Caspar Veldkamp

Dutch politician and diplomat (born 1964)

Caspar Veldkamp
Veldkamp in 2016
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Assuming office
2 July 2024
Prime MinisterDick Schoof
SucceedingHanke Bruins Slot
Member of the House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 December 2023
Ambassador of the Netherlands to Greece
In office
2015–2019
Ambassador of the Netherlands to Israel
In office
2011–2015
Personal details
Born
Caspar Cornelis Johannes Veldkamp

(1964-04-23) 23 April 1964 (age 60)
Etten-Leur, Netherlands
Political partyNew Social Contract (2023–present)
Other political
affiliations
Christian Democratic Appeal (formerly)
SpouseAnne
Children4
Residence(s)The Hague, Netherlands
Alma materErasmus University Rotterdam
Leiden University
Occupation
  • Diplomat
  • politician

Caspar Cornelis Johannes Veldkamp (born 23 April 1964) is a Dutch politician and former diplomat. A member of New Social Contract (NSC), he has served as a member of the House of Representatives since 2023.[1]

Career

Veldkamp started working as a policy officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1993.[2] He later had postings in Warsaw, Washington, DC, Brussels, and London, and he served as Ambassador of the Netherlands to Israel (2011–2015) and to Greece (2015–2019).[3][4] In the latter role, he cooperated with Minister of Finance and Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem on the Greek government-debt crisis. His last diplomatic position was as a Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.[3]

Veldkamp was a long-time member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) before he joined New Social Contract (NSC) to participate in the 2023 general election.[3][5] During the campaign, Veldkamp said to be critical of the "transfer of powers" towards the European Union (EU). He presented the newly-founded party he joined as an "optimistic party for the dissatisfied citizen".[6] He was elected to the House of Representatives, where his focus as a parliamentarian has been on foreign affairs and migration.[7]

He was nominated in June 2024 to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the new Schoof cabinet.[3]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Caspar Veldkamp
Year Body Party Pos. Votes Result Ref.
Party seats Individual
2023 House of Representatives New Social Contract 4 2,386 20 Won [8]

References

  1. ^ "Caspar Veldkamp". Nieuw Sociaal Contract (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  2. ^ Derix, Steven; Van den Dool, Pim; Stokmans, Derk; Vermeer, Oscar; Klumpenaar, Sjoerd; König, Eppo; Pelgrim, Christiaan; Bouwman, Boris (13 June 2024). "Van diplomaat tot Boer zoekt Vrouw-kandidaat: dit zijn de beoogde ministers van het kabinet-Schoof" [From diplomat to Farmer Wants Wife contender: These are the ministers-designate of the Schoof cabinet]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d "Oud-ambassadeur Veldkamp wordt minister Buitenlandse Zaken" [Former Ambassador Veldkamp will become Minister of Foreign Affairs]. NOS (in Dutch). 13 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  4. ^ Van Slooten, Bert (27 September 2023). "Wie is Omtzigts kandidaat Caspar Veldkamp?". Brusselse Nieuwe (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Drs. C.C.J. (Caspar) Veldkamp". www.parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  6. ^ Wolzak, Martine (26 September 2023). "Nummer vier lijst-Omtzigt: 'Mijn collega's vinden Kamerlidmaatschap geen promotie'". Het Financieele Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Woordvoerderschappen Nieuw Sociaal Contract" [New Social Contract spokespersonships] (PDF). New Social Contract (in Dutch). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2024 – via Wayback Machine.
  8. ^ "Proces-verbaal van de uitslag van de verkiezing van de Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal 2023 d.d. 4 december 2023" [Report of the results of the election of the House of Representatives on 4 December 2023] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 4 December 2023. pp. 185–186. Retrieved 21 December 2023.

See also

  • v
  • t
  • e
House of Representatives
6 December 2023 – present
Party for Freedom
(PVV – 37)
GroenLinks–Labour Party
(GL/PvdA – 25)People's Party for
Freedom and Democracy
(VVD – 24)New Social Contract
(NSC – 20)Democrats 66
(D66 – 9)Farmer–Citizen Movement
(BBB – 7)Christian Democratic Appeal
(CDA – 5)Socialist Party
(SP – 5)DENK
(DENK – 3)Party for the Animals
(PvdD – 3)Forum for Democracy
(FVD – 3)Reformed Political Party
(SGP – 3)Christian Union
(CU – 3)Volt Netherlands
(Volt – 2)JA21
(JA21 – 1)
 Bold  indicates the parliamentary leader (first mentioned) and the Speaker;  (Brackets)  indicate a temporarily absent member;
 Italics  indicate a temporary member;  ‹Guillemets›  indicate a member who has left the House of Representatives
See also: Members of the Senate of the Netherlands, 2023–2027