Monique de Vries is a Dutch politician and has been with the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy since 1973. From the period 1994-2003 she was the Secretary of State of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. and a member of the House of Representatives.

Early life and education

De Vries was born on August 16, 1947 in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

(the Netherlands). After grammar school she studied Italian Language and Literature at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

, receiving her master's degree in 1973. From 1976 on she was active in the Dutch Liberal Party as chair of the Liberal Women's Organization, member of "The Hague Council", MP and Vice Minister for Transport, Public Works and Water Management.

Career and impact

De Vries was the president of the Women's organisation of the VVD in 1994 and from 1990-1994 she was a member of the Hague municipal council. De Vries visited

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

in 1999 as Vice-Minister for Water Management for the Dutch government. During this journey the polar region impressed her greatly. From 2003 until 2010 she was chair of the Steering Committee for the Netherlands Polar Programme. From 2010 until September 2016 she was chair of the Netherlands Polar Committee. She played a crucial role behind the scenes for Dutch polar research in her role persuading Members of parliament and Members of government to contribute to the Netherlands Polar Programme, during the five-yearly negotiations for new budget for this research programme both in 2010 and 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vries, Monique de Politicians from The Hague State Secretaries for Transport of the Netherlands 1947 births Living people Leiden University alumni People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Women Antarctic scientists