Sharon Alida Maria Dijksma (born 16 April 1971) is a Dutch politician serving as Mayor of Utrecht since 2020. A member of the Labour Party (PvdA), she previously was a State Secretary at the

Ministry of Education, Culture and Science The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science ( nl, Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschappen; OCW) is the Dutch Ministry responsible for education, culture, science, research, gender equality and communications. The Ministry was cre ...

from 2007 to 2010, at the Ministry of Economic Affairs from 2012 to 2015 and at the

Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment , type = Department , logo = Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat Logo.png , logo_width = 250x250px , logo_alt = Logo of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management , image = Rijksgeb ...

from 2015 to 2017, as well as an

alderwoman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members th ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

from 2018 until 2020. Dijksma was the President of the

Environment Council The Environment Council (ENVI) is a configuration of the Council of the European Union. It meets about four times a year. It brings together the environment ministers and is responsible for the EU environment policy. This Council deals with envir ...

of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

who, together with the

Vice-President of the European Commission A Vice-President of the European Commission is a member of the European Commission who leads the commission's work in particular focus areas in which multiple European Commissioners participate. Currently, the European Commission has a total of ...

Maroš Šefčovič Maroš Šefčovič (; born 24 July 1966) is a Slovak diplomat and politician serving as Vice-President of the European Commission for Interinstitutional Relations since 2019, previously holding the office from 2010 to 2014. He has been member o ...

, signed the

Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (french: Accord de Paris), often referred to as the Paris Accords or the Paris Climate Accords, is an international treaty on climate change. Adopted in 2015, the agreement covers climate change mitigation, Climate change a ...

on behalf of Europe in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

on 21 April 2016.

Biography

She 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 23 March 2017 until 30 May 2018. From 3 November 2015 until 26 October 2017 she was the State secretary of the

succeeding to

Wilma Mansveld Wilma Jacqueline Mansveld (born 11 September 1962) is a Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA). She served as Undersecretary for Infrastructure and Environment, dealing with water policy, environment and aviation in the Second Rutte cabine ...

who resigned from the position; from 18 December 2012 to 3 November 2015 she was the State secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, dealing with agriculture, nature, food quality, tourism, and postal affairs. Therefore, Dijksma was allowed to use the ministerial title "Minister for Agriculture" while on foreign business. Before that she was an MP from 17 June 2010 to 19 September 2012. She focused on matters of

traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

water management Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on the Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water; slightl ...

and

home affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

. Dijksma was the State secretary for Education, Culture and Science in the

Fourth Balkenende cabinet The fourth Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 22 February 2007 until 14 October 2010. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and Christian Union ( ...

from 2007 to 2010. From 1994 to 2007, she was a member of the

. When, on 16 May 1994, Dijksma became an MP, her age was 23 and she was the youngest MP ever in Dutch parliamentarian history. In 1991 she became secretary general of the Young Socialists. From 1992 to 1994 she was chairwoman of the Young Socialists (''Jonge Socialisten''). Dijksma studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen in ...

and

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

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. ...

but did not finish her studies.

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
S.A.M. (Sharon) Dijksma
Parlement & Politiek {{DEFAULTSORT:Dijksma, Sharon 1971 births Living people 20th-century Dutch politicians 20th-century Dutch women politicians 21st-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch women politicians Aldermen of Amsterdam Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau Labour Party (Netherlands) politicians Mayors of Utrecht Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Politicians from Groningen (city) State Secretaries for Economic Affairs of the Netherlands State Secretaries for Education of the Netherlands State Secretaries for Infrastructure of the Netherlands