Third Rutte cabinet facts for kids
The Third Rutte cabinet, also known as Rutte III, was the government of the Netherlands. It started its work on October 26, 2017. This government was named after the Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, who is from the VVD party. Since January 15, 2021, it has been a "caretaker" government, meaning it handles daily tasks until a new government is formed after elections.
This government was a team, or "coalition," made up of four different political parties:
- The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD)
- The Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA)
- Democrats 66 (D66)
- The ChristianUnion (CU)
The VVD is a party that believes in less government involvement and more personal freedom. D66 is a party that focuses on social fairness and individual rights. The CDA is a Christian democratic party, and the CU is also a Christian democratic party but with more traditional views.
The Third Rutte cabinet followed the Second Rutte cabinet.
Contents
How the Government Was Formed
When the Third Rutte cabinet started, the four parties together had 76 seats in the Second Chamber and 38 seats in the First Chamber. These numbers changed over time. For example, by 2021, they had 75 seats in the Second Chamber and 32 seats in the First Chamber.
The Third Rutte cabinet had 24 members in total. This included 15 ministers and 9 deputy ministers. It was quite balanced, with 12 women and 12 men.
Here's how the ministers and deputy ministers were divided among the parties:
- VVD: 5 ministers and 3 deputy ministers (8 in total, 4 of whom were women).
- CDA: 4 ministers and 2 deputy ministers (6 in total, 2 of whom were women).
- D66: 4 ministers and 3 deputy ministers (7 in total, 5 of whom were women).
- CU: 2 ministers and 1 deputy minister (3 in total, 1 of whom was a woman).
Key People in the Cabinet
The cabinet was led by the Prime Minister and supported by several Deputy Prime Ministers. Each minister was in charge of a specific area, like education or health.
Prime Minister
- Mark Rutte (VVD)
Deputy Prime Ministers
These people helped the Prime Minister and took over if he was not available.
- Hugo de Jonge (CDA)
- Kajsa Ollongren (D66)
- Carola Schouten (CU)
Ministers and Their Roles
Ministers are like the heads of different departments in the government. They make important decisions for their areas.
- Agriculture and Nature: Carola Schouten (CU)
- Defense: Ank Bijleveld (CDA)
- Economic Affairs and Climate: Cora van Nieuwenhuizen (VVD) (She was temporarily in charge)
- Education and Culture: Ingrid van Engelshoven (D66)
- Finance: Wopke Hoekstra (CDA)
- Foreign Affairs: Stef Blok (VVD)
- General Affairs: Mark Rutte (VVD) (This is the Prime Minister's main role)
- Health and Sports: Hugo de Jonge (CDA)
- Infrastructure: Cora van Nieuwenhuizen (VVD)
- Internal Affairs: Kajsa Ollongren (D66)
- Justice and Security: Ferdinand Grapperhaus (CDA)
- Social Affairs and Employment: Wouter Koolmees (D66)
Ministers Without Portfolio
Some ministers had specific tasks but were not in charge of a whole department.
- Tamara van Ark (VVD) - focused on health care.
- Sander Dekker (VVD) - worked on justice protection.
- Sigrid Kaag (D66) - handled trade and development with other countries.
- Arie Slob (CU) - focused on lower education and media.
Deputy Ministers
Deputy ministers support the main ministers in their work.
- Paul Blokhuis (CU) - worked on social care.
- Ankie Broekers-Knol (VVD) - focused on immigration.
- Alexandra van Huffelen (D66) - handled allowances and customs.
- Mona Keijzer (CDA) - worked with small and medium-sized businesses.
- Raymond Knops (CDA) - focused on relations with other parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and information.
- Stientje van Veldhoven (D66) - worked on environment and public transport.
- Hans Vijlbrief (D66) - focused on taxes.
- Barbara Visser (VVD) - handled personnel policies and equipment for the military.
- Bas van 't Wout (VVD) - worked on social security.
Related pages
See also
In Spanish: Gabinete Rutte III para niños
