Sophie Hermans | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Hermans in 2024 | |
| Second Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands | |
| Assumed office 2 July 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Dick Schoof |
| Preceded by | Karien van Gennip |
| Minister of Climate Policy and Green Growth | |
| Assumed office 2 July 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Dick Schoof |
| Preceded by | Rob Jetten(as Minister for Climate and Energy Policy) |
| Leader of thePeople's Party for Freedom and Democracy in theHouse of Representatives | |
| In office 11 January 2022 – 6 December 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Mark Rutte |
| Succeeded by | Dilan Yeşilgöz |
| Member of theHouse of Representatives | |
| In office 23 March 2017 – 2 July 2024 | |
| Succeeded by | Jacqueline van den Hil |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Sophia Theodora Monique Hermans 1 May 1981 (1981-05) (age 44) Nijmegen, Netherlands |
| Political party | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy |
| Parent |
|
| Alma mater | University of Amsterdam |
Sophia Theodora Monique "Sophie"Hermans (born 1 May 1981) is a Dutch politician currently serving asSecond Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands andMinister of Climate and Green Growth in theSchoof cabinet.[1] Hermans previously served as a member of theHouse of Representatives representingPeople's Party for Freedom and Democracy between 2017 and 2024.[2]
Hermans is the daughter of former politicianLoek Hermans.[3][4]
She completed hervwo, studiedpolitical science in Amsterdam and completedpostdoctoral courses atSan Francisco State University andLondon Business School.[3][4]
Hermans's first job was as a consultant in Utrecht.[3] She served aspolitical assistant to MinisterStef Blok and Prime MinisterMark Rutte.[3][4][5]
Hermans entered on the House of Representatives on 23 March 2017, and she was her party's spokesperson for healthcare.[6] She served as deputy parliamentary leader of the VVD.[3] She acted as negotiator during the2021-2022 cabinet formation.[3] She became parliamentary leader on 11 January 2022,[2] when Rutte resigned from the House to become Prime Minister inhis new cabinet.[a]
In June 2022, Hermans held a personal speech at theparty congress. She denied owing her position to her father or her work as Rutte's assistant. During a subsequent debate,Geert Wilders (PVV) asked her how long she intended to remain Rutte's "bag bearer" (Dutch:tassendrager). Hermans was moved by this remark.SpeakerVera Bergkamp asked Wilders to stay with the subject-matter. Hermans's response was met with the approval of the chamber, and several other parliamentary leaders condemned Wilders' comment.[4][7]
In July 2023, in the aftermath of Prime MinisterMark Rutte's resignation from national politics and as leader of the VVD, Hermans declined to run to become the nextLeader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy.[8] Following theNovember 2023 general election, she served as spokesperson forAIVD,medical ethics, and long-term care and as acting parliamentary leader of the VVD, while party leaderDilan Yeşilgöz was stilldemissionary Minister of Justice and Security.[9] AlongsideEelco Heinen, Hermans assisted Yeşilgöz intalks to form a new governing coalition in 2023–24.[10]
After the PVV, VVD,NSC, andBBB formed theSchoof cabinet, Hermans was sworn in as Second Deputy Prime Minister and as Minister of Climate Policy and Green Growth on 2 July 2024.[6][11] TheMinistry of Climate Policy and Green Growth was established simultaneously, and its responsibilities had previously been part of theMinistry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy withRob Jetten asminister without portfolio. When pastclimate change denial by members of the fellowcoalition party PVV was raised during her confirmation hearing, Hermans declared that she was committed toclimate change mitigation and that she wanted to promote an optimistic message ofgreen growth.[12]
The governing agreement, presented in September 2024, included a continuation of existing plans to increasewind power and the construction of fournuclear power plants .[13] Hermans later warned that it would not be possible to finish the first nuclear plant by 2035, as had been targeted by the preceding cabinet.[14][15] TheNetherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) concluded the following month that the likelihood of the Netherlands meeting its 2030 target – reducingCO2 emissions by 55% compared to 1990 levels – had fallen from 15% to less than 5%, partly due to the cabinet's reversal of its predecessor's measures. Hermans responded that she was working on additional initiatives.[16]
She opposed government efforts to banlaughing gas for recreational use, comparing it to "shooting a mosquito with a cannon".[17] In 2024, Hermans re-introduced a proposal of her party to ban unvaccinated children from attending day care in response to declining vaccination rates and recent cases of themeasles andwhooping cough.[18]
Hermans is single.[3]
Her sister Caroliene was thepolitical assistant of Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte for various years.[3]
 |
| Year | Body | Party | Pos. | Votes | Result | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party seats | Individual | |||||||
| 2017 | House of Representatives | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | 16 | 4,417 | 33 | Won | [19] | |
| 2021 | House of Representatives | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | 3 | 24,115 | 34 | Won | [20] | |
| 2023 | House of Representatives | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | 2 | 62,320 | 24 | Won | [21] | |
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byas Minister for Climate and Energy Policy | Minister of Climate Policy and Green Growth 2024–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Deputy Prime Minister 2024–present Served alongside:Fleur Agema,Eddy van Hijum, andMona Keijzer | |
