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

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

Early life and education

Political career

Personal life

See also

References

External links