Bastiaan "Bas" van 't Wout (born 22 April 1979) is a Dutch retired politician who served as Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy in 2021 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 ...

. A member of the

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party in ...

(VVD), he was previously elected to 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 2012 to 2020, before he held the position of State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment from 2020 until 2021.

Early career

A native of

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the second- ...

, Van 't Wout worked as a political assistant to the State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science and chairman of the VVD party in the

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 ...

from 2005 to 2007.

Political career

Career in local politics

Van 't Wout became a municipal councillor of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

following the 2006 election.

Member of the Dutch Parliament, 2012–2020

Van 't Wout served as a member of the House of Representatives from September 20, 2012 to 2 July 2020. In the 2012 parliamentary elections, he was in 27th place, and was elected lower. He received 1,178 preferential votes. In the 2017 House of Representatives elections, he was in 13th place and was elected again. Until 26 October 2017, he was spokesperson for Long-term care, Social Support Act and Social Affairs and Employment. From 26 October 2017 he was vice-chairman of the VVD and spokesperson for the

Ministry of General Affairs , type = Department , logo = Ministerie van Algemene Zaken Logo.png , logo_width = 250x250px , logo_caption = Logo of the Ministry of General Affairs , image = Ministerie Algeme ...

. In addition to his work in parliament, Van 't Wout was a member of the Dutch delegation to the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up o ...

from 2015 until 2016. In July 2020

Tamara van Ark Tamara van Ark (born 11 August 1974) is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). She served as Minister for Medical Care from 9 July 2020 until 3 September 2021 and as State Secretary for Social Affairs and Emp ...

was promoted from State Secretary of Social Affairs and Employment to Minister for Medical Care. Van 't Wout replaced her as State Secretary.

Minister of Economic Affairs, 2021

After the departure of

Eric Wiebes Eric Derk Wiebes (born 12 March 1963) is a resigned Dutch politician who served as Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy in the Third Rutte cabinet since 26 October 2017 until 15 January 2021. He is a member of the People's Party for ...

, Van 't Wout was appointed as his successor as Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy as of 20 January 2021 in the demissionary third cabinet of Prime Minister Rutte. He was in 6th place on the VVD candidate list for the

2021 elections Many elections occurred in 2021. The National Democratic Institute maintains calendar of elections around the world * 2021 United Nations Security Council election * 2021 national electoral calendar * 2021 local electoral calendar Africa * 2021 ...

. On 31 March 2021, he was sworn in again as a member of parliament. On 24 May 2021 it was reported that Van't Wout was suffering from a

occupational burnout According to the World Health Organization (WHO), occupational burnout is a syndrome resulting from chronic work-related stress, with symptoms characterized by "feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s ...

and would not be returning to the parliament for at least 3 months; fellow cabinet ministers

Stef Blok Stephanus Abraham "Stef" Blok (born 10 December 1964) is a Dutch politician serving as Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy in the Third Rutte cabinet from 25 May 2021 till 10 January 2022. He is a member of the People's Party for Fr ...

and

Sigrid Kaag Sigrid Agnes Maria Kaag (; born 2 November 1961) is a Dutch diplomat and politician, serving as List of Ministers of Finance of the Netherlands, Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands, First Deputy Prime Minister in the ...

took over and shared the economic affairs portfolio in his absence.Mia Bartoloni (28 May 2021)
Movers & Shakers
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The Parliament Magazine ''The Parliament Magazine'' is a monthly EU politics, policy and culture magazine. Its website, www.theparliamentmagazine.eu, is a forum for discussion on the latest developments in EU politics and policy, featuring regular contributions from pr ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wout, Bas van 't 1979 births Living people 21st-century Dutch politicians Dutch campaign managers Dutch political consultants Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Ministers of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands Municipal councillors of Amsterdam People from Amersfoort People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians State Secretaries for Social Affairs of the Netherlands