Sigrid Agnes Maria Kaag (; born 2 November 1961) is a Dutch diplomat and politician, serving as

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

and

First 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, ...

in the

Fourth Rutte cabinet The Fourth Rutte cabinet is the current Government of the Netherlands. It was inaugurated on 10 January 2022. The cabinet is a continuation of the previous third Rutte cabinet and is formed by the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedo ...

. She previously served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

from 25 May 2021 until 17 September 2021 and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation from 26 October 2017 until 10 August 2021 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 ...

. A

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

by occupation, Kaag worked as a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

for the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

from 1990 until 1993 when she became a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

official for the

UNRWA The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians displaced by the 1948 P ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

from 1994 until 1997. Kaag worked as an administrator at the

International Organization for Migration The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations agency that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers. The IOM was ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

from 1998 until 2004 when she became a senior advisor of the

for

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

and

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

until 2005 when she became a senior official at

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

. Kaag served as Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa for

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

from 2007 until May 2010 when she was appointed Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Bureau of External Relations of the

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

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 * '' ...

. She oversaw UNDP's strategic external engagement, organization-wide communication and advocacy, as well as resource mobilization. From January 2015 until October 2017 she served as the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL). Prior to that she served as

Under Secretary-General An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under-s ...

and Special Coordinator of the United Nations –

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an intergovernmental organisation and the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force on 29 April 1997. The OPCW, with its 193 member ...

(UN-OPCW) Joint Mission to eliminate the declared chemical weapons programme of the Syrian Arab Republic between October 2013 and September 2014. Until her mission in Syria she was employed as Assistant Secretary-General and Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy of the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

Early life and education

Kaag was born in

Rijswijk Rijswijk (), formerly known as Ryswick ( ) in English, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Its population was in , and it has an area of , of which is water. The municipality also includes th ...

as the daughter of a classical pianist.Janine Di Giovanni (5 June 2014)
Poison Control in Syria
''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

''. She grew up in

Zeist Zeist () is the capital and largest town of the municipality of Zeist. The town is located in the Utrecht province of the Netherlands, east of the city of Utrecht. History The town of "Seist" was first mentioned in a charter in the year 83 ...

and initially studied Arabic at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

, but later switched to

The American University in Cairo The American University in Cairo (AUC; ar, الجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة, Al-Jāmi‘a al-’Amrīkiyya bi-l-Qāhira) is a private research university in Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs ...

where she obtained a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in Middle East Studies in 1985. She subsequently obtained an

M.Phil. The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil ...

degree in International Relations from

St Antony's College St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economic ...

(

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

) in 1987 and an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in Middle East Studies from the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...

in 1988. She also received foreign relations training at the

Clingendael Institute The Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael ( nl, Nederlands Instituut voor Internationale Betrekkingen Clingendael) or Clingendael Institute (''Instituut Clingendael'') is a Dutch think tank and academy on international relat ...

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 ...

, and studied at the French

École nationale d'administration The École nationale d'administration (generally referred to as ENA, en, National School of Administration) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by President of France, President Charles de Gaulle and principal author of the Constitu ...

(ENA).

Career

Early career

After her studies, Kaag worked as analyst for

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...

in London, United Kingdom.Dutch woman Sigrid Kaag tasked with eradicating Syria's chemical weapons
''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'', 17 October 2013. Later, she worked for the Dutch

as Deputy Head of the UN Political Affairs Department. During her time in the diplomatic service, she lived and worked in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, and

1994–2013: Career at the United Nations

Kaag started working for the United Nations in 1994 and first served as Senior United Nations Adviser in the Office of the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

. From 1998 to 2004 she was Chief of Donor Relations for the

and Senior Programme Manager with the External Relations Office of

. Working in the Middle East she was responsible for areas as the occupied

Palestinian territories The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The I ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. From 2007 to May 2010, Kaag was Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa for

. In May 2010 she was appointed Assistant Secretary-General and Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy of the

. In this capacity, she was the deputy to

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

and oversaw UNDP's strategic external engagement, organization-wide communication and advocacy, as well as resource mobilization.

2013–2014: Head of the OPCW-UN Joint Mission in Syria

On 13 October 2013, United Nations Secretary-General

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...

nominated Kaag to lead the OPCW-UN Joint Mission for the

destruction of Syria's chemical weapons The destruction of Syria's chemical weapons began on 14 September 2013 after Syria entered into several international agreements which called for the elimination of Syria's chemical weapon stockpiles and set a destruction deadline of 30 June 2 ...

