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Nicolien van Vroonhoven

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Nicolien van Vroonhoven-Kok in 2009.

Jennifer Nicolien van Vroonhoven-Kok (born 9 April 1971) is a Dutch politician who has a seat in the House of Representatives. She was the second candidate of the New Social Contract party in the 2023 general election. From 2002 to 2010, she held a seat in the House on behalf of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). From 2010 to 2011, she was for a member of the municipal council of The Hague and from 7 May 2014 to 17 December 2017 she was an alderman in the municipality of Hilversum, both for CDA.

Early life and CDA

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Van Vroonhoven was born in Bussum. After attending high school at the Gemeentelijk Gymnasium in Hilversum between 1983 and 1989, she went to Leiden University, where she received an MA degree in Art history in 1994 and an LLM degree in International law in 1995. Subsequently, she studied at the University of Amsterdam, where she obtained an LLM in Tax Law in 2000. During this study, she worked briefly as a junior tax advisor at Arthur Andersen & Co. In 1997, she became a finance policy officer for Dutch politician Jan Peter Balkenende of the CDA (who later served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands). Van Vroonhoven introduced Pieter Omtzigt to Balkenende in 2002.

Van Vroonhoven sitting next to party leader Pieter Omtzigt at the first NSC members' meeting, November 2023.

On 23 May 2002, Van Vroonhoven entered the Dutch House of Representatives. She was a tax spokesperson and was involved in cultural policy and starting entrepreneurs. Between 13 May and 17 August 2008, she was temporarily replaced as Member of Parliament by Ine Aasted-Madsen. She was not a candidate in the 2010 Dutch general election so her membership of the House ended on 17 June 2010. Between 11 March 2010, and the end of 2011 she sat for the CDA in the municipal council of The Hague.

Van Vroonhoven speaking on the centennial of Hilversum in 2015.

From 7 May 2014 to 17 December 2017, Van Vroonhoven was an alderman in the municipality of Hilversum. Her portfolio included housing and land affairs, nature, environment and sustainability and historic preservation. She resigned from her position on 17 December 2017; her husband had found a job in Melbourne, Australia and the entire Van Vroonhoven family emigrated with them.

New Social Contract

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Van Vroonhoven returned to the Netherlands in 2022. She helped Omtzigt establish the New Social Contract (NSC) party in the summer of 2023, and she canceled her CDA membership. She became an employee of NSC and served as a spokesperson. Placed second on the party list, she was elected in the 2023 Dutch general election, and she returned to the parliament after more than a decade.[1][2][3] Van Vroonhoven is the NSC's vice parliamentary leader and its spokesperson for justice, security, culture, and labor market.[1][4] She assisted Pieter Omtzigt and Eddy van Hijum in formation talks for the Schoof cabinet, and the NRC newspaper described Van Vroonhoven as Omtzigt's emotional support.[5] Following the cabinet's swearing in, Van Vroonhoven's portfolio changed to taxation, media, and culture.[6]

Acting parliamentary leader

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She took over Omtzigt's leadership responsibilities after he announced his temporary retreat in September 2024, ahead of the yearly General Political Debate.[7] Van Vroonhoven noted that her party's support for the use of emergency powers to implement asylum measures, as outlined in the coalition agreement, was contingent on a positive advice of the Council of State.[8] During the General Political Debate, she helped opposition parties secure a majority in demanding the release of official documents on the plan's legal viability, referring to the parliament's right to information under Article 68 of the Constitution of the Netherlands.[9] Documents of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations showed that civil servants had advised against using emergency legislation, contending that the asylum situation was unlikely to meet the threshold for exceptional circumstances.[10] After Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders stressed that the cabinet would be in trouble if no emergency law would be enacted, Prime Minister Dick Schoof facilitated negotiations between Van Vroonhoven and Wilders in October 2024.[11][12] The four coalition parties reached an agreement on asylum measures on 25 October, abandoning the use of emergency powers.[13]

On 15 November 2024, State Secretary Nora Achahbar of NSC announced her resignation. Reports circulated of offensive, radical, and potentially racist remarks made during a Council of Ministers meeting, in which Amsterdam attacks targeting supporters of the Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. were discussed.[14] Prime Minister Dick Schoof said after the meeting that the attacks pointed to a broader integration issue, and State Secretary Jurgen Nobel stated that a significant portion of Islamic youth did not endorse Dutch norms and values, referring to the perpetrators.[15][16] Following Achahbar's resignation, Van Vroonhoven was invited to crisis talks with the other coalition leaders and the cabinet to avert a collapse. They agreed that no other cabinet members of NSC would step down, and Van Vroonhoven affirmed that no racist comments had been made by cabinet members.[17][18] Following a meeting of NSC's parliamentary group, Van Vroonhoven announced that Rosanne Hertzberger and Femke Zeedijk would step down in Achahbar's support.[19]

Omtzigt started a phased return to the House in late November.[20] Van Vroonhoven would temporarily share the role of parliamentary leader with Omtzigt, remaining the primary contact for coalition leaders, handling most major debates in parliament, and serving as the main media spokesperson.[21]

Personal life

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Van Vroonhoven-Kok married in 1999[citation needed] and has five children. She had a Dutch Reformed upbringing, and she switched to the Catholic Church in her twenties. She stayed at an Augustinian abbey in Maastricht for four months while studying.[1]

