The Netherlands' First Female Finance Minister... Era of European Female Ministers

Sihrit Kahr, the newly appointed Minister of Finance (Photo by AFP)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The next coalition government in the Netherlands is expected to have nearly half of its ministerial positions filled by women, including the country's first-ever female Minister of Finance.

On the 2nd (local time), Bloomberg News cited Dutch government data, reporting that 14 out of the 29 ministerial positions in the upcoming government will be held by women, marking the highest number in history.

Dilan Yesilg?z-Zegerius, originally from Turkey and currently Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, will move to the position of Minister of Justice, while Kajsa Ollongren, Minister of the Interior, will become Minister of Defense.

The new Minister of Finance will be Sigrid Kaag, who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs until September last year. At that time, Minister Kaag resigned amid heavy criticism over the chaotic situation during the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The news agency explained that with Kaag's appointment as Minister of Finance, the Netherlands has its first female Minister of Finance in history, and she is the fifth female finance minister currently serving within the European Union (EU).

Minister Kaag is the leader of the progressive, pro-European party Democrats 66 (D66), and the agency noted that attention is focused on whether the traditionally strict Dutch fiscal policy will change under her leadership.

The position of Minister of Finance in the Netherlands is one of the most closely watched roles, as it influences not only the Netherlands but also the EU.

The Netherlands is part of the so-called "Frugal Four" along with Austria, Denmark, and Sweden, countries that have clashed with other EU members over the EU budget.

Last year, during discussions on the EU COVID-19 recovery fund, the Netherlands and others opposed expanding the amount of aid.

The Netherlands is a multi-party system with many parties competing; in last March's general election, as many as 37 parties participated, making coalition formation difficult.

The four-party coalition government reached an agreement on the coalition formation plan last month after a record nine months since the last general election, and is scheduled to take office on the 10th.

The coalition consists of the center-right People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the progressive D66, the center-right Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), and the conservative Christian Union (CU).

Prime Minister Rutte, who first took office in 2010, has succeeded in being re-elected and will continue into his fourth term.

Other European countries such as Germany are also following a trend where women ministers make up the majority, a "female-dominant" trend.

In Germany, the cabinet of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, inaugurated last month, consists of an equal number of male and female ministers, eight each, and Sweden’s first female Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s cabinet started with 12 women and 11 men.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.