Yde Johan "Eddy" van Hijum (born 17 April 1972) is a Dutch politician who has served as the minister of social affairs and employment and third deputy prime minister in the

Schoof cabinet The Schoof cabinet is the cabinet of the Netherlands, sworn in on 2 July 2024. Led by independent politician and civil servant Dick Schoof as prime minister of the Netherlands, the cabinet was formed by the Party for Freedom (PVV), the People's ...

since 2024.

Political career

Van Hijum studied civil engineering management at the

University of Twente The University of Twente (Dutch: ''Universiteit Twente''; , abbr. ) is a public technical university located in Enschede, Netherlands. The university has been placed in the top 170 universities in the world by multiple central ranking tables. ...

, and he served in the municipal council of

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 ...

between 1998 and 2003. As a member of the

Christian Democratic Appeal The Christian Democratic Appeal ( nl, Christen-Democratisch Appèl, ; CDA) is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. It was originally formed in 1977 from a confederation of the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolutionary ...

, 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 2 September 2003 until 11 November 2014. He focused on matters of

social security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. For ...

policy,

dismissal Dismissal or dismissed may refer to: Dismissal *In litigation, a dismissal is the result of a successful ''motion to dismiss''. See motion *Termination of employment, the end of employee's duration with an employer **Dismissal (employment), ter ...

law,

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

participation policy and

day care Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

. 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 ...

upon his departure from the House. Between 12 November 2014 and 12 July 2023, Van Hijum served as member of the

provincial executive The provincial executive (, GS) is the executive branch of government of a province in the Netherlands. It is the equivalent of the municipal executive at the provincial level. The provincial executive consists of the King's Commissioner (chair) ...

Overijssel Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the ...

. He held the portfolio of Economy, Energy and Innovation. In the House of Representatives he was replaced by

Martijn van Helvert Martijn Johanna Franciscus van Helvert (born 7 April 1978) is a Dutch politician serving as a member of the House of Representatives since 2014. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), van Helvert previously was a member of the State ...

. He served in the States of Overijssel from 26 March 2015 to 20 May 2015. In August 2023, Van Hijum announced that he had joined New Social Contract (NSC), the political party founded by fellow former CDA member

Pieter Omtzigt Pieter Herman Omtzigt (born 8 January 1974) is an independent Dutch politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2003 apart from a short interruption from 17 June to 26 October 2010. In his political work, Omtzigt focus ...

, and would head the committee responsible for writing the party's manifesto ahead of the 2023 general election. Following his election to the House, Van Hijum assisted Omtzigt in talks to form a new governing coalition. He serves as the NSC's spokesperson for finances and

monetary policy Monetary policy is the policy adopted by the monetary authority of a nation to control either the interest rate payable for very short-term borrowing (borrowing by banks from each other to meet their short-term needs) or the money supply, often a ...

, and he proposed the creation of a budget review body that would advise the House, similar to the American

Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress. Inspired by California's Legislative Analyst's Office that manages ...

. Van Hijum was nominated in June 2024 to serve as Minister of Social Affairs and Employment and Third Deputy Prime Minister in the new

. on 2 July 2024 Van Hijum succeeded

Carola Schouten Cornelia Johanna "Carola" Schouten (born 6 October 1977) is a Dutch politician serving as third Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister for Poverty Policy, Participation and Pensions in the IV Rutte Cabinet since 10 January 2022. Sh ...

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, ...

and

Karien van Gennip Catharina Elisabeth Godefrida "Karien" van Gennip (born 3 October 1968) is a Dutch businesswoman and politician who has served as Minister of Social Affairs and Employment in the Fourth Rutte cabinet since 10 January 2022. She is a member of ...

as Minister of Social Affairs and Development

Electoral history

Notes

References

*
Parlement.com biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hijum, Eddy van 1972 births Living people Christian Democratic Appeal politicians Protestant Church Christians from the Netherlands Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Municipal councillors of Zwolle Politicians from Delft Members of the Provincial Council of Overijssel Members of the Provincial-Executive of Overijssel Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau 21st-century Dutch politicians New Social Contract politicians University of Twente alumni Deputy prime ministers of the Netherlands Ministers of Social Affairs of the Netherlands