Alexandra van Huffelen State Secretary Kingdom Relations

Alexandra van Huffelen (53) of the Democratic Party D66 will be the new State Secretary of Kingdom Relations and Digitalising in the Rutte IV cabinet. She succeeds Raymond Knops, who will not return in the new Dutch government.

Van Huffelen currently holds the position of caretaker State Secretary of Finance. She studied public administration at Leiden University and Rotterdam Eras­mus University. In the 1990s she worked at the Ministry of Hous­ing, Spatial Planning, and the En­vironment VROM. From 2000 to 2010, she worked at energy com­pany Essent.

After the 2010 municipal elec­tions, Van Huffelen was ap­pointed Alderman Sustainability, Inner City and Outdoor Space of the Municipality Rotterdam. She was also responsible for the rede­velopment of the Rotterdam city centre. She was also Acting Rot­terdam Mayor.

On June 1, 2014, Van Huffelen became general director of the Amsterdam public transport company GVB. Following the 2019 First Chamber of the Dutch Parliament elections, was in­stalled as a Member of the Senate for D66. She has been a D66 member since 1989 and has held various posi­tions in the party, including treasurer of the Rotterdam D66 branch.

Since January 29, 2020, Van Huffelen has been State Secretary of Finance. In that role she was responsible for handling the infamous al­lowances affair that involved the Tax Office and adversely affected a large number of families with children in the Netherlands.

The new Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Rela­tions will be former Mem­ber of the Second Chamber Hanke Bruins Slot of the Christian Democratic Party CDA who currently is a com­missioner of the province Utrecht.

The current Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Kajsa 0longren (D66) will become Minister of Defence in the next Dutch government, which is sched­uled to be sworn in on Mon­day, January 10.

In the corridors during the last part of the formation talks, Raymond Knops was mentioned as a candidate for the Minister of Defence post. Knops earned a seat in the Second Chamber as number five on the CDA slate in the last elections and may very well return to Parliament. Former St. Eustatius Com­missioner Marnix van Rij, currently Chairman of the CDA party, will become the next State Secretary of Fis­cal Affairs. Current Member of the Second Chamber and Kingdom Relations spokes­person for the liberal demo­cratic VVD party Aukje de Vries will become State Secretary of Allowances and Customs.

New Minister for Legal Pro­tection will be Franc Weerwind (D66) is familiar with the Dutch Caribbean com­munity. He has a Surinamese background, is Chairman of the National Institute for the Slavery Past and its Legacy

(NiNsee) and is currently the Mayor of Almere, a city with a large number of inhabit­ants from the Dutch Carib­bean.

The Daily Herald.