King Willem-Alexander has sworn in three new ministers: D66 member Tom De Bruyne has been appointed Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, fellow party member Stephen Van Weinberg will take over as Secretary of State for Infrastructure and the Environment and VVD member Dennis Wiersma is the new Secretary of State for Social Affairs, Employment, Business and Employment.
The dates were already announced last month, but will only go into effect today due to the holiday. The outgoing government will meet again on Friday for the first time after the holiday.
Experienced diplomat
De Bruin (72 years old) has a lot of experience. He worked for a long time as a diplomat, including as a permanent representative to the European Union. He also served as a member of the Council of State in the Council of State and an alderman in The Hague. Until recently, he was also Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Clingendael Institute.
Van Weinberg, 48, has been a Member of Parliament for the D66 since 2012. He has spoken, among other things, about finance and social security and has been a member of the D66 negotiating team in the current government formation. Previously, he was a government employee in various ministries.
Wiersma, 35, has been a member of the House of Representatives for VVD since 2017 and has, among other things, pension and immigration affairs in his portfolio. Before coming to Parliament, he was president of FNV Jong, among other things.
two ministers
De Bruyne’s appointment means that there are two ministers again in the Foreign Ministry: his fellow party (and party leader) Kaag remains foreign minister, and thus De Bruyne is responsible for the Department of Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade.
There hasn’t been a separate minister for development cooperation since the spring: Kaag took over the post of foreign minister from VVD Blok member in May. He turned to economic affairs due to the exhaustion of his party mate Van ‘t Wout.
Van Weinberg is the successor to his party colleague Van Veldhoven in the field of infrastructure and the environment. He will become Vice President of an international organization for sustainable policy. Since the beginning of this year, there is no longer a Minister of State for Social Affairs. Minister Colmes took over those duties in January.
Increased workload
The combined functions of Kaag and Koolmees were deemed too heavy in the end. In The Hague, the appointment of three new ministers is also seen as a sign that formation will take some time and that there is no prospect of a new government forming yet.
The increasing workload and large number of long-term patients in politics has become an increasing topic in recent times. Prime Minister Rutte, who was initially with small ministerial teams, said in May he expected more people in the next government.
