The Christian Democrats have confirmed the names of the five ministers who will take their seats in Rob Jetten’s cabinet later this month.
Bart van den Brink, who deputised for party leader Henri Bontenbal during the coalition talks, will become minister for asylum and migration, which has been incorporated into the justice ministry.
Van den Brink is also the CDA’s deputy prime minister, making him the most senior party member in the cabinet. Bontenbal has opted to stay in parliament rather than take a cabinet post.
The 47-year-old was first elected to parliament in 2021, but spent the previous 15 years working behind the scenes as a political adviser to ministers including Hugo de Jonge, who was in charge of health during the coronavirus pandemic.
Tom Berendsen, 42, becomes minister for foreign affairs, moving from Brussels, where he has been a member of the European Parliament since 2019
He was the party’s spokesman on industry, energy and transport in Brussels, as well as relations with China.
Herbert surprise
Heleen Herbert becomes minister for economic affairs in what commentators called a surprise move.
Herbert, 53, is currently commercial director of construction firm Heijmans and previously worked for the national train operator NS. She has no previous political experience.
Pieter Heerma, who was Bontenbal’s predecessor as party leader and spent 11 years as an MP, has been named as minister for home affairs, while Mirjam Sterk, currently a member of Utrecht’s provincial executive, is responsible for long-term care.
Derk Boswijk, foreign affairs spokesman for the CDA in the last parliament, becomes junior minister for defence, while Annet Bertram, who was the senior civil servant in the asylum minister under the PVV’s Marjolein Faber, will be junior minister for infrastructure.
Jo-Annes de Baat is moving from Zeeland, where he is currently a member of the provincial assembly, to become junior minister for climate and green growth. De Baat has been a strong supporter of building new nuclear power stations in the coastal province.
All ministers will take up their posts after the swearing-in ceremony in The Hague on February 23.
