Sigrid Kaag

Dutch diplomat and politician

Sigrid Agnes Maria Kaag (born 2 November 1961) is a Dutch politician. She is party leader of Democrats 66 (D66). She is finance minister and also first Deputy Prime Minister in the Fourth Rutte cabinet. She was foreign minister in the Third Rutte cabinet, but stepped down in September 2021 because the evacuation of Afghans who worked for the Netherlands and tried to flee from the Taliban after they conquered Afghanistan, did not quite go well.[1] Defense minister Ank Bijleveld resigned next day.[2] She was also minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation in the Third Rutte cabinet from October 2017 to August 2021, and has been D66 leader since September 2020 (succeeded Alexander Pechtold).

Sigrid Kaag
First Deputy Prime Minister
Assumed office
10 January 2022
Preceded byHugo de Jonge
Minister of Finance
Assumed office
10 January 2022
Preceded byWopke Hoekstra
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
31 March 2021 – 10 January 2022
Parliamentary group leader
In office
28 September 2021 – 10 January 2022
Preceded byRob Jetten
Succeeded byJan Paternotte
In office
18 March 2021 – 25 May 2021
Preceded byRob Jetten
Succeeded byRob Jetten
Party leader
Assumed office
4 September 2020
Preceded byAlexander Pechtold
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
25 May 2021 – 17 September 2021
Preceded byStef Blok
Succeeded byHenk Kamp
In office
13 February 2018 – 7 March 2018
(acting)
Preceded byHalbe Zijlstra
Succeeded byStef Blok
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation
In office
26 October 2017 – 10 August 2021
Preceded byLilianne Ploumen
Succeeded byTom de Bruijn
Personal details
Born
Sigrid Agnes Maria Kaag

(1961-11-02) 2 November 1961 (age 63)
Rijswijk, South Holland, Netherlands
NationalityDutch
Political partyDemocrats 66 (D66)
ResidenceThe Hague, South Holland, Netherlands
Alma materUtrecht University,
American University in Cairo,
Oxford University,
University of Exeter
Websitewww.parlement.com

Kaag was born in Rijswijk and grew up in Zeist.

She studied Arabic, Middle East studies, and international relations. She studied at Utrecht University, the American University in Cairo, Oxford University, and the University of Exeter.

She worked in several positions at the United Nations, for example at UNICEF and as an Under-Secretary-General.

She is a Catholic, and married to a Palestinian dentist. Her husband is a former diplomat and politician of the PLO. Kaag is fluent in six languages, among which Arabic, Spanish, French, and German.

References

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  1. CNN
  2. The Guardian

Other websites

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