Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
Flag of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
State Coat of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Incumbent (1) Sophie Hermans (2) Mona Keijzer
Member of	Council of Ministers
Appointer	The Monarch on advice of the Prime Minister
Formation	25 June 1945; 80 years ago (1945-06-25)
First holder	Willem Drees
Salary	€144,000 annually (including €7,887.24 expenses)

The Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands is like a helpful assistant to the Prime Minister. Their main job is to step in and lead when the Prime Minister is away. This includes leading important meetings of the government, like the Cabinet and the Council of Ministers. Usually, in the Netherlands, if several political parties work together to form a government, each of the smaller parties gets to choose one of their members to be a Deputy Prime Minister. They are ranked based on how many seats their party has in the Dutch Parliament.

What Does a Deputy Prime Minister Do?

The Deputy Prime Minister has a very important role in the Dutch government. They support the Prime Minister in many tasks. If the Prime Minister cannot be there, the Deputy Prime Minister takes charge. This ensures that the government can always continue its work smoothly.

Key Responsibilities of the Deputy PM

• Leading Meetings: They can chair meetings of the Cabinet and the Council of Ministers. These are groups of top government officials who make big decisions for the country.
• Representing the Government: Sometimes, they represent the Netherlands at important events or meetings. This can be both inside the country and abroad.
• Supporting the Prime Minister: They help the Prime Minister with their duties. This can involve many different tasks, depending on what is needed.

How Deputy Prime Ministers are Chosen

In the Netherlands, governments are often formed by a group of political parties working together. This is called a coalition. Each of the smaller parties in this coalition usually gets to appoint one of their members as a Deputy Prime Minister. If there are several Deputy Prime Ministers, they are ranked. This ranking depends on the size of their party in the House of Representatives, which is a part of the Dutch Parliament.

Deputy Prime Ministers of the Netherlands: A Historical Look

Below is a list of all the people who have served as Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands since the position was created. This table shows their names, the political party they belonged to, the other government roles they held, and the period they served.

