Inge van Dijk

Inge van Dijk (born 6 May 1975) is a Dutch politician, serving as a member of the House of Representatives since the 2021 general election. She represents the political party Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA).

In this Dutch name, the surname is Van Dijk, not Dijk.

Inge van Dijk
Member of the House of Representatives
Assumed office
31 March 2021
Alderwoman in Gemert-Bakel
In office
9 May 2018[1] – 18 March 2021[2]
Succeeded byBart Claassen[2]
Member of the Gemert-Bakel municipal council
In office
2001 – 9 May 2018
Personal details
Born
I. van Dijk

(1975-05-06) 6 May 1975
Helmond, Netherlands
Political partyChristian Democratic Appeal
Alma materHAS University of Applied Sciences

Before becoming an MP, Van Dijk had been a member of the Gemert-Bakel municipal council between 2001 and 2018, being her party's lijsttrekker in two elections. She became an alderwoman in 2018 and has also chaired CDA Brabant between 2015 and 2020.

Early life and education

Van Dijk was born in the North Brabant city Helmond in 1975, and she moved at age one to the nearby village Bakel.[3][4] Her father worked as a gas fitter.[5] She attended the Helmond high school Dr. Knippenbergcollege and studied business administration at HAS University of Applied Sciences in 's-Hertogenbosch in the years 1994–99.[6][7]

Career

She took a job at Rabobank as internal account manager business relations in 1999 and would continue working for that company until she became an alderwoman in 2018. She served at several branches and at the national office in several positions including product manager.[7] While working for Rabobank, she was a member of the Gemert-Bakel municipal council and volunteered at a number of local organizations including handball club Acritas, where she was a trainer, coach, and board member until 2014.[8]

Van Dijk joined the municipal council in 2001, a few years after the municipalities Gemert and Bakel had merged.[9] She has told that she and her father had campaigned against the reorganization and that she had decided to become politically active because of that experience.[3] She became the CDA's lijsttrekker during the 2014 Gemert-Bakel municipal election, having been eighth on the party list in the previous election.[10] She succeeded Harrie Verkampen, who had been leading the party in Gemert-Bakel for several decades.[9] Her party managed to bring an end to a period of four years without having a plurality in the council.[11] In November 2015, Van Dijk also became the chair of CDA Brabant.[12]

She was again her party's lijsttrekker during the 2018 municipal election.[13] Her party again received a plurality of votes, and Van Dijk vacated her council seat in May to become a full-time alderwoman responsible for economic and sport policy.[14] Because of this position, she quit her job at Rabobank. In July 2019, Van Dijk survived a motion of no confidence. Her coalition was against plans to build a new swimming pool due to the financial risk involved and instead wanted to renovate an existing one.[15] Under her leadership as chair of CDA Brabant, the party formed a coalition with, among other parties, the populist Forum for Democracy in 2020. A majority of CDA Brabant members (56%) had supported the coalition, that was controversial due to ideological disagreements, in a referendum. The previous coalition had collapsed because the CDA had left it.[16][17] In May 2020, one of the four alderwomen of Gemert-Bakel left, and Van Dijk's portfolio changed; she also became responsible for finances and real estate and surrendered sport policy.[18]

House of Representatives (2021–present)

Van Dijk ran for member of parliament during the 2021 general election, being placed fourth on the CDA's party list.[19] In November 2020 – shortly after her position had been announced – she stepped down as CDA Brabant chair.[20] She was elected, receiving 16,851 preference votes, and was sworn into office on 31 March.[21] Van Dijk is the CDA's spokesperson for economic affairs, the interior (excluding housing), the financial sector, and sport (formerly also kingdom relations), and she is on the Committees for Digital Affairs, Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, Finance, the Interior, Kingdom Relations, and Public Expenditure as well as on the Procedure Committee.[7][19] In the House, she proposed to provide €10 million per year in funding from the national government for local political parties next to the already existing €27 million in funding for national parties.[22] She also wanted to spend part of a fund from the European Union on providing free Internet for people with a low income.[23] In 2023, Van Dijk complained the government was treating sports clubs and other associations too much like commercial businesses, threatening their existence, and she stressed their importance for society. She suggested several measures to aid the organizations such as exempting them from sales tax, increasing the compensation for volunteers, and having the government pay the first year of membership for new inhabitants.[24]

Van Dijk was her party's lijstduwer in Gemert-Bakel in the 2022 municipal elections.[25]

Personal life

Van Dijk has been living in the North Brabant village of Gemert since 2020, where she lives with her partner and three stepchildren. Before that, she resided in Bakel.[6]

Her former home in Bakel became the subject of municipal politics in 2019, because the zoning regulations only allowed the building and the neighboring building to be used as homes accompanying farms. She had tried to change those regulations at the Council of State, but a nearby farmer filed an objection fearing stricter environmental regulations. The municipal council eventually changed the zoning regulations such that both houses could be used as homes without farms.[26]

