VVD party leader Dilan Yeşilgöz will become Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister.
Dilan Yeşilgöz, the leader of the VVD party, announced in the Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) that she will leave her party's parliamentary group to take on the positions of Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in the new government. Current interim Minister of Defense Robben Brikmans is being considered to succeed her as the head of the parliamentary group, but Yeşilgöz confirmed that the decision rests with the group itself.
Yasheelghoz emphasized that she will continue in her role as party leader, and she believes that it is possible to reconcile this role with her new position as Minister of Defense. She has long been mentioned as a candidate for the defense portfolio. In the last government led by Mark Rutte, she held the position of Minister of Justice and Security, and prior to that, she was the State Secretary for Economic Affairs. Yasheelghoz said that Brekelmans is eager to take over the leadership of the parliamentary group: "We talked about it together, and he is very ambitious to lead the group," adding that "the ambitions and transitions are now aligned."
For his part, Brekelmans said he is leaving the Ministry of Defense with reluctance, as he hoped to continue in his position there: "It was a great honor to contribute to strengthening our armed forces at such a critical moment." He looks forward to returning to Parliament, where he previously served as the party spokesperson on foreign policy and asylum issues. The VVD party only nominates current ministers and members of the House of Representatives for positions in the new government. For example, David van Velden will return as Minister of Justice and Security, a position he held before moving to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last summer.
Vincent Karremans will move from his position as Minister of Economic Affairs to take over the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. Sophie Hermans will leave the Ministry of Climate and Green Growth to become Minister of Health, while Thierry Artsen, the current State Secretary for Infrastructure, will become Minister of Labor and Participation in the upcoming government. Among the three State Secretaries nominated by the VVD party, two come from the party's parliamentary group. Eric van der Burg, who was State Secretary for Asylum and Immigration in the last Rutte government, will take a position in the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. Silvio Erkens will join the Ministry of Agriculture, while Judith Tielen will continue her work as State Secretary, moving from the Ministry of Health to the Ministry of Education.
Sources in The Hague reported that Rianne Letschert, who previously served as the government formation commissioner, will take on the position of Minister of Education, Culture, and Science for the D66 party, according to RTL Nieuws reports. Letschert is the chair of the board of Maastricht University, and her name has been proposed for this position for some time. VVD also announced that Judith Tielen will serve as State Secretary in the same ministry.