Ingrid Johanna Maria Michon-Derkzen (born 14 September 1976) is a Dutch civil servant and politician of the conservative liberal

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party i ...

(VVD). She was elected to the

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

in the 2021 general election, and she previously served as a member of the

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural coun ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's ad ...

(2014–18).

Early life and career

Michon was born in 1976 in the

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

city of

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It i ...

. Her parents owned a greengrocer's in that city. Michon studied Dutch law at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollm ...

. She held several positions at the

Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations ( nl, link=no, Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties; BZK) is the Netherlands' ministry responsible for domestic policy, civil service, public administration, elections, loca ...

including acting program manager of further development of the organizational structure of the police and acting head of the bureau of the

Director-General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a governmen ...

for Security. Starting in 2010, she served as the political assistant of

Ivo Opstelten Ivo Willem Opstelten (born 31 January 1944) is a retired Dutch politician and jurist. He is a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). Opstelten applied at Leiden University in May 1963 majoring in Law and obtaining an Bac ...

, the Minister of Security and Justice. When Opstelten resigned in 2015, Michon stayed at the

Ministry of Justice and Security The Ministry of Justice and Security ( nl, Ministerie van Justitie en Veiligheid; JenV) is the Dutch Ministry responsible for justice, imprisonment and public security. The Ministry was created in 1798 as the ''Department of Justice'', before it ...

, working as project leader at its

cybersecurity Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, th ...

division. In October 2015, she took a job at the

Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment , type = Department , logo = Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat Logo.png , logo_width = 250x250px , logo_alt = Logo of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management , image = Rijksgeb ...

as head of the

drones Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

team of the aviation division. Michon returned to the interior and kingdom relations ministry in 2018 to head the bureau of the director-general of the Central Government Real Estate Agency. She left that position, when she became a member of parliament in 2021. Michon has also been serving on the boards of both Festival Classique, a classical music festival, and De Ooievaart, which offers boat tours in The Hague, since 2018.

Politics

Michon joined the VVD in 2000 and was that party's third candidate in

in the 2014 municipal elections. She was elected to the municipal council and served as vice caucus leader of the VVD. Her focus was on security, social affairs, poverty, and outdoor spaces. Michon decided not to run for re-election in 2018, because she was offered a worse place on the

party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...

than in 2014. She ran for member of parliament in the 2021 general election, being placed twentieth on the VVD's party list. She was elected with 1,654

preference votes In psychology, economics and philosophy, preference is a technical term usually used in relation to choosing between alternatives. For example, someone prefers A over B if they would rather choose A than B. Preferences are central to decision th ...

and was sworn into the

on 31 March. Michon became the VVD's spokesperson for primary and secondary education, aviation, water, and shipping, but her specialties were changed shortly after to police, fire brigade, the Public Prosecution Service, border protection, counter-terrorism, the NCTV, disaster and crisis management, national security, drug policy, and sex offenses. She was on the Procedure Committee and the Committees for Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality; for Education, Culture, and Science (chair); and for Justice and Security. She was also a member of the Parliamentary Inquiry into Fraud Policy and Services and of the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up ...

. In the House, Michon voiced her opposition to repatriating Dutch women who had joined the

Islamic State An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

, saying that they should be tried in the region. However, she later conceded that it would be preferable to try them in the Dutch judicial system if no other option is available. She also proposed to prohibit

doxing Doxing or doxxing is the act of publicly providing personally identifiable information about an individual or organization, usually via the internet. Historically, the term has been used interchangeably to refer to both the aggregation of this in ...

– the practice of publishing private information – leading the cabinet to work on a ban. Following the November 2023 general election, discrimination was added to Michon's specialties.

Personal life

In 2000, Michon moved from Arnhem to The Hague, where she has since been living with her husband. They have three children, two of which are twins.

Electoral history

References

External links

Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meijeren, Gideon van 1976 births 21st-century Dutch civil servants 21st-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch women politicians Living people Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Municipal councillors of The Hague People from Arnhem People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians Political staffers Utrecht University alumni Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe