Electoral history
 |
| Year | Body | Party | Pos. | Votes | Result | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party seats | Individual | |||||||
| 2023 | House of Representatives | New Social Contract | 5 | 7,577 | 20 | Won | [7] | |
Sandra Palmen | |
|---|---|
| State Secretary for Benefits and Customs | |
| Assumed office 12 December 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Dick Schoof |
| Minister | Eelco Heinen |
| Preceded by | Nora Achahbar |
| Member of the House of Representatives | |
| In office 6 December 2023 –12 December 2024 | |
| Succeeded by | Ria de Korte |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 February 1972 Cuijk,Netherlands |
| Political party | New Social Contract |
| Alma mater | University of Leiden |
| Occupation |
|
Sandra Palmen-Schlangen (born 17 February 1972) is a Dutch jurist, civil servant, and politician of New Social Contract (NSC). She was elected to the House of Representatives in the November 2023 general election. In December 2024, she left parliament to join the Schoof cabinet as State Secretary for Benefits and Customs, succeeding Nora Achahbar.
Palmen was born in 1972 in Cuijk, and she studied tax law at Leiden University. [1] She worked as a civil servant at the Ministry of Finance for 26 years. [2]
In March 2017, when she was a jurist at the Tax and Customs Administration, Palmen wrote an internal memo about childcare benefits recipients who had been wrongly accused of fraud starting in 2015. She called the organization's conduct "reprehensible", and she recommended victims to be compensated. The document, later dubbed the Palmen Memo, was ignored within the Tax and Customs Administration, but it received attention in 2020 after the media started uncovering the abuse. The childcare benefits scandal resulted in the resignation of the third Rutte cabinet in January 2021. [3] [4] [5] [6] The memo was released in October 2020 ahead of the Parliamentary Interrogation on Childcare Benefits, during which Palmen testified. [6]
Next to her position at the Ministry of Finance, she became a judge ad hoc at the Administrative High Court in 2021. [3] [1]
Palmen joined New Social Contract (NSC) when it was founded ahead of the November 2023 general election by Pieter Omtzigt, who had helped uncover the childcare benefits scandal. She was elected to the House of Representatives as the party's fifth candidate. [7] [6] She cited the childcare benefits scandal as her motivation to enter politics, and she has advocated for a "government that serves the public interest and acts in service of society". [6] Palmen's portfolio in the House consisted of the interior, democracy, legal protection, and poverty. [8] [9]
NSC supports the establishment of a constitutional court, and she has criticized the Netherlands's ban on judicial constitutional review. The governing coalition, including NSC, agreed to pursue the creation of such a court. [10] The House passed a motion by Palmen and Michiel van Nispen (SP) urging the government to adopt recommendations by Jos Silvis to seek legal advice from a range of law firms. Previously, the government had relied almost exclusively on the firm Pels Rijcken . [11] Palmen proposed several adjustments to the social safety net with Mohammed Mohandis (GL/PvdA) to simplify the system and to make it more forgiving to those in poverty. [10]
On 12 December 2024, she succeeded Nora Achahbar as State Secretary for Benefits and Customs in the Schoof cabinet following her resignation. Her portfolio includes the aftermath of the Dutch childcare benefits scandal and reforms to the benefits system. The cabinet aimed to finish the recovery operation for the scandal's victims by 2027 despite a slow pace of procedures. [12]
|
| Year | Body | Party | Pos. | Votes | Result | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party seats | Individual | |||||||
| 2023 | House of Representatives | New Social Contract | 5 | 7,577 | 20 | Won | [7] | |
Pieter Herman Omtzigt is a Dutch politician who has served as a member of the House of Representatives since 2003 apart from a short interruption between June and October 2010. He was member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), but left in 2021 and continued as independent. In August 2023, he founded a new party called New Social Contract, its name taken from his 2021 manifesto. Three months later, his party won 20 out of 150 seats in the 2023 Dutch general election.
Steven Peter Robert Albert Van Weyenberg is a Belgian-born Dutch politician of the social-liberal Democrats 66 (D66) party. He served on the House of Representatives and occupied several ministerial posts.
Mohammed "Mo" Mohandis is a Moroccan-Dutch politician of the Dutch Labour Party.
Michiel van Nispen is a Dutch politician, he has been a member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands for the Socialist Party since 2 April 2014, when he replaced Jan de Wit.
Vicky Maeijer is a Dutch politician representing the Party for Freedom (PVV). She has served as State Secretary for Long-term and Social Care in the Schoof cabinet since July 2024. Previously, she was a Member of the European Parliament for the Netherlands from 2014 to 2017 and a member of the House of Representatives from 2017 to 2024.
Alexandra Carla van Huffelen is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party. She served in the third and fourth Rutte cabinets, and she became party chair in November 2024.
Johannes Alexander "Hans" Vijlbrief is a Dutch civil servant, economist, and politician, currently serving as a member of parliament for the social-liberal party Democrats 66 (D66). He previously served as State Secretary for the Extractive Industries in the Fourth Rutte cabinet.
The Dutch childcare benefits scandal refers to a political scandal in the Netherlands involving false allegations of welfare fraud by the Tax and Customs Administration against thousands of families claiming childcare benefits.
Jacqueline van den Hil is a Dutch politician of the conservative liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). She has served intermittently as a member of the House of Representatives since the 2021 general election. Before entering politics, Van den Hil worked as a health care manager in her native province of Zeeland.
Folkert Lútsen Idsinga is a Dutch tax lawyer and politician.
Jennifer Nicolien van Vroonhoven-Kok is a Dutch politician who has a seat in the House of Representatives. She was the second candidate of the New Social Contract party in the 2023 general election. From 2002 to 2010, she held a seat in the House on behalf of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). From 2010 to 2011, she was for a member of the municipal council of The Hague and from 7 May 2014 to 17 December 2017 she was an alderman in the municipality of Hilversum, both for CDA.
Faith H. Bruyning is a Dutch jurist and politician of the New Social Contract (NSC) party. She has been a member of the House of Representatives since 6 December 2023.
Agnes Scarlet Joseph is a Dutch politician from the New Social Contract who was elected to the Dutch Parliament in the 2023 Dutch general election. Her focus is on pensions, financial markets, elderly and disabled care, and mental health.
Femke Annechien Zeedijk-Raeven is a Dutch politician of the New Social Contract (NSC) party.
Olger van Dijk is a Dutch politician of the New Social Contract (NSC) party who has served as a member of the House of Representatives since 2023.
Tjebbe van Oostenbruggen is a Dutch politician of New Social Contract (NSC). He has served as State Secretary for Tax Affairs and the Tax Administration in the Schoof cabinet since 15 November 2024. He was a member of the House of Representatives between December 2023 and November 2024.
The Good Landlordship Act is a statute regulating rented housing in the Netherlands.
The Schoof cabinet is the cabinet of the Netherlands, sworn in on 2 July 2024. Led by independent politician and civil servant Dick Schoof as prime minister of the Netherlands, the cabinet was formed by the Party for Freedom (PVV), the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the New Social Contract (NSC) and the Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB) after the 2023 Dutch general election.
Nora Achahbar is a Dutch jurist, judge and politician of the New Social Contract (NSC) party. She served as State Secretary for Benefits and Customs in the Schoof cabinet between July and November 2024.
Jurgen Norbert Jeroen Nobel is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). He has served as State Secretary for Participation and Integration in the Schoof cabinet since July 2024.
 | ||
