Ank Bijleveld

Anna Theodora Bernardina "Ank" Bijleveld-Schouten (born 17 March 1962) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) who has been serving as acting mayor of Almere since 10 January 2022. She served as Minister of Defence in the third cabinet of Prime Minister Mark Rutte from 26 October 2017[1] to 17 September 2021.[2]

Ank Bijleveld
Mayor of Almere
Acting
Assumed office
10 January 2022
Preceded byFranc Weerwind
Minister of Defence
In office
26 October 2017 – 17 September 2021
Prime MinisterMark Rutte
Preceded byKlaas Dijkhoff
Succeeded byFerdinand Grapperhaus (acting)
King's Commissioner of Overijssel
In office
1 January 2011 – 26 October 2017
MonarchsBeatrix
Willem-Alexander
Preceded byGeert Jansen
Succeeded byAndries Heidema
State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations
In office
22 February 2007 – 14 October 2010
Prime MinisterJan Peter Balkenende
Preceded byRob Hessing
Succeeded byRaymond Knops (2017)
Mayor of Hof van Twente
In office
1 January 2001 – 22 February 2007
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byHans Kok
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
17 June 2010 – 1 January 2011
In office
16 November 1989 – 16 January 2001
Personal details
Born
Anna Theodora Bernardina Schouten

(1962-03-17) 17 March 1962
IJsselmuiden, Netherlands
Political partyChristian Democratic Appeal
Spouse
Riekele Bijleveld
​
(m. 1984)​
Children2
EducationUniversity of Twente (BPA, MPA)

A civil servant by occupation, she served as a member of the House of Representatives from 16 November 1989 until 16 January 2001, when she was appointed Mayor of Hof van Twente, serving from 1 January 2001 until 22 February 2007. She resigned after she was appointed as State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations in the Fourth Balkenende cabinet, serving from 22 February 2007 until 14 October 2010. After the election of 2010, Bijleveld returned to the House of Representatives serving from 17 June 2010 until 1 January 2011 when she resigned after she was appointed as King's Commissioner of Overijssel. Following the election of 2017 Bijleveld was asked to become Minister of Defence in the Third Rutte cabinet. Bijleveld accepted and resigned as King's Commissioner of Overijssel the same day she took office as the new Minister of Defence on 26 October 2017.

Early life and education

Bijleveld was born in the Dutch province of Overijssel. Between 1980 and 1986, she studied public administration at the University of Twente.

Political career

In 1986 Bijleveld became a member of the Enschede municipal council for the Christian Democratic Appeal. She served as a Member of the House of Representatives from 16 November 1989 until 16 January 2001. She was Mayor of Hof van Twente from 1 January 2001 until 22 February 2007, when she resigned to become the State secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations in the Fourth Balkenende cabinet until 14 October 2010. On 17 June 2010 she again became a member of the House of Representatives. She was an MP till 1 January 2011 when she became King's Commissioner of Overijssel.[3]

Minister of Defence, 2017–2021

Bijleveld left that position in 2017 as she was appointed to be Minister of Defence.

Early in her tenure, Bijleveld oversaw Dutch efforts to disrupt a 2018 attempt by Russian intelligence agents to hack the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).[4][5]

In October 2019, journalists from NRC and NOS revealed that an air raid on the Iraqi city Hawija in early June 2015 had been carried out by Dutch F16s. This bombing of a weapons depot resulted in 70 civilian deaths.[6] Bijleveld's predecessor, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, was aware of this, but had incorrectly informed the House of Representatives about this.[7] Bijleveld was criticized, because she too could have informed the House of Representatives about this earlier. For this reason GroenLinks-parliamentarian Isabelle Diks filed a motion of no confidence on 5 November 2019, which was supported by 71 parliamentarians.[8] In this parliamentary debate Rutte and Bijleveld stated that the number of seventy civilian deaths was uncertain and that this was also not known to the United States Central Command. After inquiries from NRC and NOS, United States Central Command however confirmed that they have known this number of casualties for a while now.[9] The fact that journalists could get this information led to a fourth debate about this bombing. In this debate, Bijleveld survived another vote of no confidence, which was supported by only 69 parliamentarians.[10]

Bijleveld resigned on 17 September 2021 after the House of Representatives filed a motion of disapproval on how she and Sigrid Kaag handled the evacuation of Afghanistan, even though the day before she said she wouldn't resign.[11]

Electoral history
A (possibly incomplete) overview of Dutch elections Bijleveld participated in
Election Party Candidate number Votes
1994 Dutch general election Christian Democratic Appeal 21
1998 Dutch general election Christian Democratic Appeal 2 71,540
2010 Dutch general election Christian Democratic Appeal 49,036
2021 Dutch general election Christian Democratic Appeal 51 971

Personal life

Bijleveld has been married to Riekele Bijleveld since 1984 (her husband has been a member of the municipal council of Hof van Twente on behalf of the CDA party since 2018)[12] and has two daughters. She is a Roman Catholic.

References
  1. "Defensieminister Ank Bijleveld (CDA) kent Den Haag op haar duimpje" (in Dutch). NOS. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  2. "Demissionair minister Bijleveld stapt tóch op vanwege motie van afkeuring" (in Dutch). RTL. 17 September 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  3. (in Dutch) Ank Bijleveld-Schouten benoemd tot CdK Overijssel
  4. Anthony Deutsch and Stephanie van den Berg (October 4, 2018), Dutch government says it disrupted Russian attempt to hack chemical weapons watchdog Reuters.
  5. David Bond, Mehreen Khan and Kadhim Shubber (October 4, 2018), West hits back at Russian spying activities Financial Times.
  6. Schippers, Jannie; Versteegh, Kees (18 October 2019). "De Nederlandse 'precisiebom' op een wapendepot van IS" (in Dutch). NRC. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  7. Geels, Maartje (5 November 2019). "Bijleveld biedt excuses aan na verkeerd informeren Kamer over Irak" (in Dutch). NRC. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  8. Boon, Floor; Berkhout, Karel (5 November 2019). "Bijleveld in het nauw, maar blijft overeind" (in Dutch). NRC. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  9. Schippers, Jannie; Versteegh, Kees (19 December 2019). "Kolonels VS spreken Rutte tegen: wél 70 doden Hawija" (in Dutch). NRC. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  10. Boon, Floor (14 May 2020). "'U bent toch de minister? U gaat over transparantie'". NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  11. "Na Kaag (D66) treedt ook minister Bijleveld (CDA) af: ik sta werk defensie in de weg" (in Dutch). 17 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  12. www.margriet.nl
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