Deputy Prime Minister			Position	Term of office	Party	Prime Minister (Cabinet)
		Willem Drees (1886–1988)	Minister of Social Affairs	25 June 1945 – 3 July 1946	Social Democratic Workers' Party	Willem Schermerhorn (Schermerhorn–Drees)
				3 July 1946 – 7 August 1948	Labour Party	Louis Beel (Beel I)
		Josef van Schaik (1882–1962)	Minister without Portfolio for the Interior	7 August 1948 – 15 March 1951	Catholic People's Party	Willem Drees (Drees–Van Schaik)
		Frans Teulings (1891–1966)	Minister without Portfolio for the Interior	15 March 1951 – 2 September 1952	Catholic People's Party	Willem Drees (Drees I)
		Dr. Louis Beel (1902–1977) (Resigned)	Minister of the Interior	2 September 1952 – 7 July 1956	Catholic People's Party	Willem Drees (Drees II)
		Teun Struycken (1906–1977)	Minister of the Interior, Property and Public Sector Organisations	29 October 1956 – 22 December 1958	Catholic People's Party	Willem Drees (Drees III)
				22 December 1958 – 19 May 1959		Louis Beel (Beel II)
			Minister of Justice
		Henk Korthals (1911–1976)	Minister of Transport and Water Management	19 May 1959 – 24 July 1963	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	Jan de Quay (De Quay)
			Minister for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs
		Barend Biesheuvel (1920–2001)	Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries	24 July 1963 – 14 April 1965	Anti-Revolutionary Party	Victor Marijnen (Marijnen)
			Minister for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs
		Dr. Anne Vondeling (1916–1979) First Deputy PM	Minister of Finance	14 April 1965 – 22 November 1966	Labour Party	Jo Cals (Cals)
		Barend Biesheuvel (1920–2001) Second Deputy PM	Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries		Anti-Revolutionary Party
			Minister for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs
		Dr. Jan de Quay (1901–1985) First Deputy PM	Minister of Transport and Water Management	22 November 1966 – 5 April 1967	Catholic People's Party	Jelle Zijlstra (Zijlstra)
		Barend Biesheuvel (1920–2001) Second Deputy PM	Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries		Anti-Revolutionary Party
			Minister for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs
		Dr. Johan Witteveen (1921–2019) First Deputy PM	Minister of Finance	5 April 1967 – 6 July 1971	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	Piet de Jong (De Jong)
		Joop Bakker (1921–2003) Second Deputy PM	Minister of Transport and Water Management		Anti-Revolutionary Party
			Minister for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs
		Roelof Nelissen (1931–2019) First Deputy PM	Minister of Finance	6 July 1971 – 11 May 1973	Catholic People's Party	Barend Biesheuvel (Biesheuvel I • II)
			Minister for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs	6 July 1971 – 28 January 1972
		Molly Geertsema (1918–1991) Second Deputy PM	Minister of the Interior	6 July 1971 – 11 May 1973	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
			Minister for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs	1 January 1973 – 11 May 1973
		Dries van Agt (1931–2024) (Resigned)	Minister of Justice	11 May 1973 – 8 September 1977	Catholic People's Party	Joop den Uyl (Den Uyl)
		Dr. Gaius de Gaay Fortman (1911–1997)		8 September 1977 – 19 December 1977	Anti-Revolutionary Party
			Minister of the Interior
			Minister for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs
		Hans Wiegel (1941–2025)	Minister of the Interior	19 December 1977 – 11 September 1981	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	Dries van Agt (Van Agt I)
		Joop den Uyl (1919–1987) (Resigned) First Deputy PM	Minister of Social Affairs and Employment	11 September 1981 – 29 May 1982	Labour Party	Dries van Agt (Van Agt II)
			Minister for Netherlands Antilles Affairs
		Dr. Jan Terlouw (1931–2025) Second Deputy PM (until 29/5/82)	Minister of Economic Affairs		Democrats 66
				29 May 1982 – 4 November 1982		Dries van Agt (Van Agt III)
		Gijs van Aardenne (1930–1995)	Minister of Economic Affairs	4 November 1982 – 14 July 1986	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	Ruud Lubbers (Lubbers I)
		Dr. Rudolf de Korte (1936–2020)	Minister of Economic Affairs	14 July 1986 – 7 November 1989	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	Ruud Lubbers (Lubbers II)
		Wim Kok (1938–2018)	Minister of Finance	7 November 1989 – 22 August 1994	Labour Party	Ruud Lubbers (Lubbers III)
		Hans Dijkstal (1943–2010) First Deputy PM	Minister of the Interior	22 August 1994 – 3 August 1998	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	Wim Kok (Kok I)
		Hans van Mierlo (1931–2010) Second Deputy PM	Minister of Foreign Affairs		Democrats 66
		Annemarie Jorritsma (born 1950) First Deputy PM	Minister of Economic Affairs	3 August 1998 – 22 July 2002	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	Wim Kok (Kok II)
		Dr. Els Borst (1932–2014) Second Deputy PM	Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport		Democrats 66
		Dr. Eduard Bomhoff (born 1944) (Resigned) First Deputy PM	Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport	22 July 2002 – 16 October 2002	Pim Fortuyn List	Jan Peter Balkenende (Balkenende I)
		Johan Remkes (born 1951)	Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations	22 July 2002 – 16 October 2002 Second Deputy PM	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
				16 October 2002 – 27 May 2003 First Deputy PM
		Roelf de Boer (born 1949) Second Deputy PM	Minister of Transport and Water Management	18 October 2002 – 27 May 2003	Pim Fortuyn List
		Gerrit Zalm (born 1952) First Deputy PM	Minister of Finance	27 May 2003 – 7 July 2006	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	Jan Peter Balkenende (Balkenende II)
			Minister of Economic Affairs (Interim)	3 July 2006 – 7 July 2006
		Thom de Graaf (born 1957) (Resigned) Second Deputy PM	Minister for Government Reform and Kingdom Relations	27 May 2003 – 23 March 2005	Democrats 66
		Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (born 1937) (Resigned) Second Deputy PM	Minister of Economic Affairs	31 March 2005 – 3 July 2006	Democrats 66
		Gerrit Zalm (born 1952)	Minister of Finance	7 July 2006 – 22 February 2007	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	Jan Peter Balkenende (Balkenende III)
		Wouter Bos (born 1963) (Resigned) First Deputy PM	Minister of Finance	22 February 2007 – 23 February 2010	Labour Party	Jan Peter Balkenende (Balkenende IV)
		André Rouvoet (born 1962)	Minister of Youth and Family Policy Second Deputy PM		Christian Union
			Minister of Education, Culture and Science	23 February 2010 – 14 October 2010
			Minister of Youth and Family Policy
		Maxime Verhagen (born 1956)	Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation	14 October 2010 – 5 November 2012	Christian Democratic Appeal	Mark Rutte (Rutte I)
		Dr. Lodewijk Asscher (born 1974)	Minister of Social Affairs and Employment	5 November 2012 – 26 October 2017	Labour Party	Mark Rutte (Rutte II)
		Hugo de Jonge (born 1977) First Deputy PM	Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport	26 October 2017 – 10 January 2022	Christian Democratic Appeal	Mark Rutte (Rutte III)
		Jonkvrouw Kajsa Ollongren (born 1967) (Leave) Second Deputy PM	Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations	26 October 2017 – 1 November 2019	Democrats 66
				14 May 2020 – 10 January 2022
		Carola Schouten (born 1977) Third Deputy PM	Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality	26 October 2017 – 10 January 2022	Christian Union
		Wouter Koolmees (born 1977) (Acting) Second Deputy PM	Minister of Social Affairs and Employment	1 November 2019 – 14 May 2020	Democrats 66
		Sigrid Kaag (born 1961) First Deputy PM	Minister of Finance	10 January 2022 – 8 January 2024	Democrats 66	Mark Rutte (Rutte IV)
		Wopke Hoekstra (born 1975) Second Deputy PM	Minister of Foreign Affairs	10 January 2022 – 1 September 2023	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Carola Schouten (born 1977) Third Deputy PM	Minister for Poverty Policy, Participation and Pensions	10 January 2022 – 2 July 2024	Christian Union
		Karien van Gennip (born 1968) Second Deputy PM	Minister for Social Affairs and Employment	5 September 2023 – 2 July 2024	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Rob Jetten (born 1987) First Deputy PM	Minister for Climate and Energy Policy	8 January 2024 – 2 July 2024	Democrats 66
		Fleur Agema (born 1976) First Deputy PM	Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport	2 July 2024 – 3 June 2025	Party for Freedom	Dick Schoof (Schoof)
		Sophie Hermans (born 1981) First Deputy PM	Minister of Climate Policy and Green Growth	2 July 2024 – Incumbent	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
		Eddy van Hijum (born 1972) Second Deputy PM	Minister of Social Affairs and Employment	2 July 2024 – 22 August 2025	New Social Contract
		Mona Keijzer (born 1968) Second Deputy PM	Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning	2 July 2024 – Incumbent	Farmer– Citizen Movement