Foort van Oosten

In this Dutch name, the surname is Van Oosten, not Oosten.

• Lawyer
• politician

Foort van Oosten
Van Oosten in 2014
Minister of Justice and Security
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 September 2025

Foort van Oosten (born 25 June 1977) is a Dutch lawyer and politician of the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). He has served as Minister of Justice and Security in the Schoof cabinet since 5 September 2025.

Early life and career

Van Oosten was born in 1977 in Dordrecht, and studied law at Leiden University. He was a member of the municipal council of Schiedam from 2010 to 2011, and subsequently an alderman of this municipality from 2011 to 2012. He was a member of the House of Representatives between 20 September 2012 and 20 February 2019. ^[1]

On 20 February 2019 he was appointed as mayor of Nissewaard. ^{[1] [2] [3]} In February 2020, he lobbied for a national knife ban following a spate of stabbings involving teenagers. ^[4] In September 2020, Nissewaard councilor Peter van der Velden filed a complaint against the municipality and mayor Foort van Oosten for raiding his home in Spijkenisse without permission. Officials of the civil affairs department, at the behest of Van Oosten, started an investigation on suspicions that Van der Velder did not live within the municipality and therefore may not be a councilor there. ^{[5] [6]}

Van Oosten joined the demissionary Schoof cabinet on 5 September 2025 as minister of justice and security, succeeding David van Weel in a cabinet reshuffle. ^[7]

Personal life

He is married, and has a son.

References

1. "Mr. F (Foort) van Oosten". Parlement.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020.
2. Zaken, Ministerie van Algemene (2019-01-18). "Benoeming burgemeester Nissewaard - Nieuwsbericht - Rijksoverheid.nl". www.rijksoverheid.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2019-02-03. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
3. "Foort van Oosten nieuwe burgemeester Nissewaard". Rijnmond (in Dutch). 26 November 2018. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
4. "Ook burgemeester Nissewaard voor landelijk messenverbod: 'Wet is toch een spiegel van wat wij normaal vinden?'". Rijnmond. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
5. "Aangifte tegen burgemeester Nissewaard: 'Ambtenaren vallen binnen bij raadslid'". Rijnmond (in Dutch). 4 September 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
6. "Councilor Van der Velden furious about 'trespass' by civil servants: charges against mayor Nissewaard". www.ad.nl. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
7. "Weer nieuwe gezichten in kabinet dat alleen nog op de winkel moet passen" [Yet more new faces in the cabinet who only have to take care]. NOS (in Dutch). 5 September 2025. Retrieved 5 September 2025.

Political offices
Preceded by David van Weel	Minister of Justice and Security 2025–present	Incumbent