Arie Slob (; born 16 November 1961) is a Dutch politician and history teacher who served as Minister for Primary and Secondary Education and Media in the

Third Rutte cabinet The third Rutte cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 26 October 2017 until 10 January 2022 (since 15 January 2021 demissionary). It was formed by a coalition government of the political parties People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ...

from 26 October 2017 until 10 January 2022. A member of the Christian Union (CU), he was a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from 19 November 2002 until 1 December 2015. From 28 April 2011 to 10 November 2015, he was also

party leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a political ...

and

parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are the ...

, in both positions succeeding André Rouvoet. He focused on matters of the

Royal House A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in repu ...

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social ...

constitutional rights A constitutional right can be a prerogative or a duty, a power or a restraint of power, recognized and established by a sovereign state or union of states. Constitutional rights may be expressly stipulated in a national constitution, or they may ...

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

and

fishery Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

Early political career

A native of

Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel (; population: 22,344 in 2004) is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Since 2010 it is part of the new municipality of Zuidplas. It is situated along the Holland ...

, Slob studied history at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen in ...

. He started his political career as a member of the

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is o ...

from 1993 to 2001. In 2001, Slob became a member of the

for the

Reformed Political League The Reformed Political LeagueTranslation used by Andeweg and Irwin in ''Governance and Politics of the Netherlands'' (2002: 45) ( nl, Gereformeerd Politiek Verbond, GPV) was an orthodox Protestant political party in the Netherlands. The GPV is o ...

(GPV) when its leader,

Gert Schutte Gerrit Jan Schutte (24 May 1939 – 25 January 2022) was a Dutch politician and teacher. A member of the defunct Reformed Political League (GPV) now merged into the Christian Union (CU), he served as party leader from 1981 to 2001. Early life ...

, retired. After the 2002 election, the newly formed Christian Union lost a seat and Slob did not return to Parliament. When Kars Veling, the party's ''

lijsttrekker In politics, a lead candidate (; , ) is the leader of a political party in an election to a legislative body. In parliamentary systems, it is often the party's nominee for the position of head of government. In open list electoral systems, it is ...

'', stepped down as a result of the election loss, Slob took his place. He was put on the second place of the list of Christian Union candidates for the 2004 election and was reelected.

Leader of the Christian Union

After the 2006 general election, Slob and party ''lijsttrekker'' André Rouvoet represented the Christian Union in the negotiations for the formation of the new cabinet of the Netherlands, the

Fourth Balkenende cabinet The fourth Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 22 February 2007 until 14 October 2010. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and Christian Union ( ...

; Rouvoet was appointed

Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands The deputy prime minister of the Netherlands ( nl, Viceminister-president van Nederland) is the official deputy of the head of government of the Netherlands. In the absence of the prime minister of the Netherlands the deputy prime minister takes ...

. Slob took his place as parliamentary leader. In 2011, when Rouvoet stepped down as party leader, Slob succeeded him. As a member of the House of Representatives, he also was a member of the Temporary Committee on Infrastructural Projects.

Minister for Primary and Secondary Education and Media

Slob retired from politics effective on 1 December 2015. He was invested as a Knight of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

on his departure from the House of Representatives. He was replaced by

Eppo Bruins Eppo Egbert Willem Bruins (born 19 September 1969) is a Dutch politician and physicist who served as a member of the House of Representatives for the Christian Union (CU) from 2015 to 2021. Prior to his service in Parliament, Bruins was directo ...

. Slob was named director of the Historical Center Overijssel in

per 1 January 2016. On 26 October 2017, he was appointed Minister for Primary and Secondary Education and Media in

Mark Rutte Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 2010 and Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) since 2006. After a business career working for Unilever ...

's third cabinet under the supervision of Education Minister

Ingrid van Engelshoven Ingrid Katharina van Engelshoven (born 12 July 1966) is a Dutch politician who served as Minister of Education, Culture and Science in the Third Rutte cabinet from 26 October 2017 until 10 January 2022. A member of Democrats 66 (D66) party, s ...

References

*
Parlement.com biography

External links

*
House of Representatives biography
1961 births Living people Christian Union (Netherlands) politicians Dutch educators Dutch nonprofit directors Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau Ministers without portfolio of the Netherlands Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Municipal councillors of Zwolle Leaders of the Christian Union (Netherlands) People from Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel People from Zwolle Reformed Churches (Liberated) Christians from the Netherlands Reformed Political League politicians University of Groningen alumni 21st-century Dutch politicians {{Netherlands-politician-stub