Sigrid Kaag

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Sigrid Kaag
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
25 May 2021 – 17 September 2021
Prime MinisterMark Rutte
Preceded byStef Blok
Succeeded byTom de Bruijn (acting)
In office
13 February 2018 – 7 March 2018
Acting
Prime MinisterMark Rutte
Preceded byHalbe Zijlstra
Succeeded byStef Blok
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation
In office
26 October 2017 – 10 August 2021
Prime MinisterMark Rutte
Preceded byLilianne Ploumen
Succeeded byTom de Bruijn
United Nations Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza
Assuming office
8 January 2024
Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres
SucceedingPosition established
United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon
In office
17 January 2015 – 26 October 2017
Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon
António Guterres
Preceded byDerek Plumbly
Succeeded byPernille Dahler Kardel (acting)
United Nations Special Coordinator for Syria
In office
16 October 2013 – 30 September 2014
Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Personal details
Born
Sigrid Agnes Maria Kaag

(1961-11-02) 2 November 1961 (age 62)
Rijswijk, Netherlands
Political partyDemocrats 66
Spouse
(m. 1993)
Children4
EducationUtrecht University
American University in Cairo (BA)
St Antony's College, Oxford (MPhil)
University of Exeter (MA)
Occupation
  • Politician
  • humanitarian
  • diplomat

Sigrid Agnes Maria Kaag (Dutch:

Minister of Finance
.

A diplomat by occupation, Kaag started working for the United Nations in 1994. She was Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa for UNICEF in Amman from 2007 to May 2010, when she was appointed Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Bureau of External Relations of the UNDP in New York.[1] From October 2013 to September 2014, she served as Under Secretary-General and Special Coordinator of the OPCW-UN Joint Mission in Syria to oversee the elimination of the country's chemical weapons program. From January 2015 to October 2017, Kaag was the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL).[2]

Kaag entered Dutch politics in 2017 as Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation in the third Rutte cabinet on behalf of D66. She ascended to party leadership ahead of the 2021 general election and also served for some months as Minister of Foreign Affairs. When the fourth Rutte cabinet was formed in January 2022, Kaag became First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. She decided not to run for re-election in 2023 and was succeeded by Rob Jetten as party leader. Kaag resigned as minister in January 2024 to return to the United Nations as Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza.

Early life and education

Kaag was born on 2 November 1961 in Rijswijk as the second daughter of Frans Kaag and Agnes Kaag-Robben.[3][4] Her father, who was a classical pianist and music teacher, was originally from Wervershoof, while her mother, a primary school teacher, was from Arnhem.[4][1] The family settled in Zeist, where Kaag grew up.[4] One of her brothers died when Kaag was six.[5]

After completing her secondary education, she initially studied Arabic at

Clingendael Institute in The Hague, and studied at the French École nationale d'administration (ENA).[7][8]

Career

Early career

Kaag began her professional career in 1988 as an analyst for

Royal Dutch Shell in London, United Kingdom.[9][10] In 1990, she started working for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she was the deputy head of the department of United Nations political affairs.[citation needed
]

1994–2017: Career at the United Nations

Kaag started working for the United Nations in 1994 and first served as Senior United Nations Adviser in the Office of the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Khartoum, Sudan. From 1998 to 2004, she was Chief of Donor Relations for the International Organization for Migration and Senior Programme Manager with the External Relations Office of UNRWA in Jerusalem.[10] Working in the Middle East she was responsible for areas as the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria.

From 2007 to May 2010, Kaag was Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa for UNICEF in Amman. In May 2010, she was appointed Assistant Secretary-General and Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy of the United Nations Development Programme in New York.[9] In this capacity, she was the deputy to Helen Clark and oversaw UNDP's strategic external engagement, organization-wide communication and advocacy, as well as resource mobilization.[1][citation needed]

Head of the OPCW-UN Joint Mission in Syria

On 13 October 2013, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon nominated Kaag to lead the OPCW-UN Joint Mission for the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons. The United Nations Security Council was set to vote on her nomination three days later, on 16 October.[11] She was then officially confirmed for the position.[12] Kaag led a team of one hundred experts who were responsible for ensuring the elimination of Syria's chemical weapon stockpiles before 30 June 2014.[13]

United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon

By the end of her term in September 2014, news media reported that Kaag was rumored to succeed Lakhdar Brahimi as UN Special Envoy to Syria.[1] On 1 December 2014, the UN Secretary General Ban announced that Kaag would become the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL), succeeding Sir Derek Plumbly.[2][14]

In early 2017, Kaag was considered by international media to be one of the candidates to succeed

United Nations Development Group;[15] the post eventually went to Achim Steiner
.

2017–2024: Minister and D66 party leader

Kaag addressing the United Nations Security Council in 2018
Kaag meeting with State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi in 2018

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation

Following the

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. She was replaced by Stef Blok
as Foreign Minister on 7 March 2018.

