Alexandra Carla van Huffelen (born 21 July 1968) is a Dutch politician of the

Democrats 66 Democrats 66 (; D66) is a social liberal and progressive political party in the Netherlands, which is positioned on the centre to centre-left of the political spectrum. It is a member of the Liberal International (LI) and the Alliance of Li ...

(D66) party. She served in the

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

and

fourth Rutte cabinet The fourth Rutte cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 10 January 2022 until 2 July 2024. The cabinet was a continuation of the third Rutte cabinet and was formed by the conservative liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( ...

s, and she became

party chair In politics, a party chair (often party chairperson/-man/-woman or party president) is the presiding officer of a political party. The nature and importance of the position differs from country to country, and also between political parties. Th ...

in November 2024.

Early life and career

Van Huffelen was born in 1968, and her father was a

clinical neurophysiology Clinical neurophysiology is a medical specialty that studies the central and peripheral nervous systems through the recording of bioelectrical activity, whether spontaneous or stimulated. It encompasses both research regarding the pathophysiology ...

professor. She studied

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

and

Erasmus University Rotterdam Erasmus University Rotterdam ( ; abbreviated as EUR) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century Christian humanist and theologian. Erasmus M ...

, and she began her career at the

Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment The Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning ( or ''VRO'') is a Dutch ministry (government department), government ministry. It was re-established in 2024 after having been disbanded in 2010. The current minister is Mona Keijzer. History The M ...

. She started working for energy company

Essent Essent N.V. is a Dutch energy company based in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. It is a subsidiary of E.ON. It is a public limited liability corporation. Essent is the largest energy company in the country. Belgium is their second home market. Es ...

in 2000, eventually serving as

sustainable energy Energy system, Energy is sustainability, sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Definitions of sustainable energy usually look at its effects on the e ...

director. Following a drop in employee rationale, an internal evaluation pointed to her leadership style as the cause. Van Huffelen later stated that she had learned from the experience, and she acknowledged having exerted excessive pressure to achieve cost reductions. In 2010, she was appointed

alderwoman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking membe ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, responsible for sustainability. She served on behalf of D66, which she had joined in 1989. Van Huffelen was a proponent of urban agriculture, and she advocated for

green roof A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage ...

s and narrow strips of plants along

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

s. She ran for

of D66 in 2013, but she narrowly lost the member election. She has served as chair of the D66's fundraising committee and as

treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

of the party's Rotterdam chapter. In 2014, she became managing director of GVB, Amsterdam's public transport operator, where she was tasked with absorbing a €65 million reduction in government subsidies over ten years. The organization prioritized its busiest and most profitable lines, with the newly opened North–South Line playing an important role. Less busy stops and bus and tram lines were discontinued. Alongside her role at GVB, Van Huffelen started serving as a member of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in June 2019. She became State Secretary for Finance in the

third Rutte cabinet The third Rutte cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 26 October 2017 until 10 January 2022 (since 15 January 2021 demissionary). It was formed by a coalition government of the political parties People's Party for Freedom and Democra ...

on 29 January 2020, where she worked to compensate victims of the childcare benefits scandal. Under Van Huffelen's leadership, victims received €30,000 payments to ease the compensation procedure's backlog; however, the number of applicants for the procedure increased. Her position changed to State Secretary for Kingdom Relations and Digitalisation on 10 January 2022 when the

was formed. Van Huffelen's term as state secretary ended on 2 July 2024, when the

Schoof cabinet The Schoof cabinet is the current demissionary 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 after the 2023 Dutch gen ...

was sworn in. She announced her candidacy for

of D66 in September 2024 following the stepping down of . Van Huffelen was elected to the position with 65% of the vote, and she assumed office on 23 November 2024. Besides, she is planned to succeed Daniël Wigboldus as president of the

executive board A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulations ...

Radboud University Nijmegen Radboud University (abbreviated as RU, , formerly ) is a public university, public research university located in Nijmegen, Netherlands. RU has seven faculties and more than 24,000 students. Established in 1923, Radboud University has consistentl ...

in February 2025.

Personal life

Van Huffelen's husband works as a notary. As of 2024, they lived in the center of

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

Electoral history

Notes

References

External links

;Official *
Drs. A.C. (Alexandra) van Huffelen
Parlement & Politiek *
Drs. A.C. van Huffelen (D66)
Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Huffelen, Alexandra van 1968 births Living people Aldermen of Rotterdam Democrats 66 politicians Dutch management consultants Erasmus University Rotterdam alumni Leiden University alumni Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Politicians from Leiden Politicians from Utrecht (city) State Secretaries for Finance of the Netherlands Women government ministers of the Netherlands 20th-century Dutch civil servants 21st-century Dutch civil servants 21st-century Dutch women politicians 21st-century Dutch politicians Chairmen of the Democrats 66