Electoral history

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Electoral history of Nicolien van Vroonhoven-Kok
Year Body Party Pos. Votes Result Ref.
Party seats Individual
2002 House of Representatives Christian Democratic Appeal 25 928 43 Won [22]
2003 House of Representatives Christian Democratic Appeal 25 814 44 Won [23]
2006 House of Representatives Christian Democratic Appeal 38 1,286 41 Won [24]
2023 House of Representatives New Social Contract 2 44,045 20 Won [25]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Van Vroonhoven, Nicolien (5 April 2024). "Nicolien van Vroonhoven is de rechterhand van Omtzigt. 'Niemand, niemand, niemand komt aan onze principes'" [Nicolien van Vroonhoven is the right-hand woman of Omtzigt. 'Nobody, nobody, nobody touches our principles']. Nederlands Dagblad (Interview) (in Dutch). Interviewed by Niels van den Bovenkamp. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Lijst van partij Omtzigt bekend: veel ex-CDA'ers, een klokkenluider, een model en lokale politici". Tubantia. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  3. ^ Markus, Niels (12 September 2024). "Nicolien van Vroonhoven gaat een onzekere tijd tegemoet met NSC zonder Omtzigt" [Nicolien van Vroonhoven enters an uncertain time with NSC without Omtzigt]. Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  4. ^ "Woordvoerderschappen Nieuw Sociaal Contract" [New Social Contract spokespersonships] (PDF). New Social Contract (in Dutch). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2024 – via Wayback Machine.
  5. ^ Van den Dool, Pim (12 September 2024). "In de belangrijkste politieke week van het jaar moet Nicolien van Vroonhoven ineens NSC leiden, wie is ze?" [In the most important political week of the year, Nicolien van Vroonhoven suddenly has to lead NSC, who is she?]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  6. ^ "Tweede Kamerfractie" [House of Representatives group]. New Social Contract (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  7. ^ "'Rechterhand' Van Vroonhoven vervangt Omtzigt: 'Is maar tijdelijk'" ['Right-hand person' Van Vroonhoven replaces Omtzigt: 'Is only temporary']. NOS (in Dutch). 11 September 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  8. ^ "Van Vroonhoven (NSC) irriteert coalitiegenoten met uitspraak asielplannen" [Van Vroonhoven (NSC) angers coalition parties with comments on asylum plans]. NOS (in Dutch). 16 September 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  9. ^ Pelgrim, Christiaan (19 September 2024). "Kamer eist ambtelijke stukken, na weigering kabinet" [House demands official documents, following refusal by the cabinet]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  10. ^ "Kamer in de ban van ambtelijk advies over noodwet voor asiel" [House gripped by official advise about emergency asylum law]. NOS (in Dutch). 19 September 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  11. ^ "Wilders voert druk over asielnoodwet op" [Wilders increases pressure over asylum emergency act]. Het Financieele Dagblad (in Dutch). 1 October 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  12. ^ Sie, Puck; Wolzak, Martine; De Horde, Cor (22 October 2024). "Voltallige coalitie onderhandelt over asiel met deadline in zicht" [Full coalition negotiates on asylum with deadline in sight]. Het Financieele Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Akkoord PVV, VVD, NSC en BBB over 'asieldeal', vandaag presentatie" [Agreement PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB about 'asylum deal', presentation today]. NOS (in Dutch). 25 October 2024.
  14. ^ Hendrickx, Frank; Du Pré, Raoul (15 November 2024). "Integratiedebat brengt verdeeld kabinet-Schoof aan het wankelen" [Integration debate causes divided Schoof cabinet to shake]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  15. ^ Du Pré, Raoul (11 November 2024). "Premier Schoof ziet groot probleem met de integratie: 'Hun gedrag is schokkend, moreel volstrekt ontaard'" [Prime Minister Schoof observes major issue with integration: 'Their behavior is shocking, completely morally corrupt']. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  16. ^ Hendrickx, Frank; Du Pré, Raoul (15 November 2024). "Integratiedebat brengt verdeeld kabinet-Schoof aan het wankelen" [Integration debate causes divided Schoof cabinet to shake]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  17. ^ "Val kabinet afgewend: Achahbar vertrekt, andere NSC'ers blijven in kabinet" [Cabinet collapse prevented: Achahbar will depart, other NSC members will remain in the cabinet]. NOS (in Dutch). 15 November 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  18. ^ Van de Ven, Liam (16 November 2024). "Van Vroonhoven ziet geen racisme in kabinet, 'Achahbar maakte persoonlijke afweging'" [Van Vroonhoven does not see racism in cabinet, 'Achahbar makes a personal decision']. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  19. ^ "Twee NSC-Kamerleden stappen op na vertrek Achahbar, hekelen 'gebrek aan fatsoen'" [Two NSC MPs resign from the House following departure Achahbar, denouncing 'lack of civility']. NOS (in Dutch). 19 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  20. ^ "NSC-leider Omtzigt per direct terug in de Kamer, maar nog niet fulltime" [NSC leader Omtzigt immediately returns to House, but not yet full-time]. NOS (in Dutch). 20 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  21. ^ Righton, Natalie (20 November 2024). "NSC-leider Omtzigt keert per direct terug in Tweede Kamer: 'Stap voor stap weer aan het werk'" [NSC leader Omtzigt immediately returns to the House of Representatives: 'Gradually start working again']. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  22. ^ "Proces-verbaal zitting uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 2002" [Records meeting Duch Electoral Council results 2002 general election] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 15 May 2002. pp. 46–66. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  23. ^ "Proces-verbaal zitting Kiesraad uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 2003" [Records meeting Duch Electoral Council results 2003 general election] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 22 January 2003. pp. 18–19. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  24. ^ "Proces-verbaal zitting Kiesraad uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 2006" [Records meeting Duch Electoral Council results 2006 general election] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 27 November 2006. pp. 18–19. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  25. ^ "Proces-verbaal van de uitslag van de verkiezing van de Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal 2023 d.d. 4 december 2023" [Report of the results of the election of the House of Representatives on 4 December 2023] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 4 December 2023. pp. 185–186. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
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