From 2018 to 2022, Kaag served on the joint World BankWHO Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), co-chaired by Elhadj As Sy and Gro Harlem Brundtland.[17][18] In 2019, she joined the World Economic Forum High-Level Group on Humanitarian Investing, co-chaired by Børge Brende, Kristalina Georgieva and Peter Maurer.[19]

2021 Dutch general election

Soon after joining the cabinet, there was speculation about Kaag's candidacy for the D66 leadership, which had arisen after the resignation of Alexander Pechtold.[20] During this period, she also profiled herself by giving speeches,[21] often outside her own portfolio as a minister.[22]

On 21 June 2020, Kaag announced her candidacy for

lijsttrekkerschap of the Democrats 66 for the 2021 general election, with the ambition of becoming the Netherlands' first female Prime Minister.[23] Kajsa Ollongren and Rob Jetten were also speculated to stand as candidates, but both refrained from doing so.[24][25] The only opponent was the unknown member Ton Visser, which resulted in Kaag winning the election with 95.7% of the votes.[26] She was elected as party leader on 4 September 2020, making her the second female party leader of D66 after Els Borst in 1998.[23] In this capacity, she led the party into the 2021 Dutch general election.[27][14]

In the run-up to the election, the VPRO documentary Sigrid Kaag: Van Beiroet tot Binnenhof was broadcast on 3 January 2021. Before this, Kaag had been followed for several years by documentary makers.[28] After the elections, GeenStijl published about the communication between the broadcasting company and D66 about the documentary, which they had obtained via a request for access to government information. This showed that D66 did have a lot of substantive requests, some of which were granted, although this was denied beforehand. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also interfered, including the broadcast date of the documentary.[29] Initially, Kaag indicated that this was not at her request,[30] but soon admitted that she was responsible for it.[31] Following this report, the Dutch Media Authority (Commissariaat voor de Media) stated that there was no reason for further investigation, as editorial independence does not appear to have been violated.[32]

D66's campaign for the 2021 general election was successful.[33] Under Kaag's leadership, D66 won 24 seats in the House of Representatives, thereby becoming the second-largest party after the VVD.[34][35] Kaag joined the House of Representatives as the party's parliamentary leader on 31 March 2021.[36]

During a lecture in the Rode Hoed debating centre in September of the same year, she voiced fierce criticism of the political culture that had arisen partly under Mark Rutte's leadership.[37] Shortly after, in April 2021, she joined forces with CDA leader Wopke Hoekstra in putting forward a motion of censure to voice their disapproval of VVD leader Rutte.[38]

Minister of Foreign Affairs

Due to changes within the outgoing cabinet, Kaag was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs on 25 May 2021.[39] She combined this position with her position as Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation until 10 August 2021.[40] Thereafter, she was succeeded as Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation by another former diplomat, Tom de Bruijn.[41]

On 16 September 2021, the House of Representatives passed a motion of censure against her. A majority reproached her for the late evacuation of Dutch citizens and local civilian personnel from Afghanistan amid the 2021 Taliban offensive and Fall of Kabul. In response to the passing of the motion of censure, Kaag announced her intention to resign as minister.[42] King Willem-Alexander granted her resignation on 17 September,[43] and she was succeeded by Ben Knapen.[44]

Minister of Finance

After she negotiated in the

2021–2023 global energy crisis, acknowledging citizens would collectively become less wealthy. In her role as Deputy Prime Minister, Kaag had more leeway within the governing coalition to act as a result of frequent international trips by Prime Minister Mark Rutte.[45]

Five days after the collapse of the fourth Rutte cabinet, 12 July 2023, Kaag announced in an interview in Trouw that she would not lead D66 into the 2023 general election, due to the impact of the "hate, intimidation and threats" her family was receiving.[46][47] According to the Nederlands Dagblad, these had reached a high point when she had become leader of D66. Its article referenced public perceptions of Kaag as an elitist politician as well as PVV leader Geert Wilders calling her a witch in 2021.[5] She had teared up in May 2023 during a College Tour interview, when she was shown a video message from one of her daughters asking her to leave her job.[5]

2024–present: Return to diplomacy

On 26 December 2023, Kaag was announced as the UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza. This was the result of the adoption of a UN Security Council resolution to boost humanitarian aid in response to the Israel–Hamas war, which had been ongoing since a Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023 and which had resulted in a siege of Gaza by Israel with significant civilian casualties and destruction as well as scarcity of resources.[48] Kaag's appointment will take effect on 8 January 2024. The UN tasked Kaag to "facilitate, coordinate, monitor and verify humanitarian relief consignments to Gaza" and to establish a UN mechanism to accelerate aid deliveries "through states which are not party to the conflict."[49]

Honours and awards

Other activities

European Union organisations

International organizations

Non-profit organizations

Personal life

Kaag is married and has four children.