. The

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

was set to vote on her nomination three days later, on 16 October. She was then officially confirmed for the position. Kaag led a team of one hundred experts who were responsible for ensuring the elimination of Syria's

chemical weapon A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as a ...

stockpiles before 30 June 2014.

2014–2017: United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon

By the end of her term in September 2014, news media reported that Kaag was rumored to succeed

Lakhdar Brahimi Lakhdar Brahimi (Algerian pronunciation: ; ar, الأخضر الإبراهيمي; '; born 1 January 1934) is an Algerian United Nations diplomat who served as the United Nations and Arab League Special Envoy to Syria until 14 May 2014. He was Mi ...

as UN Special Envoy to Syria. On 1 December 2014, the UN Secretary General Ban announced that Kaag would become the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL), succeeding Sir

Derek Plumbly Sir Derek Plumbly (born 15 May 1948) is a British diplomat who has served throughout the Arab world. From 2012 to 2015, he served as the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon. Early life Plumbly was born in the New Forest in Hampshire. He attende ...

.Toby Sterling (March 17, 2021)
Pro-Europe Dutch politician Kaag set to make election gains
''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

''. In early 2017, Kaag was considered by international media to be one of the candidates to succeed

as Administrator of the

and head of the

United Nations Development Group The United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG), previously the United Nations Development Group (UNDG), is a consortium of 36 United Nations funds, programs, specialized agencies, departments and offices that play a role in development ...

; the post eventually went to

Achim Steiner Achim Steiner (born 17 May 1961) is a Brazilian-born environmentalist who currently serves as the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and chairman of United Nations Sustainable Development Group. Before joining UNDP, he w ...

2017–present: Minister and party leader

181105-08 Kaag bezoekt Bangladesh en Myanmar (45730422282)

Secretary Pompeo Meets With Dutch Minister Kaag (47364700732)

In late October 2017, Kaag was called by D66 leader

Alexander Pechtold Alexander Pechtold (born 16 December 1965) is a retired Dutch politician and art historian. He is a member of Democrats 66. Pechtold studied Archaeology and Dutch Golden Age painting, History of Dutch Art at the Leiden University obtaining a Ma ...

and asked for a ministerial post. Since 26 October 2017, Kaag had been serving as the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation in the third government of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Mark Rutte Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 2010 and Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) since 2006. After a business career working for Unilever ...

. After the resignation of Foreign Affairs Minister

Halbe Zijlstra Halbe Zijlstra (; born 21 January 1969) is a retired Dutch politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 26 October 2017 to 13 February 2018 in the Third Rutte cabinet. He is a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( ...

(

VVD The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party in ...

) on 13 February 2018, she was appointed ''ad interim'' to succeed him while conserving her other cabinet position. Sigrid Kaag was consequently the first female

of the Netherlands. She was replaced by

Stef Blok Stephanus Abraham "Stef" Blok (born 10 December 1964) is a Dutch politician serving as Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy in the Third Rutte cabinet from 25 May 2021 till 10 January 2022. He is a member of the People's Party for Fr ...

as Foreign Affairs Minister on 7 March 2018. Since 2018, Kaag has been serving on the joint

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

/WHO Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), co-chaired by

Elhadj As Sy Elhadj As Sy (born 1958 ) is a Senegalese humanitarian aid expert who served as the Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) from 2014 until 2019. Education Sy studied Arts and Human Sciences ...

and

Gro Harlem Brundtland Gro Brundtland (; born Gro Harlem, 20 April 1939) is a Norwegian politician (Arbeiderpartiet), who served three terms as the 29th prime minister of Norway (1981, 1986–89, and 1990–96) and as the director-general of the World Health Organizati ...

. In 2019, she joined the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

High-Level Group on Humanitarian Investing, co-chaired by

Børge Brende Børge Brende (born 25 September 1965) is a Norwegian politician and diplomat, and has been the president of the World Economic Forum since 2017. A member of the Conservative Party, he previously was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 201 ...

Kristalina Georgieva Kristalina Ivanova Georgieva-Kinova ( bg, Кристалина Иванова Георгиева-Кинова; ; born 13 August 1953) is a Bulgarian economist serving as managing director of the International Monetary Fund since 2019. She was t ...

and

Peter Maurer Peter Maurer (born 1956) is a Swiss diplomat who was the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from 1 July 2012 until October 2022 and is currently President of the Basel Institute on Governance. Maurer was born in Th ...

