Nicolien van Vroonhoven | |
|---|---|
 van Vroonhoven in 2025 | |
| Leader of theNew Social Contract | |
| In office 19 April 2025 – 1 September 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Pieter Omtzigt |
| Succeeded by | Eddy van Hijum |
| Member of theHouse of Representatives | |
| In office 22 November 2023 – 11 November 2025 | |
| In office 15 May 2002 – 17 June 2010 | |
| Alderman inHilversum | |
| In office 7 May 2014 – 17 December 2017 | |
| Member ofThe HagueMunicipal council | |
| In office 11 March 2010 – 12 September 2011 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jennifer Nicolien Kok (1971-04-09)9 April 1971 (age 54) |
| Political party | NSC (2023–present) |
| Other political affiliations | CDA (1997–2023) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5 |
| Alma mater | Leiden University University of Amsterdam |
| Occupation | Tax advisor •Politician |
Jennifer Nicolien van Vroonhoven-Kok (born 9 April 1971) is a Dutch politician who led theNew Social Contract in 2025.[1] She was the second candidate of New Social Contract in the2023 general election. From 2002 to 2010, she held a seat in the House on behalf of theChristian Democratic Appeal (CDA). From 2010 to 2011, she was a member of themunicipal council ofThe Hague and from 7 May 2014 to 17 December 2017 she was analderman in the municipality ofHilversum, both for CDA.
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Van Vroonhoven was born inBussum. After attending high school at theGemeentelijk Gymnasium inHilversum between 1983 and 1989, she went toLeiden University, where she received anMA degree inArt history in 1994 and anLLM degree inInternational law in 1995. Subsequently, she studied at theUniversity of Amsterdam, where she obtained anLLM inTax Law in 2000. During this study, she worked briefly as a junior tax advisor atArthur Andersen & Co. In 1997, she became a finance policy officer for Dutch politicianJan Peter Balkenende of the CDA (who later served asPrime Minister of the Netherlands). Van Vroonhoven introducedPieter Omtzigt to Balkenende in 2002.
On 23 May 2002, Van Vroonhoven entered theDutch House of Representatives. She was a tax spokesperson and was involved in cultural policy and starting entrepreneurs. Between 13 May and 17 August 2008, she was temporarily replaced as Member of Parliament byIne Aasted-Madsen. She was not a candidate in the2010 Dutch general election so her membership of the House ended on 17 June 2010. Between 11 March 2010, and the end of 2011 she sat for the CDA in the municipal council ofThe Hague.
From 7 May 2014 to 17 December 2017, Van Vroonhoven was an alderman in the municipality ofHilversum. Her portfolio included housing and land affairs, nature, environment and sustainability and historic preservation. She resigned from her position on 17 December 2017; her husband had found a job inMelbourne,Australia and the entire Van Vroonhoven family emigrated with them. They returned in 2022.
Van Vroonhoven returned to the Netherlands in 2022. She helped Omtzigt establish theNew Social Contract (NSC) party in the summer of 2023, and she canceled her CDA membership. She became an employee of NSC and served as a spokesperson. Placed second on theparty list, she was elected in the2023 Dutch general election, and she returned to the parliament after more than a decade.[2][3][4] Van Vroonhoven is the NSC's viceparliamentary leader and its spokesperson for justice, security, culture, andlabor market.[2][5] She assisted Pieter Omtzigt andEddy van Hijum information talks for theSchoof cabinet, and theNRC newspaper described Van Vroonhoven as Omtzigt's emotional support.[6] Following the cabinet's swearing in, Van Vroonhoven's portfolio changed to taxation, media, and culture.[7]
She took over Omtzigt's leadership responsibilities after he announced his temporary retreat in September 2024, ahead of the yearlyGeneral Political Debate.[8] Van Vroonhoven noted that her party's support for the use of emergency powers toimplement asylum measures, as outlined in thecoalition agreement, was contingent on a positive advice of theCouncil of State.[9] During the General Political Debate, she helped opposition parties secure a majority in demanding the release of official documents on the plan's legal viability, referring to the parliament'sright to information under Article 68 of theConstitution of the Netherlands.[10] Documents of theMinistry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations showed that civil servants had advised against using emergency legislation, contending that the asylum situation was unlikely to meet the threshold for exceptional circumstances.[11] AfterParty for Freedom (PVV) leaderGeert Wilders stressed that the cabinet would be in trouble if no emergency law would be enacted, Prime MinisterDick Schoof facilitated negotiations between Van Vroonhoven and Wilders in October 2024.[12][13] The four coalition parties reached an agreement on asylum measures on 25 October, abandoning the use of emergency powers.[14]
On 15 November 2024, State SecretaryNora Achahbar of NSC announced her resignation. Reports circulated of offensive, radical, and potentially racist remarks made during aCouncil of Ministers meeting, in whichAmsterdam attacks targeting supporters of the Israeli football clubMaccabi Tel Aviv F.C. were discussed.[15] Prime MinisterDick Schoof said after the meeting that the attacks pointed to a broader integration issue, and State SecretaryJurgen Nobel stated that a significant portion of Islamic youth did not endorse Dutch norms and values, referring to the perpetrators.[16][17] Following Achahbar's resignation, Van Vroonhoven was invited to crisis talks with the other coalition leaders and the cabinet to avert a collapse. They agreed that no other cabinet members of NSC would step down, and Van Vroonhoven affirmed that no racist comments had been made by cabinet members.[18][19] Following a meeting of NSC's parliamentary group, Van Vroonhoven announced thatRosanne Hertzberger andFemke Zeedijk would step down in Achahbar's support.[20]
Omtzigt started a phased return to the House in late November.[21] Van Vroonhoven would temporarily share the role of parliamentary leader with Omtzigt, remaining the primary contact for coalition leaders, handling most major debates in parliament, and serving as the main media spokesperson.[22]
On 18 April 2025, when Omtzigt announced his immediate withdrawal from politics, Van Vroonhoven officially became NSC's political leader.[1] She did not run forre-election in 2025, and her term in the House ended on 11 November 2025.[23][24]
Van Vroonhoven-Kok married in 1999[citation needed] and has five children. She had aDutch Reformed upbringing, and she switched to theCatholic Church in her twenties. She stayed at anAugustinian abbey inMaastricht for four months while studying.[2]
 |
| Year | Body | Party | Pos. | Votes | Result | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party seats | Individual | |||||||
| 2002 | House of Representatives | Christian Democratic Appeal | 25 | 928 | 43 | Won | [25] | |
| 2003 | House of Representatives | Christian Democratic Appeal | 25 | 814 | 44 | Won | [26] | |
| 2006 | House of Representatives | Christian Democratic Appeal | 38 | 1,286 | 41 | Won | [27] | |
| 2023 | House of Representatives | New Social Contract | 2 | 44,045 | 20 | Won | [28] | |
