Cornelia Johanna "Carola" Schouten (born 6 October 1977) is a Dutch politician serving as third
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 take ...
and Minister for Poverty Policy, Participation and Pensions in the IV Rutte Cabinet since 10 January 2022. She has served as
Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality 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 2017-2022. She is a member of the
Christian Union (CU).
Early life and education
A native of
's-Hertogenbosch
s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...
, Schouten grew up in
Waardhuizen, managing her deceased father's dairy farm with her mother and her two sisters for four years, after which time the family ended the farming activities and moved to neighbouring village of
Giessen
Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univer ...
(Waardhuizen and Giessen are nowadays located in the new municipality of
Altena
Altena (; Westphalian: ''Altenoa'') is a town in the district of Märkischer Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town's castle is the origin for the later Dukes of Berg. Altena is situated on the Lenne river valley, in the northern stre ...
).
She attended Altena College in
Sleeuwijk and studied business administration at
Erasmus University Rotterdam
Erasmus University Rotterdam (abbreviated as ''EUR'', nl, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam ) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century humani ...
with a year abroad at
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
. Schouten worked at the
Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment ( nl, Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid; SZW) is the Dutch ministry responsible for social affairs, relations between employers and employees, social security, trade unions and emancip ...
from 2000 to 2006. Subsequently, she was an assistant to the Christian Union parliamentary group, entering into politics.
Political career
Schouten became a member of the House of Representatives in 2011 upon the resignation of former Deputy Prime Minister
André Rouvoet. In parliament, she served as her group’s spokesperson on financial policy.
Schouten and party leader
Gert-Jan Segers
Gert Jan Maarten "Gert-Jan" Segers (born 9 July 1969) is a Dutch politician serving as Leader of the Christian Union since 2015. He has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2012 and parliamentary leader since 2015.
Early career
A ...
participated in the negotiations of forming the
third government led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, which she entered as
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...
. From autumn 2019 she faced
farmers' protests because of government's measures involving decreasing the number of
livestock
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...
. In 2020, Schouten suggested the EU should begin to adjust animal welfare regulations and limit live animal exports. From 2021, she led efforts on legislation on reducing damaging ammonia pollution.
Personal life
Schouten is single with a child and is a member of the
Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated)
The Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) (Dutch: Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (vrijgemaakt)) are an orthodox Calvinist federation of churches. This church body arose in 1944 out of the so-called Liberation (') from the Reformed ...
. She lives in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...
. Her younger sister Marjan van der Meij-Schouten is a member of the municipal council of Altena, like her older sister on behalf of the Christian Union.
De minister die in Brabant campagne komt voeren voor haar jongere zus: 'Heel speciaal'
Omroep Brabant
Omroep Brabant is the Netherlands Public Broadcasting regional television and radio broadcaster in the North Brabant Province in the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_t ...
, 18 November 2018
See also
* Dutch farmers' protests
References
External links
;Official
*
Drs. C.J. (Carola) Schouten
Parlement.com
Curriculum Vitae Carola Schouten
Government of the Netherlands
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schouten, Carola
1977 births
Living people
20th-century Dutch civil servants
21st-century Dutch civil servants
21st-century Dutch politicians
21st-century Dutch women politicians
Christian Union (Netherlands) politicians
Deputy Prime Ministers of the Netherlands
Erasmus University Rotterdam alumni
Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands)
Ministers of Agriculture of the Netherlands
People from 's-Hertogenbosch
Politicians from Rotterdam
People from Waardhuizen
Reformed Churches (Liberated) Christians from the Netherlands
Women government ministers of the Netherlands
20th-century Dutch women