Catholic and has mentioned that she practices the religion without following all of its rituals.[5]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Sigrid Kaag
Year Body Party Pos. Votes Result Ref.
Party seats Individual
2021 House of Representatives Democrats 66 1 1,237,897 24 Won [69]
2023 House of Representatives Democrats 66 80[a] 5,028 9 Lost [70]

Notes

  1. ^ Kaag participated as lijstduwer.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Giovanni, Janine di (5 June 2014). "Poison Control in Syria". Newsweek. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Ms. Sigrid Kaag". UNSCOL. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  3. ^ Theo Koelé (13 January 2014). "In licht van de tragedie is dit bescheiden missie" (in Dutch). de Volkskrant. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  4. ^ a b c Visser, Marten (23 December 2022). "Sigrid Kaag terug naar het dorp voor familie. Als de nichten appen, komt er altijd een reactie van de minister". Noordhollands Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Brandemann, Ilse; Van den Bovenkamp, Niels (5 January 2024). "Is Sigrid Kaag geschikt voor de monsterklus in Gaza? 'Ze durft het aan, met de hulp van God'" [Is Kaag suitable for a Herculean task in Gaza? 'She dares to do it with the help of God']. Nederlands Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  6. ^ Zijl, Frank van (20 November 2017). "Voor Sigrid Kaag is het ministerschap geen eindpost". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  7. ^ a b c "Sigrid Kaag". Government.nl. 10 January 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Sigrid A. M. Kaag". UNDP. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  9. ^ a b c "Secretary-General appoints Sigrid Kaag of Netherlands Director of Partnerships Bureau, United Nations Development Proggramme". United Nations. 3 May 2010. Archived from the original on 19 September 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  10. ^ a b Dutch woman Sigrid Kaag tasked with eradicating Syria's chemical weapons The Australian, 17 October 2013.
  11. ^ "U.N. names envoy to lead Syria chemical weapons mission". Al Arabiya. 14 October 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  12. ^ "Sigrid Kaag to Lead Syria Chemical Weapons Mission". Time World. 16 October 2013. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  13. ^ a b "Wat we tot nu toe weten van Sigrid Kaag, Nederlandse leider VN-missie in Syrië". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). 14 October 2013.
  14. ^ a b c Sterling, Toby (17 March 2021). "Pro-Europe Dutch politician Kaag books gains in election". Reuters. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  15. ^ "French environment minister candidate for top UN aid job". RFI. 24 March 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  16. ^ Kieskamp, Marno de Boer en Wilma (26 December 2017). "Sigrid Kaag was VN-gezant in Libanon, maar koos voor de Nederlandse politiek: "Het is bijna als een amputatie"". Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  17. ^ "WHO and World Bank Group Join Forces to Strengthen Global Health Security". World Bank. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  18. ^ Global Preparedness Monitoring Board Announces New Board Membership, Bringing Diverse Expertise to Independent Monitoring World Bank/WHO Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), press release of 30 September 2022.
  19. ^ "World Economic Forum 2019 Annual Meeting launching a new Humanitarian Investing Initiative". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  20. ^ "Sigrid Kaag poised to take reigns at D66; Party leader to step aside". NL Times. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  21. ^ "Minister Kaag loopt zich warm in de coulissen om nieuwe leider D66 te worden". www.ad.nl. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  22. ^ "Kaag sprak op het goede moment". NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Sigrid Kaag kandidaat-lijsttrekker D66: 'Ik wil premier worden'". NOS (in Dutch). 21 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  24. ^ Bolwijn, Marjon (28 May 2020). "Minister Ollongren geen kandidaat lijsttrekkerschap D66". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  25. ^ "Rob Jetten gaat niet voor lijsttrekkerschap D66: "Kaag is betere kandidaat"". www.rtlnieuws.nl. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  26. ^ "Sigrid Kaag elected D66 leader with 96 percent". 🗞️ CCeit News. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  27. ^ "Sigrid Kaag met 96 procent gekozen tot D66-leider" (in Dutch). NOS. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  28. ^ "Shula Rijxman en NPO grijpen niet in bij uitzenddatum documentaire Sigrid Kaag". www.villamedia.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  29. ^ "Ophef rond documentaire over Kaag: wat is er gebeurd en hoe nu verder?". NU (in Dutch). 1 July 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  30. ^ "Sigrid Kaag over ingrijpen omstreden documentaire: "Niet op mijn verzoek"". RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 30 June 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  31. ^ "Kaag geeft toe: toch zelf commentaar geleverd op omstreden documentaire". RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 30 June 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  32. ^ "Commissariaat voor de Media: Geen onderzoek naar Kaag-documentaire". NU (in Dutch). 13 July 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  33. ^ Julen, Jeannine (17 March 2021). "Sigrid Kaag leidt D66 naar historische overwinning". Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  34. ^ "Winnaars VVD en D66 aan zet bij formatie, forse verliezen op links". nos.nl (in Dutch). 