Vivianne Heijnen

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Vivianne Heijnen
Minister for the Environment[a]
Assumed office
10 January 2022
Prime MinisterMark Rutte
Preceded bySteven van Weyenberg
Alderwoman in Maastricht
In office
18 June 2018 – 9 January 2022
Succeeded byNiels Peeters
Member of the Maastricht municipal council
In office
6 April 2010 – 18 June 2018
Succeeded byFlorence van der Heijden
Personal details
Born
V.L.W.A. Heijnen[2]

(1982-10-08) 8 October 1982 (age 39)
Spaubeek, Netherlands
Political partyChristian Democratic Appeal
Alma materMaastricht University
Occupation
  • Politician
  • academic administrator
  • lobbyist
Signature

Vivianne L.W.A. Heijnen (born 8 October 1982) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party. She has been serving as the Minister for the Environment[a] as part of the fourth Rutte cabinet since January 2022. Heijnen was previously head of the Brussels campus of her alma mater Maastricht University, and she was active in local politics in Maastricht as municipal councilor (2010–18) and alderwoman (2018–22).

Early life and career[]

Heijnen was born and raised in Spaubeek, a village in Limburg, with her brother.[3][4] Her father, Thijs, owned a business, while her mother, Gabriëlle, worked as a logopedist.[5] Her grandfather, Hein Corten, had served as the mayor of Ulestraten, Schimmert, and Susteren as a member of the VVD.[6] Heijnen started studying law at Maastricht University in 2000 but left two years later to study European studies at the same university. She received her Master of Arts degree in European public affairs in 2006.[6][7] Heijnen subsequently worked as a freelance lobbyist in Brussels for clients such as pension fund ABP.[4][6] She took a job as tutor at Maastricht University in 2008 and became head of its Brussels campus the following year.[7] The campus, which is situated in a single building and started out with a €250,000 annual budget, opened in 2010 and moved to a different location in April 2018, at a time when its budget had been doubled.[8] She left her job upon her appointment as alderwoman two months later.[9]

Maastricht politics[]

Heijnen participated in the March 2010 municipal election in Maastricht, being placed fourth on the CDA's party list.[10] She had decided to become politically involved as a result of her role as a lobbyist.[6] Her party won seven seats in the council, but Heijnen was not elected as candidates lower on the list had cleared the preference vote threshold.[10] She was appointed to the council on 6 April after two CDA councilors stepped down to become aldermen in the new municipal executive.[11][12] In October 2010, the CDA's council group leader, Peter Geelen, resigned following the falling apart of the government coalition, which later resulted in the CDA becoming an opposition party in Maastricht for the first time since World War II. Heijnen was chosen to succeed him in late November, and she said that safety would be one of the party's priorities.[6] The Maastricht CDA decided the following year to call for the closing of all coffeeshops in the city because of the nuisances they were causing.[13] Heijnen was re-elected to the council in March 2014 as lead candidate, while her party lost two seats.[14] She headed a confidential committee in 2015 to find a new mayor for Maastricht, which recommended Annemarie Penn-te Strake.[15] Heijnen also tried without success to bring the headquarters of the European Medicines Agency from London to South Limburg, when it had to be relocated as a result of Brexit.[16]

She ran for member of parliament in the 2017 general election as the CDA's 26th candidate. She received 15,821 preference votes, 90% of which were cast in her home province of Limburg, but she was not elected due to her party winning nineteen seats.[17] Locally, Heijnen was again her party's lead candidate in the March 2018 municipal elections. The CDA won a plurality in the council, and she kept her seat.[18] She left the council on 18 June 2018 to become alderwoman and deputy mayor in the new municipal executive.[19] Her responsibilities included the economy, the job market, regionalization, housing, well-being, permits, social innovation, and smart city.[20] To increase citizen participation in local politics, Heijnen organized a forum, during which inhabitants could determine on which projects €300,000 of the municipal budget would be spent, following a similar idea in Antwerp. Its first round was held in 2021 after a number of postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[21] In the run up to a 2020 CDA leadership election, she endorsed Pieter Omtzigt, who would eventually lose.[5] She stepped down as alderwoman when she was appointed Minister for the Environment in January 2022.[22] She also withdrew herself as lead candidate in the 2022 municipal elections.[23]

Minister for the Environment[]

Heijnen became a member of the new fourth Rutte cabinet and was sworn in on 10 January 2022 at Noordeinde Palace by King Willem-Alexander.[24] She serves as Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management, succeeding Steven van Weyenberg, but internationally she wears the title of Minister for the Environment.[1] Her portfolio includes environment (excluding climate), soil, public transport, railways, international public transport, cycling policy, sustainable transport, the KNMI, the , and the PBL.[25]

