D66 puts Kuipers, Dijkgraaf and Jetten next to Kaag in ministerial team | Inland

Jetten, once labeled a ‘climate pusher’ by the then VVD party leader Klaas Dijkhoff, will become Minister for Climate and Energy in the new cabinet. The two State Secretaries of Finance from Rutte III, who stepped in after Menno Snel’s resignation because of the allowance affair, will also be rewarded with a place in the new cabinet. Hans Vijlbrief receives the heavy Groningen earthquake file as State Secretary for Mining and Alexandra van Huffelen becomes State Secretary for Royal Relations and Digitization.

Ollongren

Kajsa Ollongren in turn moves from the Interior to Defense, where she becomes a minister. The mayor of Almere, Franc Weerwind, becomes Minister for Legal Protection. And party leader Sigrid Kaag announced last week that she will become finance minister and deputy prime minister on behalf of her party.

But D66 also opts for people who are less familiar with The Hague. Ernst Kuipers, who became a well-known face during the corona crisis as bed planner and chairman of the board of Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, will succeed CDA member Hugo de Jonge as corona minister. The democrats put forward another technocrat: the well-known scientist Robbert Dijkgraaf becomes Minister of Education, Culture and Science.

The party also puts cultural historian Gunay Uslu, affiliated with the University of Amsterdam, forward as State Secretary for Culture and Media. Uslu is also involved in the family business Corendon, where her brother Atilay Uslu is at the helm.

The candidate ministers will join Prime Minister and formateur Mark Rutte next week for an introductory meeting. The new cabinet must be on the platform on Monday 10 January.

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