Pia Dijkstra
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Pietje Aafke "Pia" Dijkstra (; born 9 December 1954) 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) and former television presenter. From 2010 to 2021, she 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 ...
. She was Minister for Medical Care in the
demissionary A demissionary cabinet () is a type of caretaker government, caretaker cabinet of the Netherlands, cabinet or provisional government in the politics of the Netherlands, Netherlands. Overview The Dutch demissionary cabinet continues the current g ...
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 ( ...
from February 2024 until July 2024.


Early life and career

Dijkstra was born in
Franeker Franeker (; ) is one of the eleven historical City rights in the Low Countries, cities of Friesland and capital of the municipality of Waadhoeke. It is located north of the Van Harinxmakanaal and about west of Leeuwarden. As of 2023, it had 13,0 ...
, and she completed her secondary education in
Sneek Sneek (; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city southwest of Leeuwarden and the seat of the former municipality of Sneek in the province of Friesland, Netherlands. As of 2011 it is the seat of the municipality of Súdw ...
and
Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...
with a gymnasium diploma. She studied theology at the
University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...
between 1974 and 1978, but she did not obtain any degree. She subsequently worked as a producer and spokesperson for
Interkerkelijke Omroep Nederland The Interkerkelijke Omroep Nederland (IKON) was a Dutch public broadcaster which made radio and television broadcasts on behalf of seven church communities. IKON also offered other services such as teletext, Teletekst, the IKON newspaper, the IKON ...
(IKON) for six years and as a creator and host for
Radio Netherlands Worldwide Radio Netherlands (RNW; ) was a public radio and television network based in Hilversum, producing and transmitting programmes for international audiences outside the Netherlands from 1947 to 2012. Its services in Dutch ended on 11 May 2012. Eng ...
(RNW) for four years. Dijkstra became a reporter for the
NCRV NCRV (Nederlandse Christelijke Radio Vereniging) (English: Dutch Christian Radio Association) was a public radio and television broadcaster in the Netherlands, mostly transmitting on NPO 1 and NPO 2. On 1 January 2014, NCRV merged with KRO to f ...
current affairs program in 1986. She was
news anchor A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...
of the
NOS Journaal NOS Journaal is the umbrella name for the news broadcasts of the Dutch public broadcaster NOS on radio and television. The division of the NOS responsible for gathering and broadcasting the news is known as ''NOS Nieuws'', and is based at the Med ...
from 1988 until 2000, and she hosted several television and radio shows such as and ''Het Kinderziekenhuis'' in the following decade for
AVRO Avro (an initialism of the founder's name) was a British aircraft manufacturer. Its designs include the Avro 504, used as a trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the d ...
. She 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 2010 to 2021, focusing on issues such as healthcare,
medical ethics Medical ethics is an applied branch of ethics which analyzes the practice of clinical medicine and related scientific research. Medical ethics is based on a set of values that professionals can refer to in the case of any confusion or conflict. T ...
, and emancipation. She introduced a bill to have citizens marked as
organ donor Organ donation is the process when a person authorizes an organ of their own to be removed and transplanted to another person, legally, either by consent while the donor is alive, through a legal authorization for deceased donation made prio ...
by default in the donor registry, which was enacted into law after passing both houses of parliament. By 2024, the measure had led to a 50% increase in citizens who had recorded their preference in the registry. Proposed legislation by Dijkstra to allow for
euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...
in the absence of intolerable suffering for those over 75 years of age did not garner enough support. Her initial 2019 plan was criticized by the
Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...
. Near the end of her last term, she wrote a bill to abolish a five-day waiting period for
abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
s. Jan Paternotte took over her proposal, and it was approved by the parliament in 2022. Dijkstra was appointed Minister for Medical Care in the
demissionary A demissionary cabinet () is a type of caretaker government, caretaker cabinet of the Netherlands, cabinet or provisional government in the politics of the Netherlands, Netherlands. Overview The Dutch demissionary cabinet continues the current g ...
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 ( ...
on 2 February 2024, following the resignation of Ernst Kuipers as Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport the month before. Minister for Long-term Care and Sport Conny Helder had succeeded Kuipers in an acting capacity, and continued to lead the
Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (; VWS) is the Ministries of the Netherlands, Dutch Ministry responsible for public health, health care, quality of life, social work and sport. The Ministry was created in 1951 as the "Ministry of Socia ...
after transferring the medical care portfolio to Dijkstra. Dijkstra's responsibilities included
curative care Curative care or curative medicine is the health care given for medical conditions where a cure is considered achievable, or even possibly so, and directed to this end. Curative care differs from preventive care, which aims at preventing the appea ...
,
health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...
,
medication Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to medical diagnosis, diagnose, cure, treat, or preventive medicine, prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmaco ...
,
medical ethics Medical ethics is an applied branch of ethics which analyzes the practice of clinical medicine and related scientific research. Medical ethics is based on a set of values that professionals can refer to in the case of any confusion or conflict. T ...
,
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
, and
pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...
preparedness. Her term as minister ended on 2 July 2024, when the Schoof cabinet was sworn in.


Personal life

Dijkstra married on 1 September 1992, and they have three children.


Notes


References


External links

*
Parlement.com biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dijkstra, Pia 1954 births Living people 21st-century Dutch women politicians Democrats 66 politicians Dutch television news presenters Dutch reporters and correspondents Dutch MPs 2017–2021 Dutch MPs 2010–2012 Dutch MPs 2012–2017 Ministers without portfolio of the Netherlands People from Franekeradeel Protestant Church Christians from the Netherlands Women government ministers of the Netherlands Women television journalists