Sandra Palmen | |
|---|---|
| State Secretary for Benefits and Redress | |
| Assumed office 5 September 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Dick Schoof |
| Minister | Eelco Heinen |
| In office 12 December 2024 – 23 August 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Dick Schoof |
| Minister | Eelco Heinen |
| Preceded by | Nora Achahbar |
| Member of theHouse of Representatives | |
| In office 6 December 2023 – 12 December 2024 | |
| Succeeded by | Ria de Korte |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Sandra Schlangen (1972-02-17)17 February 1972 (age 53) Cuijk, Netherlands |
| Political party |
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| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Leiden University |
| Occupation |
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Sandra Palmen-Schlangen (born 17 February 1972) is a Dutch jurist, civil servant, and politician ofNew Social Contract (NSC). She was elected to theHouse of Representatives in theNovember 2023 general election. She has served asState Secretary for Benefits and Redress in theSchoof cabinet since December 2024.
Palmen was born on 17 February 1972 inCuijk, and she studied tax economics at the School of Higher Commercial Education inArnhem between 1991 and 1995.[1][2] She started her 26-year career at theMinistry of Finance in 1997 as a processing official for theTax and Customs Administration.[1][3] At the same time, she studiedtax law atLeiden University from 1999 to 2001.[1][2] She later held positions as team leader, policy advisor, and specialist coordinator.[1]
In March 2017, when she was a jurist at the Tax and Customs Administration, Palmen wrote an internal memo about childcare benefits recipients who had been wrongly accused of fraud starting in 2015. She called the organization's conduct "reprehensible", and she recommended victims to be compensated. The document, later dubbed the Palmen Memo, was ignored within the Tax and Customs Administration, but it received attention in 2020 after the media started uncovering the abuse. Thechildcare benefits scandal resulted in the resignation of thethird Rutte cabinet in January 2021.[4][5][6][7] The memo was released in October 2020 ahead of theParliamentary Interrogation on Childcare Benefits, during which Palmen testified.[7]
Next to her position at the Ministry of Finance, she became a judgead hoc at theAdministrative High Court [nl] in 2021 and amarriage officiant in 2023.[1][4][2]
Palmen joined New Social Contract (NSC) when it was founded ahead of theNovember 2023 general election byPieter Omtzigt, who had helped uncover the childcare benefits scandal. She was elected to the House of Representatives as the party's fifth candidate.[8][7] She cited the childcare benefits scandal as her motivation to enter politics, and she has advocated for a "government that serves the public interest and acts in service of society".[7] Palmen's portfolio in the House consisted of the interior, democracy, legal protection, and poverty.[9][10]
NSC supports the establishment of aconstitutional court, and she has criticized the Netherlands'sban on judicial constitutional review. Thegoverning coalition, including NSC, agreed to pursue the creation of such a court.[11] The House passed amotion by Palmen andMichiel van Nispen (SP) urging the government to adopt recommendations byJos Silvis to seek legal advice from a range of law firms. Previously, the government had relied almost exclusively on the firmPels Rijcken [nl].[12] Palmen proposed several adjustments to the social safety net withMohammed Mohandis (GL/PvdA) to simplify the system and to make it more forgiving to those in poverty.[11]
On 12 December 2024, she succeededNora Achahbar as State Secretary for Benefits and Redress in the Schoof cabinet following her resignation. Her portfolio includes the aftermath of the Dutch childcare benefits scandal and reforms to the benefits system. The cabinet aimed to finish the recovery operation for the scandal's victims by 2027 despite a slow pace of procedures.[13] Palmen opined that the operation had been erected too quickly, before the entirety of the scandal had become visible and before victims had given their input.[14] An emergency committee requested by her predecessor concluded in January 2025 that the operation would take between 15 and 20 more years in its current approach and that government agencies were unsuitable to determine compensation because of their lack of generosity. They recommended that the recovery operation be handled mostly through the private Foundation (Equal) Worthy Recovery, established byPrincess Laurentien of the Netherlands.[15][16]
On 23 August 2025,NSC left the government and Palmen resigned. She returned to her position in the Schoof cabinet on 5 September 2025 as anindependent politician.[17]
As of 2024, Palmen lived inLeersum.[2] She is married and has two children.[1]
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| Year | Body | Party | Pos. | Votes | Result | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party seats | Individual | |||||||
| 2023 | House of Representatives | New Social Contract | 5 | 7,577 | 20 | Won | [8] | |
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | State Secretary for Benefits and Redress 2024–present | Incumbent |
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