Caspar Veldkamp

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Caspar Veldkamp
Caspar Veldkamp (2024) (cropped).png
Veldkamp in 2024
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office
2 July 2024

Caspar Cornelis Johannes Veldkamp (born 23 April 1964) is a Dutch politician and former diplomat currently serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Schoof cabinet. Veldkamp previously served as a member of the House of Representatives for the New Social Contract party from December 2023 to July 2024. [1]

Contents

Early 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 member of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's board of directors. [3]

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

Minister of Foreign Affairs

After the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB formed the Schoof cabinet, Veldkamp was sworn in as Minister of Foreign Affairs on 2 July 2024, succeeding Hanke Bruins Slot. [3] [8] The cabinet reversed the commitment of its predecessor, made following the 2021 Taliban offensive, to allow Afghan guards of the Dutch embassy and Task Force Uruzgan to relocate to the Netherlands. [9] In his first days as minister, he attended the 2024 NATO Summit in Washington, DC, where he met with Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz. Veldkamp announced that the Netherlands would push for the EU to declare Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps a terrorist organisation. [10] When the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November 2024, Veldkamp said that the warrant would be respected if Netanyahu were to visit the Netherlands. An intended trip to Israel by Veldkamp was postponed the same day, after his plans, kept secret for security reasons, had been leaked. [11] [12]

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Veldkamp said the Netherlands should support Ukraine as much as possible, notably through military aid. [13] He declared that the NATO norm for countries to spend at least 2% of gross domestic product on defence was insufficient. [14] However, Veldkamp also argued that security concerns in Eastern Europe should not distract from other developments. He mentioned the rise of the Global South and the shift of the global centre of gravity to the east, in particular, and he predicted conflicts in Asia would dominate the century. [13] Following the 2025 Trump–Zelenskyy meeting, which marked the first time in history a sitting US president verbally attacked a visiting head of state on camera, Veldkamp stated Europe had entered a "new era", adding, regarding European leadership distrusting the US: "We have all become Gaullists". [15]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Caspar Veldkamp
YearBodyPartyPos.VotesResultRef.
Party seatsIndividual
2023 House of Representatives New Social Contract 4 2,38620Won [16]

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. 1 2 3 4 "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. ↑ "Ministers en staatssecretarissen kabinet-Schoof beëdigd" [Ministers and state secretaries of Schoof cabinet sworn in]. NOS (in Dutch). 2 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  9. ↑ "Kamer achter weigeren groep Afghaanse bewakers" [House supports refusal of group Afghan guards]. NOS (in Dutch). 23 October 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  10. ↑ "Katz warns against Iran, China at NATO summit". The Jerusalem Post. 10 July 2024.
  11. ↑ "Minister Veldkamp niet naar Israël na arrestatiebevel tegen Netanyahu" [Minister Veldkamp will not visit Israel following arrest warrant for Netanyahu]. NOS (in Dutch). 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  12. ↑ "Minister Veldkamp stelt reis naar Israël uit na uitlekken reisplannen" [Minister Veldkamp postpones planned trip to Israel after plans leak]. RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 21 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  13. 1 2 Brouwers, Arnout (27 December 2024). "Buitenlandminister Caspar Veldkamp: 'Elke Amerikaanse president zou verwachten dat Europa meer doet voor zijn eigen defensie'" [Foreign affairs minister Caspar Veldkamp: 'Every American president would expect Europe to do more for its own defense']. de Volkskrant (Interview) (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  14. ↑ Bartels, Valentijn (16 January 2025). "Minister Veldkamp: NAVO-norm van 2 procent moet omhoog om verdediging op orde te brengen" [Minister Veldkamp: NATO norm of 2 percent should be raised to ensure defense]. De Telegraaf (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  15. ↑ Florentin Collomp (3 March 2025). "«Nous sommes tous devenus gaullistes»: dans la douleur, l'Europe cherche à s'affranchir du soutien des États-Unis". Le Figaro (in French). L'Europe est à « l'aube d'une nouvelle ère », expliquait la semaine dernière à Bruxelles Caspar Veldkamp, le ministre des Affaires étrangères des Pays-Bas, champion des « frugaux ». Une révolution copernicienne : « Nous sommes tous devenus gaullistes », plaisantait le Néerlandais.
  16. ↑ "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.
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs
2024–present		Incumbent
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