Gijs Tuinman | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| State Secretary for Defence | |
| Assumed office 2 July 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Dick Schoof |
| Minister | Ruben Brekelmans |
| Preceded by | Christophe van der Maat |
| Member of theHouse of Representatives | |
| In office 6 December 2023 – 2 July 2024 | |
| Succeeded by | Marieke Wijen-Nass |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gijs Pepijn Tuinman (1979-11-15)15 November 1979 (age 46) Heerlen, Netherlands |
| Political party | Farmer–Citizen Movement |
| Children | 1 |
| Residence | Oud-Beijerland |
| Education | |
| Awards |
|
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Netherlands |
| Branch/service | Royal Netherlands Army |
| Years of service | 1998–2012, 2013–2023 |
| Rank |  Lieutenant Colonel |
| Unit | Korps Commandotroepen |
| Battles/wars | War in Afghanistan |
Gijs Pepijn TuinmanRMWO (pronounced[ˈɣɛispəˈpɛinˈtœymɑn]; born 15 November 1979)[1] is a Dutch military officer and politician of theFarmer–Citizen Movement (BBB), who has served asState Secretary for Defence in theSchoof cabinet since July 2024. He was a member of theHouse of Representatives in the preceding seven months. Tuinman is one of the only three living knights (4th class) of theMilitary Order of William, the oldest and highestorder of chivalry of theKingdom of the Netherlands.
Gijs Tuinman was born in 1979 inHeerlen,Limburg, where he attended theBernardinuscollege from 1992 to 1998. In 1998, he went to theRoyal Military Academy inBreda. In 2001, he became a platoon commander in theKorps Commandotroepen to be.[1] By 2009, he had been on at least five deployments toAfghanistan, several to Africa and other missions.[2] On 7 October 2009, for a mission in 2006, he was awarded theBronze Lion, the second highest military decoration awarded byQueen Beatrix.[3]
From 2009 to 2012, he worked as a special operations policy advisor at theMinistry of Defence in The Hague. After this, he became a 'civilian' consultant atDeloitte. He returned to military duty in 2013.[1][4]
On 4 December 2014 at theBinnenhof inThe Hague, Tuinman was knighted byKing Willem-Alexander, receiving the fourth class knighthood of theMilitary Order of William. The King referred to Tuinman andEpke Zonderland in his Christmas speech in 2014.
He was elected to the House of Representativesin November 2023 as the third candidate of theFarmer–Citizen Movement, and he became the BBB's spokesperson for foreign affairs, trade, defense, andkingdom relations.[5][6] Tuinman told in February 2024 – during theRussian invasion of Ukraine – onBNR Nieuwsradio that he believed the Netherlands should more actively supportNATO's defense ofCentral and Eastern Europe against Russia. He suggested Dutch soldiers should be permanently stationed inLithuania orPoland.[7]
After thePVV,VVD,NSC, and BBB formed theSchoof cabinet, Tuinman was sworn in as State State Secretary for Defence on 2 July 2024.[5][8] His portfolio includes personnel, materiel, real estate, defence industry, IT and innovation,physical and social security, and resilience.[9] In September 2024, Tuinman and MinisterRuben Brekelmans announced €2.4 billion in increased yearly funding for theNetherlands Armed Forces. Coalition parties agreed to increase defense spending to adhere to the NATO norm of 2% ofGDP in response the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Additional funding would go towards attracting more personnel and the purchase of munitions, 50Leopard 2A8 battle tanks, sixF-35 fighter jets, twoAnti-Submarine Warfare Frigates, and severalNH90 military helicopters. The Netherlands had been left without tanks since 2011 because of budget cuts.[10][11] Tuinman later told that he aimed to increase the defense ministry's personnel from 74,000 to at least 100,000.[12]
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| Year | Body | Party | Pos. | Votes | Result | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party seats | Individual | |||||||
| 2023 | House of Representatives | Farmer–Citizen Movement | 3 | 5,834 | 7 | Won | [13] | |
| 2025 | 6 | 3,070 | 4 | Lost | [14] | |||
Media related toGijs Tuinman at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | State Secretary for Defence 2024–present | Incumbent |
| Army |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Navy | ||
| Air Force | ||
| Defence | ||