. Soon after joining the cabinet, there was speculation about Kaag's candidacy for the D66 list leadership, which had arisen after the resignation of

. During this period, she also profiled herself by giving speeches, often outside her own portfolio as a minister. On 21 June 2020, Kaag announced her candidacy for ''

lijsttrekker In politics, a lead candidate (; , ) is the leader of a political party in an election to a legislative body. In parliamentary systems, it is often the party's nominee for the position of head of government. In open list electoral systems, it is t ...

schap'' of the

Democrats 66 Democrats 66 (; abbreviated D66, ) is a Social liberalism, social liberal List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands, which positions itself in the Centrism, centre of the Left–right political spectrum, p ...

party for the

2021 Dutch general election General elections were held in the Netherlands from 15 to 17 March 2021 to elect all 150 members of the House of Representatives. Following the elections and lengthy coalition formation talks, the sitting government remained in power. The elect ...

, with the ambition of becoming the Netherlands' first female Prime Minister.

Kajsa Ollongren Jkvr. Karin Hildur "Kajsa" Ollongren (; ; born 28 May 1967) is a Dutch politician serving as the Netherlands' Minister of Defence since 10 January 2022. A member of the Democrats 66 (D66), she previously served as Minister of the Interior and Ki ...

and

Rob Jetten Rob Arnoldus Adrianus Jetten (; born 25 March 1987) is a Dutch politician of Democrats 66 (D66). He served as the party's parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives. Early life and education Jetten grew up in Uden, Noord-Brabant and ...

were also speculated to stand as candidates, but both refrained from doing so. The only opponent was therefore the unknown member Ton Visser, which resulted in Kaag winning the election with 95.7 percent of the votes. She was elected as

Party Leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a political ...

on 4 September 2020, making her the second female party leader of D66 after

Els Borst Else "Els" Borst-Eilers (; 22 March 1932 – 8 February 2014) was a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and physician. She was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 21 December 2012. Borst worked as a medical researcher ...

in 1998. In this capacity, she led the party into the

. In the run-up to the election, the

VPRO The VPRO (stylized vpro; originally an acronym for , ) is a Dutch public broadcaster, which forms a part of the Dutch public broadcasting system. Founded in 1926 as a liberal Protestant broadcasting organization, it gradually became more soc ...

documentary Sigrid Kaag: van Beiroet tot Binnenhof was broadcast on 3 January 2021. Before this, Kaag had been followed for several years by documentary makers. After the elections,

GeenStijl GeenStijl is a Dutch blog founded on 10 April 2003. The logo is a pink coloured crown within a circle. In the Dutch language, the term "geen stijl" (literal translation: no style) is used to describe an act by a person or organisation that lack ...

published about the communication between the

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

company and D66 about the documentary, which they had obtained via a wob request. This showed that D66 did have a lot of substantive requests, some of which were granted, although this was denied beforehand. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also interfered, including the broadcast date of the documentary. Initially, Kaag indicated that this was not at her request, but soon admitted that she was responsible for it. Following this report, the Dutch Media Authority (Commissariaat voor de Media) stated that there was no reason for further investigation, as editorial independence does not appear to have been violated. D66's campaign for the Lower House elections in March 2021 with Kaag was successful. They managed to grow by five seats to a total of 24 seats. This made them the second largest party, after the VVD. She joined the Lower House as parliamentary party chairman on 31 March 2021. During her HJ Schoo lecture in the Rode Hoed debating centre in September of the same year, she voiced fierce criticism of the political culture that had arisen partly under Rutte's leadership. Shortly after, in April 2021, she joined forces with

Wopke Hoekstra Wopke Bastiaan Hoekstra (born 30 September 1975) is a Dutch politician who has served as second Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the fourth Rutte cabinet since 10 January 2022. He has also been Leader o ...

in putting forward a motion of

censure A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spir ...

to voice their disapproval of VVD-leader Rutte. Due to changes within the outgoing cabinet, Kaag was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs on 25 May 2021. She combined this position with the ministry for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation until 10 August 2021. Thereafter, she was succeeded as Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation by another former diplomat,

Tom de Bruijn Thomas Justinus Arnout Marie de Bruijn (; born 8 October 1948) is a Dutch diplomat, civil servant and politician who served as Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation in the third Rutte cabinet from 10 August 2021 to 10 January 2 ...

. On 16 September 2021, 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 ...

passed a motion of censure against her. A majority reproached her for the late evacuation of Dutch citizens in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and of persons in that country who had worked for the Netherlands. In response to the passing of the motion of censure, Kaag announced her intention to resign as minister. The King granted her resignation on 17 September, and she was succeeded by

Ben Knapen Hubertus Petrus Maria "Ben" Knapen (born 6 January 1951) is a Dutch historian and politician serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 24 September 2021 to 10 January 2022. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), he previously was St ...

