Johannes Hermanus "Han" ten Broeke (born 2 March 1969) is a Dutch former politician who served as a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

from 30 November 2006 until 4 September 2018. A member of the

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( , VVD) is a Conservative liberalism, conservative-liberal List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. The VVD, whose forerunner was the Freedom Party (Netherl ...

(''Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie'', VVD), he focused his parliamentary work on matters of

foreign policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

and the

Armed forces of the Netherlands The Netherlands Armed Forces () are the military forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (mainland Netherlands in Europe and islands of the Dutch Caribbean). The armed forces consist of four service branches: the Royal Netherlands Navy (), the ...

Life and career

Ten Broeke was born and raised in

Haaksbergen Haaksbergen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel, in the Twente region. The ''Buurserbeek'' flows through the municipality of Haaksbergen. Population centre ...

. He became a member of the VVD in 1982, aged 13, and he studied

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

with a specialization in

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

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 ...

from 1988 to 1998. He was a staffer and later political assistant for

Annemarie Jorritsma Annemarie Jorritsma-Lebbink (born 1 June 1950) is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businesswoman. She is the Parliamentary leader in the Senate since 24 November 2015 and a Member of the Senate since 9 ...

from 1992 to 1996, and he worked at telecommunications company

KPN Koninklijke KPN N.V. (Royal KPN N.V. in English), trading as KPN is a Dutch List of telephone operating companies, telecommunications company. KPN originated from a government-run postal, telegraph and telephone service and is based in Rotterda ...

afterwards, including as head of public affairs. He founded his own consultancy firm in 2004. After winning a parliamentary seat in the general election of 2006 he was re-elected in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. He stepped down in 2018 as a member of the House of Representatives after an article in ''

HP/De Tijd ''HP/De Tijd'' is a Dutch language monthly opinion magazine. Its editorial offices are in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Alongside '' De Groene Amsterdammer'', '' Vrij Nederland'' and ''Elsevier'', it is one of the most influential Dutch opinion magazin ...

'' revealed that in 2013 Ten Broeke, then 44, had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a 25-year old staff member of his parliamentary group. Ten Broeke started a new role in January 2019 as political affairs director at HCSS, the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. In March 2020 he was elected chairman of BOVAG, the Dutch trade association for transportation retailers next to his position at HCSS. He was elected to a second four-year term in December 2023, effective 26 March 2024. In January 2025, Ten Broeke succeeded Esther de Lange as head of cabinet for European Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth Wopke Hoekstra.

Other activities

European Council on Foreign Relations The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is a pan-European think tank with offices in seven European capitals. Launched in October 2007, it conducts research on European foreign and security policy and provides a meeting space for decis ...

(ECFR), Member of the CouncilMembers of the Council

(ECFR).

References

*
Parlement.com biography

External links

*
Han ten Broeke
personal website *
House of Representatives biography
*
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Broeke, Han ten 1969 births Living people Dutch political scientists Dutch public relations people Leiden University alumni Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Dutch MPs 2017–2021 Dutch MPs 2006–2010 Dutch MPs 2010–2012 Dutch MPs 2012–2017 People from Haaksbergen People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians Political staffers