Born on 13 September 1976 in Doetinchem, married, 2 children and 2 stepchildren
Party: Democrats ’66 (D66)
Good education and groundbreaking research are vital for a well-functioning society. Culture and the arts are unifying forces, and offer scope for engagement, imagination and critical thinking. Independent media are indispensable to our democracy. I look forward to investing in these positive forces, alongside students, teachers, journalists, creatives and researchers. Together, we’ll keep the Netherlands strong, now and in the future.
- Secondary vocational education (mbo)
- Higher education
- Teacher training
- Student finance and DUO (education executive agency)
- International matters
- Research and science policy
- Culture (incl. central government funds for culture)
- Heritage
- Archives
- Media (incl. the Media Authority) and independent journalism
- Information and Heritage Inspectorate, Cultural Heritage Agency, National Archives
- Inspectorate of Education
- 23 February 2026
Appointed Minister of Education, Culture and Science in the Jetten government - November 2021 – 23 February 2026
President of the Executive Board and professor at Maastricht University - September 2016 – February 2022
Rector Magnificus and professor at Maastricht University - January 2012 – September 2016
Professor of victimology and international law at Tilburg University - May 2009 – June 2016
Deputy Director/Director of the International Victimology Institute Tilburg (INTERVICT) - March 2000 – December 2005
Researcher at T.M.C. Asser Instituut, The Hague - April 2000 – May 2005
Lecturer and researcher, Tilburg University (PhD programme)
- 1995 – 2000
LLB/LLM in International Law, Tilburg University and University of Montpellier - 1995
Dutch law (foundation year), University of Amsterdam - 1994
Completed secondary education, Jan van Brabant College, Helmond
- 10 December 2025 – 3 February 2026
Informateur appointed to mediate in the formation of the Jetten government - October 2020 – 23 February 2026
Member and (from March 2023) chair of the National Growth Fund advisory committee - September 2019 – 23 February 2026
Member of the supervisory board, Catharina Hospital, Eindhoven - 2017 – 23 February 2026
Board member, REDRESS (NGO), The Hague - 2019 – 23 February 2026
Member of the supervisory board, Victim Support Fund, The Hague - 2019 – 2021
Member of the supervisory board, Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht - 2023 – 2024
Chair of the steering board, Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) - January 2020 – September 2023
Chair of the supervisory committee, Netherlands Institute for Social Research - April 2021 – March 2023
Member of the Cammaert Committee established to study the non-lethal assistance (NLA) programme implemented in Syria - September 2019 – January 2022
Chair of the Committee on Modernisation of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Ministry of Justice and Security - 2018
Formateur appointed to oversee the formation of the Maastricht municipal executive - June 2017 – January 2023
Member of the Life Sentence Prisoners Advisory Board, Ministry of Justice and Security - 2017 – present
Member of the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities, Haarlem - 2017 – present
Member of Academia Europaea, Brussels - 2015
Member of the Identification Committee for the European Commission Scientific Advice Mechanism, Brussels -
2014 – 2016
Expert consultant, Special Tribunal for Lebanon - 2012 – 2016
Member and (from 2015) chair of the Young Academy of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) - January 2013 – July 2018
Member of the supervisory board, Victim Support Netherlands, Utrecht - 2013 – 2014
Visiting professor, University of Barcelona - April 2010 – August 2010
Visting research fellow, Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom - 2010 – present
Lifelong fellow of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
