Ank Bijleveld

Anna Theodora Bernardina "Ank" Bijleveld-Schouten (born 17 March 1962) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). She served as Minister of Defence in the third cabinet of Prime Minister Mark Rutte from 26 October 2017^[1] to 17 September 2021.^[2]

Ank Bijleveld
Bijleveld in 2018
Mayor of Almere
Acting
In office 10 January 2022 – 2023
Preceded by	Franc Weerwind
Succeeded by	Hein van der Loo
Minister of Defence
In office 26 October 2017 – 17 September 2021
Prime Minister	Mark Rutte
Preceded by	Klaas Dijkhoff
Succeeded by	Ferdinand Grapperhaus (acting)
King's Commissioner of Overijssel
In office 1 January 2011 – 26 October 2017
Monarchs	Beatrix Willem-Alexander
Preceded by	Geert Jansen
Succeeded by	Andries Heidema
State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations
In office 22 February 2007 – 14 October 2010
Prime Minister	Jan Peter Balkenende
Preceded by	Rob Hessing
Succeeded by	Raymond Knops (2017)
Mayor of Hof van Twente
In office 1 January 2001 – 22 February 2007
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Hans Kok
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 17 June 2010 – 1 January 2011
In office 16 November 1989 – 16 January 2001
Personal details
Born	Anna Theodora Bernardina Schouten (1962-03-17) 17 March 1962 (age 63) IJsselmuiden, Netherlands
Political party	Christian Democratic Appeal
Spouse	Riekele Bijleveld ​ (m. 1984)​
Children	2
Education	University of Twente (BPA, MPA)

A civil servant by occupation, she served as a member of the House of Representatives from 16 November 1989 until 16 January 2001, when she was appointed Mayor of Hof van Twente, serving from 1 January 2001 until 22 February 2007. She resigned after she was appointed as State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations in the Fourth Balkenende cabinet, serving from 22 February 2007 until 14 October 2010. After the election of 2010, Bijleveld returned to the House of Representatives serving from 17 June 2010 until 1 January 2011 when she resigned after she was appointed as King's Commissioner of Overijssel. Following the election of 2017 Bijleveld was asked to become Minister of Defence in the Third Rutte cabinet. Bijleveld accepted and resigned as King's Commissioner of Overijssel the same day she took office as the new Minister of Defence on 26 October 2017.

Early life and education

Bijleveld was born in the Dutch province of Overijssel. Between 1980 and 1986, she studied public administration at the University of Twente.

Political career

In 1986 Bijleveld became a member of the Enschede municipal council for the Christian Democratic Appeal. She served as a Member of the House of Representatives from 16 November 1989 until 16 January 2001. She was Mayor of Hof van Twente from 1 January 2001 until 22 February 2007, when she resigned to become the State secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations in the Fourth Balkenende cabinet until 14 October 2010. On 17 June 2010 she again became a member of the House of Representatives. She was an MP till 1 January 2011 when she became King's Commissioner of Overijssel.^[3]

Minister of Defence, 2017–2021

Bijleveld left that position in 2017 as she was appointed to be Minister of Defence.

Early in her tenure, Bijleveld oversaw Dutch efforts to disrupt a 2018 attempt by Russian intelligence agents to hack the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).^[4][5]

In October 2019, journalists from NRC and NOS revealed that an air raid on the Iraqi city Hawija in early June 2015 had been carried out by Dutch F16s. This bombing of a weapons depot resulted in 70 civilian deaths.^[6] Bijleveld's predecessor, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, was aware of this, but had incorrectly informed the House of Representatives about this.^[7] Bijleveld was criticized, because she too could have informed the House of Representatives about this earlier. For this reason GroenLinks-parliamentarian Isabelle Diks filed a motion of no confidence on 5 November 2019, which was supported by 71 parliamentarians.^[8] In this parliamentary debate Rutte and Bijleveld stated that the number of seventy civilian deaths was uncertain and that this was also not known to the United States Central Command. After inquiries from NRC and NOS, United States Central Command however confirmed that they have known this number of casualties for a while now.^[9] The fact that journalists could get this information led to a fourth debate about this bombing. In this debate, Bijleveld survived another vote of no confidence, which was supported by only 69 parliamentarians.^[10]

Bijleveld resigned on 17 September 2021 after the House of Representatives filed a motion of disapproval on how she and Sigrid Kaag handled the evacuation of Afghanistan, even though the day before she said she wouldn't resign.^[11]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Ank Bijleveld

Year	Body	Party		Pos.	Votes	Result		Ref.
						Party seats	Individual
1994	House of Representatives		Christian Democratic Appeal	21	1,591	34	Won
1998	House of Representatives			2	71,540	29	Won
1998	House of Representatives			2	49,036	21	Won
2021	House of Representatives			51[a]	971	15	Won	[12]

Personal life

Bijleveld has been married to Riekele Bijleveld since 1984 (her husband has been a member of the municipal council of Hof van Twente on behalf of the CDA party since 2018)^[13] and has two daughters. She is a Roman Catholic.

Notes

1. Bijleveld participated as lijstduwer.