Wouter Koolmees (born 20 March 1977) is a Dutch economist and politician and of the Democrats 66 (D66) party who has been serving as Minister of Social Affairs and Employment 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 ...

since 2017. He also served as second

Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands The deputy prime minister of the Netherlands ( nl, Viceminister-president van Nederland) is the official deputy of the head of government of the Netherlands. In the absence of the prime minister of the Netherlands the deputy prime minister take ...

from 2019 to 2020 during

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 ...

's medical leave of absence.

Early life and education

Koolmees studied economics 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 ...

Career in the civil service

Before entering politics, he worked for several employers, including as a civil servant at the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Ec ...

Career in national politics

Koolmees 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 17 June 2010 until his ministerial appointment on 26 October 2017; as a parliamentarian, he focused on matters of finance, transport and water supply. Following the 2017 general election, Koolmees represented his party's interests alongside then-party 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 History of Dutch Art at the Leiden University obtaining a Master of Arts degree. Pecht ...

at the negotiating table with the

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy 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 ...

(VVD) to form

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 Unileve ...

's third cabinet. On 26 October 2017, he assumed office as Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, succeeding

Lodewijk Asscher Lodewijk Frans Asscher (; born 27 September 1974) is a Dutch politician and jurist who served as Leader of the Labour Party (PvdA) from 2016 to 2021 and parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives from 2017 to 2021. Asscher worked as ...

. Following the 2021 national elections, Koolmees and

Tamara van Ark Tamara van Ark (born 11 August 1974) is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). She served as Minister for Medical Care from 9 July 2020 until 3 September 2021 and as State Secretary for Social Affairs and Emp ...

of the VVD were chosen to lead their parties' negotiations on a

coalition agreement A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

.Eline Schaart and William Adkins (March 25, 202)
Coronavirus outbreak, resignations interrupt Dutch coalition talks
''

Politico Europe ''Politico Europe'' (stylized as ''POLITICO Europe'') is the European edition of the German-owned news organization ''Politico'' reporting on political affairs of the European Union. Its headquarters are located in Brussels with additional offices ...

''.

References

External links

;Official *
Drs. W. (Wouter) Koolmees
Parlement & Politiek {{DEFAULTSORT:Koolmees, Wouter 1977 births Living people Democrats 66 politicians Deputy Prime Ministers of the Netherlands Dutch accountants Dutch financial analysts Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Ministers of Social Affairs of the Netherlands People from Capelle aan den IJssel Politicians from Rotterdam Utrecht University alumni 21st-century Dutch civil servants 21st-century Dutch economists 21st-century Dutch politicians