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b Nationally, her position is known as State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Kok, Laurens (8 January 2022). "Drie staatssecretarissen mogen zich over de grens minister noemen" [Three state secretaries can call themselves minister across the border]. AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Vivianne Heijnen". Gemeente Maastricht (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  3. ^ Goossen, Hans (2 January 2022). "Maastrichtse wethouder Vivianne Heijnen staatssecretaris in Rutte IV" [Vivianne Heijnen from Maastricht state secretary in Rutte IV]. De Limburger (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Vivianne Heijnen". CDA (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b Philippens, Joos (3 January 2022). "Wie is Limburgs enige lid van het kabinet Vivianne Heijnen?" [Who is Vivianne Heijnen, the only cabinet member from Limburg?]. De Limburger (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e Heijnen, Vivianne (4 December 2010). "Politieke achtbaan" [Political rollercoaster]. Dagblad De Limburger (Interview) (in Dutch). Interviewed by Stefan Gybels. p. 2.
  7. ^ a b "Vivianne Heijnen". Government of the Netherlands. 10 January 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  8. ^ Bos, Wammes (18 April 2018). "Brussels calling". Observant. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  9. ^ Kok, Ivo (29 June 2018). "Jonge vrouwen nieuw op het pluche in Maastricht" [Young women in office in Maastricht]. De Limburger (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  10. ^ a b Kok, Ivo (6 March 2010). "Het gevoel van een balletje in de flipperkast". Dagblad De Limburger (in Dutch). p. 2.
  11. ^ "Agenda van de Gemeenteraad van 6 april 2010" [Order of business of the municipal council of 6 April 2010]. Gemeente Maastricht (in Dutch).
  12. ^ "Vrouw domineert de gemeenteraad" [Women dominate the municipal council]. Dagblad De Limburger (in Dutch). 30 March 2010. p. 2.
  13. ^ Gybels, Stefan; Houben, Judith (13 May 2011). "Steun voor sluiting koffieshops groeit". Limburgs Dagblad (in Dutch). p. 8.
  14. ^ "De tweeledige nederlaag van CDA Maastricht" [The two-folded loss of the Maastricht CDA]. Dagblad De Limburger (in Dutch). 25 March 2014. p. 2.
  15. ^ De Graaf, Peter (23 April 2015). "Annemarie Penn nieuwe burgemeester Maastricht" [Annemarie Penn new mayor of Maastricht]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  16. ^ Schellen, Laurens (22 February 2017). "EU-instelling toch niet naar Limburg" [EU institution not to Limburg after all]. Limburgs Dagblad (in Dutch). p. 4.
  17. ^ "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 2017 (getekend exemplaar)" (PDF). Kiesraad (in Dutch). 21 March 2017. pp. 78–112. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  18. ^ Hoofs, John; Kok, Ivo (23 March 2018). "Wil de coalitie het CDA erbij?" [Does the coalition want the CDA to join?]. Dagblad De Limburger (in Dutch). p. 1.
  19. ^ "Niels Peeters leidt CDA Maastricht" [Niels Peeters leads Maastricht CDA]. Dagblad De Limburger (in Dutch). 21 June 2018. p. 2.
  20. ^ "Maastricht: onbegrensd en ontspannen" [Maastricht: unlimited and unstrained] (PDF). Gemeente Maastricht (in Dutch). 11 June 2018. p. 37. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  21. ^ Philippens, Joos (27 September 2021). "'Ontmoeting' scoort hoog bij start burgerbegroting Maastricht" ['Meeting' scores high during start Maastricht citizen budget] (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  22. ^ "Afscheidsbrief en dankwoord Vivianne Heijnen" [Farewell letter and word of thanks Vivianne Heijnen]. Gemeente Maastricht (Press release) (in Dutch). 7 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  23. ^ Philippens, Joos (3 January 2022). "Niels Peeters is de nieuwe nummer één bij CDA in Maastricht" [Niels Peeters is the new number one at the Maastricht CDA]. De Limburger (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  24. ^ Goossen, Hans (10 January 2022). "Eerste werkdag van Limburgse staatssecretaris Vivianne Heijnen (39): 'Ik had nog nooit met de koning aan tafel gezeten'" [First day at work for State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen (39) from Limburg: 'I had never set around the table with the king before']. De Limburger (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  25. ^ "Vivianne Heijnen". Rijksoverheid (in Dutch). 8 January 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
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