Sophie Hermans

• Loek Hermans (father)

Sophie Hermans
Hermans in 2020
Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy in the House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 January 2022
Relatives	Suzanne (sister) Caroliene (sister) Lodewijk (brother)
Alma mater	University of Amsterdam

Sophia Theodora Monique "Sophie" Hermans (born 1 May 1981) is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) who has sat in the House of Representatives since 2017. As of 11 January 2022 she is the VVD's parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives. ^[1]

Early life and education

Hermans is the daughter of former politician Loek Hermans. ^{[2] [3]}

She completed the vwo, studied political science in Amsterdam and completed postdoctoral courses at San Francisco State University and London Business School. ^{[2] [3]}

Career

Hermans's first job was as a consultant in Utrecht. ^[2]

She has served as political assistant to then-Minister Stef Blok and Prime Minister Mark Rutte. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Hermans entered parliament on 23 March 2017. She served as deputy parliamentary leader of the VVD. ^[2] She acted as negotiator during the 2021-2022 cabinet formation. ^[2] She became parliamentary leader on 11 January 2022, ^[1] when Rutte resigned from the House to become Prime Minister in his new cabinet. ^{[lower-alpha 1]}

In June 2022, Hermans held a personal speech at the party congress. She denied owing her position to her father or her work as Rutte's assistant. During a subsequent debate, Geert Wilders (PVV) asked her how long she intended to remain Rutte's "bag bearer" (Dutch : tassendrager). Hermans was moved by this remark. Speaker Vera Bergkamp asked Wilders to stay with the subject-matter. Hermans's response was met with the approval of the chamber, and several other parliamentary leaders condemned Wilders' comment. ^{[3] [5]}

In July 2023, in the aftermath of Prime Minister Mark Rutte's resignation from national politics and as leader of the VVD, Hermans declined to run to become the next Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy. ^[6] Following the November 2023 general election, she served as spokesperson for AIVD, medical ethics, and long-term care and as acting parliamentary leader of the VVD, while party leader Dilan Yeşilgöz was still demissionary Minister of Justice and Security. ^[7] Alongside Eelco Heinen, Hermans assisted Yeşilgöz in talks to form a new governing coalition in 2023–24. ^[8]

Political positions

She opposed government efforts to ban laughing gas for recreational use, comparing it to “shooting a mosquito with a cannon”. ^[9] In 2024, Hermans re-introduced a proposal of her party to ban unvaccinated children from attending day care in response to declining vaccination rates and recent cases of the measles and whooping cough. ^[10]

Personal life

Hermans is single. ^[2]

Her sister Caroliene was the political assistant of Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte for various years. ^[2]

She played hockey. ^[2]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Sophie Hermans

Year	Body	Party		Pos.	Votes	Result		Ref.
						Party seats	Individual
2017	House of Representatives		People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	16	4,417	33	Won	[11]
2021	House of Representatives		People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	3	24,115	34	Won	[12]
2023	House of Representatives		People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	2	62,320	24	Won	[13]

Notes

1. In the Netherlands, ministers and state secretaries are not members of parliament, with the possible exception of the period between an election and the accession of the new cabinet.

References

1. "Jan Paternotte is nieuwe fractievoorzitter van D66, Sophie Hermans aan het roer bij de VVD". Trouw (in Dutch). 11 January 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022.
2. De Goede, Agnes; Hankel, Arne (18 June 2022). "'Tassendrager' of toekomstig VVD-leider: kan Sophie Hermans Mark Rutte opvolgen?". RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 29 June 2022.
3. Petra de Koning; Jannetje Koelewijn (22 December 2022). "Sophie Hermans wil graag iets zeggen over kwetsbaarheid" (in Dutch). NRC.
4. "Prime minister calls out to 'Caroliene' during debate lapse". DutchNews.nl. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
5. "VVD-fractievoorzitter Hermans geraakt door 'tassendrager' van Wilders" (in Dutch). NOS. 15 June 2022.
6. "Justice Min. Yesilgöz wants to succeed Rutte as VVD leader | NL Times". nltimes.nl. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
7. "Portefeuilleverdeling" [Portfolio allocation]. People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 April 2024.
8. Vrijsen, Eric (30 January 2024). "Gedogen blijkt blunder: kan Yeşilgöz de zaak nog redden?" [Supporting seems to be a mistake: Will Yeşilgöz be able to save the situation?]. Elsevier Weekblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 February 2024.
9. "Dutch government wants to ban laughing gas". IamExpat in the Netherlands. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
10. "VVD stoft oud plan af: ongevaccineerde kinderen uit opvang weren" [VVD brings back old plan: Keep unvaccinated children out of day care]. NOS (in Dutch). 19 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
11. "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 2017 (getekend exemplaar)" [Results House of Representatives 2017 (signed example)](PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 21 March 2017. pp. 20–21. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
12. "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. 14–15. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
13. "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. 15–16. Retrieved 21 December 2023.

Further reading

• Van de Sande, Monique (12 January 2021). "Broer van Sophie Hermans: 'Ze heeft een goede dosis zelfspot" . Het Financieele Dagblad (in Dutch).