Decorations

References
  1. "Raadsvergadering" [Council meeting]. Gemeente Gemert-Bakel (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  2. Vermeeren, Hans (8 March 2021). "Claassen opvolger Van Dijk voor CDA in Gemert-Bakel" [Claassen CDA's successor Van Dijk in Gemert-Bakel]. Brabants Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  3. Fikse, Margje; Van Dijk, Inge (27 October 2020). "CDA-nieuwkomer Inge van Dijk sluit FvD nu wél uit" [CDA newcomer now does rule out FvD]. Dit is de Dag (in Dutch). NPO Radio 1. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  4. "Inge van Dijk". CDA (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  5. Van Dijk, Inge (14 April 2022). "Inge van Dijk (CDA): 'We denken niet strategisch genoeg over ons land'" [Inge van Dijk (CDA): 'We are not thinking about our country in strategic terms enough']. MKB-Nederland (Interview) (in Dutch). Interviewed by Paul Scheer. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  6. "Zo werd Inge van Dijk de rijzende ster van het CDA: 'Als politici moeten we onszelf niet belangrijker maken dan we zijn'" [This how Inge van Dijk became the CDA's rising star: 'As politicians we should not make ourselves more important than we are']. Eindhovens Dagblad (in Dutch). 6 March 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  7. "Inge van Dijk". Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  8. De Koning, Ad (26 April 2019). "Veertien lintjes uitgereikt in Gemert-Bakel" [Fourteen people decorated in Gemert-Bakel]. Eindhovens Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  9. Bon, Mieke (22 May 2013). "Inge van Dijk lijsttrekker CDA Gemert-Bakel". Eindhovens Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  10. "Tony Brouwers stapt uit politiek Gemert-Bakel" [Tony Brouwers leaves Gemert-Bakel politics]. Eindhovens Dagblad (in Dutch). 10 December 2009.
  11. Bon, Mieke (21 March 2014). "Vier jaar geprobeerd het zonder CDA te doen" [Tried it without the CDA for four years]. Eindhovens Dagblad (in Dutch).
  12. "Nieuwe chef CDA Brabant" [New CDA Brabant chair]. Brabants Dagblad (in Dutch). 19 October 2015. p. 2.
  13. De Koning, Ad (1 November 2017). "Inge van Dijk weer lijsttrekker CDA Gemert-Bakel" [Inge van Dijk again lijsttrekker CDA Gemert-Bakel]. Eindhovens Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  14. Bon, Mieke (3 May 2018). "Gemert-Bakel gaat het met louter vrouwelijke wethouders doen" [Gemert-Bakel will only have alderwomen]. Eindhovens Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  15. De Koning, Ad (4 July 2019). "Wethouder Gemert-Bakel overleeft motie van wantrouwen; raad kiest voor renovatie Fitland-bad" [Alderwoman Gemert-Bakel survives motion of no confidence; council chooses for renovation Fitland pool]. Eindhovens Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  16. Terlingen, Barbara (30 April 2020). "Groen licht CDA Brabant voor coalitie met FvD, maar 'onder strenge voorwaarden'" [Green light CDA Brabant for coalition with FvD, but under 'strict conditions']. NOS (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  17. Korteweg, Ariejan (27 October 2020). "Lucille Werner hoog op CDA-lijst, Inge van Dijk opvallende nieuwe nummer drie" [Lucile Werner high on CDA party list, Inge van Dijk surprising new number three]. De Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  18. De Koning, Ad (29 May 2020). "Gemert-Bakel verder met 3 wethouders" [Gemert-Bakel continues with 3 aldermen] (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  19. "Inge van Dijk". CDA (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  20. Ten Cate, Alwijn. "Digitale ALV 14 november 2020" [Digital general meeting 14 November 2020] (PDF). CDA Brabant (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  21. "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 17 maart 2021" [Results general election 17 March 2021] (PDF). Kiesraad (in Dutch). 26 March 2021. p. 190. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  22. Hoedeman, Jan (29 March 2022). "Lokale partijen krijgen eindelijk subsidie, minister moet nog op zoek naar geld" [Local parties will finally receive funding, minister still has to look for money]. AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  23. "CDA: steek Europees geld in gratis internet voor minima" [CDA: Spend European money on free Internet for people with low incomes]. RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 11 May 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  24. Lammers, Esther (21 April 2023). "Sportverenigingen vallen om, maar de overheid doet niets. CDA-Kamerlid Inge van Dijk vindt dat oliedom" [Sports clubs are collapsing, but the government is not acting. CDA House member Inge van Dijk believes that is dumb.]. Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  25. Vermeeren, Hans; Broers, Daphne; Linders, Twan; Peeters, Tonny; Van de Ven, Hans; Bouwmans, Mario (5 February 2022). "Nieuwe partijen Forum en Denk, grote verschuivingen en partijleiders die ermee stoppen: aftellen naar verkiezingen in de Peel" [New parties Forum and Denk, major landslides, and party leader who quite: Countdown to the elections in the Peel]. ED (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  26. Daniels, Daan (1 February 2019). "Legalisatie woning wethouder Van Dijk in Bakel feit" [Legalization of home alderwoman Van Dijk]. Eindhovens Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 November 2020.
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