Silvio Erkens | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theHouse of Representatives | |
| Assumed office 31 March 2021 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Silvio Peter Augustinus Erkens[1] (1990-08-07)7 August 1990 (age 35) Heerlen, Netherlands |
| Political party | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Consultant |
| Website | sowiesosilvio |
Silvio Peter Augustinus Erkens (born 7 August 1990) is a Dutch politician, who has held a seat in theHouse of Representatives since the2021 general election. He is a member of the conservative-liberalPeople's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). He previously worked as a consultant.
Erkens was born in 1990 in theLimburg cityHeerlen and grew up in nearbyKerkrade as an only child.[2][3] Both of his parents worked forStatistics Netherlands.[4] Erkens playedwater polo in his youth and received hisvwo diploma from the Kerkrade secondary school Rolduc College.[3][5] He studied political science atRadboud University Nijmegen starting in 2009 and graduated in 2012 with aBachelor of Science.[2] While a student, he served as vice-chair of theNijmegen chapter of theYouth Organisation Freedom and Democracy, the VVD's independent youth wing.[6] Erkens subsequently studied international relations (MSc) for one year at theLondon School of Economics.[2]
He worked forBoston Consulting Group in the years 2013–16, initially as a junior consultant and later as a senior consultant. Erkens then studied atColumbia Business School, located in New York City, and during his studies also worked for a few months for the executive office of theSecretary-General of the United Nations. He returned to Boston Consulting Group in 2018 as a project manager after obtaining anMBA.[1] Erkens left that company in 2020.[2]
Erkens joined the VVD while a student.[4] He wascampaign manager of the Limburg VVD during the2019 provincial elections, and he was among the writers of the party'selection program for Limburg.[3][7] Erkens also appeared 19th on the VVD'sparty list but was not elected to theStates of Limburg due to his party receiving five seats.[8]
Erkens was the VVD's 18th candidate in the2021 general election and helped write the election program.[3] He was elected with 4,043preference votes and was sworn in to the House of Representatives on 31 March.[9] His specializations were climate, energy policy, and the Dutch Emissions Authority. In the House, Erkens said thatTata Steel'sblast furnace inIJmuiden should become more sustainable. He argued for financially assisting the company and for partially nationalizing it if absolutely necessary.[10] He has also been an advocate ofnuclear power tomitigate climate change.[11] In 2021, amotion by Erkens andRenske Leijten (SP) was adopted to investigate distance norms for new wind turbines to prevent nuisance to residents, and he supported a halt on their construction in the meantime.[12][13]
Whileglobal energy prices were steeply increasing, Erkens andHenri Bontenbal (CDA) proposed five measures to relieve consumers to Minister for Climate and Energy PolicyRob Jetten in October 2022. Their recommendations included mandating energy suppliers to offer fixed contracts, forbidding them to give discounts to new customers, and subjecting them to a yearlystress test as well as strengthening consumer protections in case of bankruptcy. The VVD and CDA had liberalized the energy market as part of thesecond Balkenende cabinet.[14] At the same time, the Netherlands tried to lower its reliance on Russian gas due toits invasion of Ukraine in 2022. To increaseenergy independence, Erkens presented a bill in February 2023 to extract more gas domestically from theNorth Sea even if it would be more expensive than importing.[15]
Following hisre-election in November 2023, Erkens's portfolio was expanded to include climate, energy policy, defense, elections, and constitutional matters. Defense was dropped from his portfolio following the swearing in of theSchoof cabinet.[16] The House passed a motion by Erkens in February 2024 urging the government to plan for the construction of two nuclear reactors in addition to the two already in progress.[17] He also advocated for anelectoral threshold of 2% in general elections, arguing that reducing the number ofparliamentary groups, then at 15, would streamline debates and decision-making. Minister of the Interior and Kingdom RelationsJudith Uitermark (NSC) opposed the proposal, and she stated that she would not incorporate it into her upcoming electoral reform.[18][19]
In August 2024, theNational Political Index concluded that Erkens was the third most diligent House member from installation in 2023 to July 2024.[20][21]
He lives inKerkrade and has been married to his wife Samita, who is part of an Indian family residing in Switzerland, since 2020. They met each other in New York City and have a daughter.[2][4][23][24] Erkens is akickboxer.[3]
 |
| Year | Body | Party | Pos. | Votes | Result | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party seats | Individual | |||||||
| 2021 | House of Representatives | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | 18 | 4,043 | 34 | Won | [25] | |
| 2023 | House of Representatives | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | 11 | 6,472 | 24 | Won | [26] | |
| 2025 | House of Representatives | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | 8 | 5,446 | 22 | Won | [27] | |
House of Representatives 12 November 2025 – present | ||
| Democrats 66 26 seats |  | |
| Party for Freedom 26 seats | ||
| People's Party for Freedom and Dem. 22 seats | ||
| GroenLinks–Labour Party 20 seats | ||
| Christian Democratic Appeal 18 seats | ||
| JA21 9 seats | ||
| Forum for Democracy 7 seats | ||
| Farmer–Citizen Movement 4 seats | ||
| Denk 3 seats | ||
| Reformed Political Party 3 seats | ||
| Party for the Animals 3 seats | ||
| Christian Union 3 seats | ||
| Socialist Party 3 seats | ||
| 50Plus 2 seats | ||
| Volt 1 seat | ||
Bold indicates theparliamentary leader (first mentioned) and theSpeaker; (Brackets) indicate a temporarily absent member; Italics indicate a temporary member; ‹Guillemets› indicate a member who has left the House of Representatives See also:Members of the Senate of the Netherlands, 2023–2027 | ||