Petronella Johanna Maria Godefrida Blanksma-van den Heuvel (born 24 September 1959,

Helmond Helmond (; called ''Héllemond'' in the local dialect) is a city and municipality in the Metropoolregio Eindhoven of the province of North Brabant in the Southern Netherlands. Helmond is home to several textile and metal companies. The Vlisco fa ...

), known as Elly Blanksma-van den Heuvel, is a Dutch

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and former

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

ing manager. 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 ...

(Christen-Democratisch Appèl) she was an MP from 30 November 2006 to 19 September 2012, focusing on

finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

innovation Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entity ...

and

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

. Since 1 November 2012 she has been

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

. Blanksma-van den Heuvel was born in the province of

North Brabant North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the we ...

and studied

business economics Business economics is a field in applied economics which uses economic theory and quantitative methods to analyze business enterprises and the factors contributing to the diversity of organizational structures and the relationships of firms with ...

Fontys University of Applied Sciences Fontys University of Applied Sciences is a Dutch university of applied sciences with over 44,000 students in several campuses located in the southern Netherlands. The three largest Fontys campuses are located in the cities of Eindhoven, Tilburg ...

. She worked in several management positions at the

Rabobank Rabobank (; full name: ''Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A.'') is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands. The group comprises 89 local Dutch Rabobanks (2019), a central organisation (Raboban ...

. From 1987 to 1995 she was a member of the States-Provincial of North Brabant. She was also a member of the national as well of the North Brabant party executive. From November 2006 to September 2012 she served as an MP in the

Dutch House of Representatives The House of Representatives (, pronounced ; commonly referred to as the ', literally "Second Chamber of the States General") is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of the Netherlands, the States General of the Netherlands ...

. She was

spokeswoman A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman, is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

in the area of finance on behalf of the CDA

parliamentary group A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council. Parliamentar ...

Decorations

* In 2012, she was named 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 ...

References

*
Parlement.com biography
1959 births Living people Christian Democratic Appeal politicians Dutch bankers Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau Mayors in North Brabant Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the Provincial Council of North Brabant People from Helmond Women mayors of places in the Netherlands 20th-century Dutch politicians 20th-century Dutch women politicians 21st-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch women politicians {{Netherlands-CDA-politician-stub