18 March 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  35. ^ "Prognose: VVD met 35 de grootste, Kaag knalt naar tweede plaats". www.ad.nl. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  36. ^ "S.A.M. (Sigrid) Kaag MA, MPhil". www.parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  37. ^ Hendrickx, Frank (6 September 2021). "Kaag uit felle kritiek op Rutte en politieke cultuur van "regelen en ritselen"". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  38. ^ "Rutte censured after surviving no-confidence vote". POLITICO. 2 April 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  39. ^ "Tijdelijke vervanging minister van EZK en benoeming staatssecretaris van EZK". www.rijksoverheid.nl. 25 May 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  40. ^ Zaken, Ministerie van Algemene (26 October 2017). "Kabinet-Rutte III (2017-2021) - Regering - Rijksoverheid.nl". www.rijksoverheid.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  41. ^ "D66'er Tom de Bruijn nieuwe minister voor Buitenlandse Handel". NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  42. ^ "Kaag stapt op als minister van Buitenlandse Zaken na aannemen motie van afkeuring". bnr.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  43. ^ Zaken, Ministerie van Algemene (17 September 2021). "Ontslag minister van Buitenlandse Zaken - Nieuwsbericht - Het Koninklijk Huis". www.koninklijkhuis.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  44. ^ "New Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence sworn in". www.government.nl. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  45. ^ Kieskamp, Wilma (5 January 2024). "Succesvol als schatkistbewaarder, maar als politicus bleef Sigrid Kaag een wat tragisch figuur" [Successful as treasurer, but Sigrid Kaag remained a somewhat tragical character as politician]. Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  46. ^ "Kaag vertrekt als D66-leider: 'Mijn werk trekt een wissel op mijn gezin'". nos.nl (in Dutch). 13 July 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  47. ^ "Dutch finance minister quits after 'hate and threats'". Yahoo News. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  48. ^ "Unconditional humanitarian aid must be allowed to enter immediately, in sufficient quantity, and be distributed equitably to all civilians across Gaza". reliefweb.int. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 22 October 2023. Archived from the original on 7 January 2024.
  49. ^ "UN appoints a former Dutch deputy premier and Mideast expert as its Gaza humanitarian coordinator". ctvnews.ca. 27 December 2023. Archived from the original on 7 January 2024.
  50. ^ "Honorary graduates 2014-15 – Ms Sigrid Kaag (LLD)". University of Exeter. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  51. ^ "Belangrijke vredesprijs voor Nederlandse VN-diplomate Sigrid Kaag" (in Dutch). de Volkskrant. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  52. ^ "Board of Governors". EIB.org. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  53. ^ AfDB Annual Report 2017 African Development Bank (AfDB).
  54. ^ "Board of Governors". Asian Development Bank. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  55. ^ "Board of Governors - AIIB". www.aiib.org. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  56. ^ "European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Shareholders and Board of Governors". www.ebrd.com. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  57. ^ Board of Governors Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC).
  58. ^ Members Joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee.
  59. ^ Board of Governors Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), World Bank Group.
  60. ^ Board of Governors World Bank.
  61. ^ "Governing Board - Tax Inspectors Without Borders". www.tiwb.org. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  62. ^ Board of Directors P4G – Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030.
  63. ^ World leaders unite under new initiative to provide quality education and training for young people Generation Unlimited, press release of 21 September 2018.
  64. ^ "Champions | International Gender Champions". genderchampions.com. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  65. ^ Commissioners Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace (GCSC).
  66. ^ "La Journée de la femme chez Sigrid Kaag : pousser les Libanaises vers la politique". L'Orient-Le Jour. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  67. ^ "Holland's new deputy foreign minister called Netanyahu a racist demagogue". www.timesofisrael.com. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  68. ^ "Sigrid Kaag: Woman who's 'more man than any man'". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  69. ^ "Proces-verbaal verkiezingsuitslag Tweede Kamer 2021" [Report of the election results House of Representatives 2021] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 29 March 2021. pp. 62–100, 188. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  70. ^ "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. 21–22. Retrieved 21 December 2023.

External links


Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon
2015–2017
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation
2017–2021
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Minister of Foreign Affairs

Acting

2018
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Minister of Foreign Affairs

2021
Succeeded by
Preceded by First Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
2022–2024
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Minister of Finance

2022–2024
Succeeded by
Rob Jetten
Acting
Party political offices
Preceded by Leader of the Democrats 66
2020–2023
Succeeded by
Rob Jetten