Science
Finance
- Eelco Heinen (VVD) — Minister of Finance
- Nathalie van Berkel (D66) — State Secretary of Finance
- Sandra Palmen (independent) — State Secretary for Allowances Recovery
Defence
- Dilan Yeşilgöz (VVD) — Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence
- Derk Boswijk (CDA) — State Secretary of Defence
Infrastructure and Water Management
- Vincent Karremans (VVD) — Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management
- Annet Bertram (CDA) — State Secretary of Infrastructure and Water Management
Economic Affairs and Climate
- Heleen Herbert (CDA) — Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate
- Willemijn Aerdts (D66) — State Secretary of Economic Affairs (digital economy and sovereignty)
- Stientje van Veldhoven (D66) — Minister of Climate and Green Growth
- Jo-Annes de Bat (CDA) — State Secretary of Climate and Green Growth
Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature
- Jaimi van Essen (D66) — Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature
- Silvio Erkens (VVD) — State Secretary of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature
Social Affairs and Employment
- Hans Vijlbrief (D66) — Minister of Social Affairs and Employment
- Thierry Aartsen (VVD) — Minister of Work and Participation
Health, Welfare and Sport
- Sophie Hermans (VVD) — Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport
- Mirjam Sterk (CDA) — Minister of Long-term Care, Youth and Sport
Think this minority cabinet will actually get things done, or are we in for endless political negotiations? Share your predictions in the comments.
