Former alderman and diplomat Tom de Bruijn (D66) becomes Minister for Foreign Trade, Member of Parliament Steven van Weyenberg (D66) becomes State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management and Member of Parliament Dennis Wiersma (VVD) becomes State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment. This has been announced by the Government Information Service.
Tom de Bruijn (72) was alderman of The Hague. He worked for a long time as a diplomat for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is now chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Clingendael Institute and teaches at Leiden University.
The outgoing cabinet announced on Friday that three new ministers were being sought in the short term. That happened after the Secretary of State Van Veldhoven van I&W announced that she had found a new job.
The other two posts were vacant because, for various reasons, there were two ministries with only one minister. The combined functions of D66 leader Kaag (Minister of Foreign Affairs) and D66 Minister Koolmees (Social Affairs) were considered too heavy.
At the end of May, Minister Van ‘t Wout of Economic Affairs and Climate reported sick with a burnout. He was previously State Secretary for SZW. Minister Blok is now acting Minister of EZK, while Minister Kaag has taken over his position as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
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