. After she negotiated in the

2021-2022 Dutch cabinet formation Increment or incremental may refer to: *Incrementalism, a theory (also used in politics as a synonym for gradualism) *Increment and decrement operators, the operators ++ and -- in computer programming *Incremental computing *Incremental backup, wh ...

she returned jin the

as Minister of Finance.

Honours and awards

* 2015 – Honorary

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

degree from the

* 2016 –

Wateler Peace Prize The Wateler Peace Prize is awarded annually by the Dutch Carnegie Foundation and is named for J.G.D. Wateler who, upon his death on 22 July 1927 "bequeathed his estate to the Dutch State, under the proviso that the annual revenue accruing from it ...

awarded by the Carnegie Foundation

Other activities

European Union organisations

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the EU Member States. It is one of the largest supranational lenders in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt solutions ...

(EIB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2022) *

European Stability Mechanism The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is an intergovernmental organization located in Luxembourg City, which operates under public international law for all eurozone member states having ratified a special ESM intergovernmental treaty. It was ...

(ESM), Member of the Board of Governors (since 2022)

International organizations

African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or (BAD) is a multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies i ...

(AfDB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2017) *

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field office ...

(ADB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2017) *

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank that aims to improve economic and social outcomes in Asia. The bank currently has 105 members, including 14 prospective members from around the world. The br ...

(AIIB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2022) *

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially focus ...

(EBRD), Ex-Officio Alternate Member of the Board of Governors (since 2017) *

Inter-American Investment Corporation The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an International financial institutions, international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America, and serving as the largest source of development finan ...

(IIC), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2017) * Joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee, Alternate Member *

Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is an international financial institution which offers political risk insurance and credit enhancement guarantees. These guarantees help investors protect foreign direct investments against ...

(MIGA),

World Bank Group The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Grou ...

, Ex-Officio Alternate Member of the Board of Governors (since 2017) *

, Ex-Officio Alternate Member of the Board of Governors (since 2017) * OECD/UNDP Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB), Member of the Governing Board (since 2017)

Non-profit organizations

* P4G – Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030, Member of the Board of Directors (since 2019) * Generation Unlimited, Member of the Board (since 2018) *

International Gender Champions International Gender Champions (IGC) is a network of female and male leaders of member states, international organizations, and civil society working for gender equality. It is an initiative of Women@TheTable, and was founded in 2015 by Caitlin Kr ...

(IGC), Member (since 2017) *

Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace The Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace was a multistakeholder Internet governance organization, dedicated to the creation of diplomatic norms of governmental non-aggression in cyberspace. It operated for three years, from 2017 t ...

(GCSC), Member (2017)

Personal life

Kaag is married and has four children. Her husband,

Anis al-Qaq Anis al-Qaq (Arabic: القاق، أنيس‎) (born June 1, 1947) is a former dentist, Palestinian Authority Deputy minister and ambassador. Early life and career Anis al-Qaq received a BSc in Dentistry from the University of Baghdad in 1971. ...

, is a dentist and a

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

national from

who served as a deputy minister under

Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...

in the 1990s and as the Palestinian representative to Switzerland. Kaag is a noted

polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingualism, monolingual speakers in the World population, world's pop ...

and speaks six languages: Dutch, English, French, Spanish, German and Arabic. She is a practicing

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. She was the first

Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Specia ...

References

External links

S.A.M. (Sigrid) Kaag MA, MPhil
on ''Parlement.com'' , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaag, Sigrid 1961 births Living people 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch diplomats 21st-century Dutch civil servants 21st-century Dutch diplomats 21st-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch women politicians Alumni of St Antony's College, Oxford Alumni of the University of Exeter Commissioners of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace Democrats 66 politicians Dutch expatriates in England Dutch expatriates in Israel Dutch expatriates in Lebanon Dutch expatriates in Switzerland Dutch expatriates in Syria Dutch expatriates in the United States Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch officials of the United Nations Dutch Roman Catholics Dutch women diplomats Female finance ministers Female foreign ministers Leaders of the Democrats 66 Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Ministers for Development Cooperation of the Netherlands Ministers of Finance of the Netherlands Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands People from Rijswijk People from Zeist The American University in Cairo alumni UNICEF people United Nations Development Programme officials UNRWA officials Women government ministers of the Netherlands