Nathalie van Berkel

Last updated
Nathalie van Berkel
NathalieVanBerkel (cropped).jpg
Van Berkel in 2026
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
12 November 2025 –17 February 2026
Personal details
BornNathalie van Berkel
(1982-08-25) 25 August 1982 (age 43)
Tegelen, Netherlands
Party Democrats 66
Occupation
  • Politician
  • civil servant
  • executive

Nathalie van Berkel (born 25 August 1982) is a Dutch civil servant, executive and politician of the Democrats 66 (D66). [1] In the 2025 general election, she was elected to the House of Representatives. [2] She was previously a member of the executive board of the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV). [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Van Berkel was born on 25 August 1982 in Tegelen, Limburg. [4] She completed her secondary education with a HAVO diploma and went on to obtain her propaedeutic diploma in public administration at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. [4] She dropped out of the programme after the first year.

Career

Civil service career

Van Berkel began her career working for the municipalities of Rotterdam and Amsterdam. From 2019 to 2025, she served on the executive board of the Employee Insurance Agency  [ nl ] (UWV). In 2021, she also became the chairperson of the Network of Public Service Providers. [4]

Political career

In 2025, Van Berkel appeared in second place on the draft candidate list for D66 ahead of the October 2025 general election. When the final list was determined, party members moved her to the sixth position. [5] In the election, she received 41,438 preferential votes. [4]

On 9 February 2026, during the 2025–2026 cabinet formation, D66 nominated Van Berkel for the position of state secretary for Finance in the forthcoming Jetten cabinet. [6] However, she withdrew from consideration on 16 February, after media reports revealed inaccuracies in the educational background listed on her CV. [7] While she had briefly enrolled in public administration and law programmes at Leiden University and Erasmus University Rotterdam, her LinkedIn profile incorrectly implied that she had completed those studies. [8] Following questions from journalists, Van Berkel amended her public résumé. [9] She explained that she "could have been more explicit" about her educational history and that she had previously completed the information "to the best of her knowledge and belief". [9] According to D66, she had disclosed during the internal selection process that she had not completed a degree, but the party later stated that this should have been made clearer on her CV. [9]

A day later, Van Berkel also resigned as a member of parliament. [10]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Nathalie van Berkel
YearBodyPartyPos.VotesResultRef.
Party seatsIndividual
2025 House of Representatives Democrats 66 6 41,43826Won [11]

References

  1. ↑ "D66 Wassenaar — Onze dorpsgenoot Nathalie van Berkel (D66, plek 6): Van UWV-bestuurder naar Tweede Kamer" [D66 Wassenaar — Our fellow villager Nathalie van Berkel (D66, position 6): From UWV director to House of Representatives]. D66 Wassenaar (in Dutch). 27 October 2025. Archived from the original on 30 October 2025. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  2. ↑ "Nathalie van Berkel ruilt topfunctie UWV in voor D66-verkiezingslijst: 'Voor moeders die 40 uur werken, maar zonder toeslagen geen boodschappen kunnen doen'" [Nathalie van Berkel leaves top UWV position for D66 election list: "For mothers who work 40 hours, but can't go grocery shopping without benefits."]. WNL (in Dutch). 7 October 2025. Archived from the original on 7 November 2025. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  3. ↑ "Nathalie van Berkel verlaat UWV" [Nathalie van Berkel leaves UWV]. UWV (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 26 October 2025. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "N. (Nathalie) van Berkel". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  5. ↑ "D66-leden passen kandidatenlijst aan: UWV-bestuurder veel lager" [D66 members adjust candidate list: UWV director much lower]. NOS (in Dutch). 22 August 2025. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  6. ↑ "Dit zijn onze namen voor kabinet-Jetten" [These are our names for the Jetten cabinet]. D66 (in Dutch). 9 February 2026. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  7. ↑ "Beoogd D66-staatssecretaris van Financiën Van Berkel trekt zich terug" [Intended D66 State Secretary for Finance Van Berkel withdraws]. NOS (in Dutch). 16 February 2026. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  8. ↑ Righton, Natalie (16 February 2026). "Beoogd staatssecretaris Nathalie van Berkel stelt opgepoetst cv bij na vragen over opleiding" [Intended State Secretary Nathalie van Berkel updates polished CV after questions about education]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 Groot, Joep de (16 February 2026). "Beoogd D66-staatssecretaris Nathalie van Berkel claimde op LinkedIn onterecht masterstudie te hebben gedaan" [Intended D66 State Secretary Nathalie van Berkel wrongly claimed on LinkedIn that she had completed a master's degree]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  10. ↑ "Van Berkel (D66) trekt zich ook terug als Kamerlid, 'te moeilijk geworden'" [Van Berkel (D66) is also withdrawing as a Member of Parliament, 'became too difficult']. NOS (in Dutch). 17 February 2026. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  11. ↑ "Proces-verbaal van het centraal stembureau met de uitslag van de verkiezing van de Tweede Kamer 2025 d.d. 7 november 2025" [Report of the central electoral committee with the results of the 2025 election of the House of Representatives dated 7 November 2025](PDF). Electoral Council (in Dutch). 7 November 2025. pp. 25–26, 130. Archived from the original on 14 November 2025. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
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