Hanke Bruins Slot to be FM of Netherlands

Hanke Bruins Slot will become the new Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands on Tuesday 5 September 2023, the government’s press office said in a statement, Report informs.

Her appointment follows Wopke Hoekstra’s departure as Minister of Foreign Affairs as of 1 September.

Bruins Slot’s previous positions include senior policy officer at the Ministry of the Interior and, from 2007 to 2010, artillery officer in the Royal Netherlands Army. In 2008 she was deployed to Afghanistan as commander of a self-propelled howitzer platoon. She was a Member of the House of Representatives for the Christian Democratic Alliance (CDA) from 2010 to 2019, serving as party spokesperson on defense, internal governance, curative care, prevention, sport, and medical ethical issues. In 2019 she was appointed to the Utrecht provincial executive.

In January 2022 Hanke Bruins Slot was appointed Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations in the fourth Rutte government.