Raymond Willem Knops (born 10 November 1971) is a Dutch politician and retired RNLAF officer who served as State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations under 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 ...

from 2017 to 2019 and again from 2020 until 2022. A member of the

Christian Democratic Appeal The Christian Democratic Appeal ( nl, Christen-Democratisch Appèl, ; CDA) is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. It was originally formed in 1977 from a confederation of the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolutiona ...

(CDA), he was Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations from 2019 to 2020 in an acting capacity. Knops has held a seat in 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 ...

since 2005 with three interruptions due to cabinet formation processes and service in government.

Early political career

As a member of the

, Raymond Knops he was elected to 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 ...

Horst aan de Maas Horst aan de Maas (; li, Haors aan de Maos ) is a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands, in the province of Limburg. In 2010 the municipalities Sevenum and part of Meerlo-Wanssum joined the municipality. Population centres America, B ...

in 1998. In 1999, he became an

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...

in the

municipal executive In the Netherlands, the municipal executive (, ) is the executive board of a municipality. It plays a central role in municipal politics in the Netherlands, similar to the communal college in Belgium. It consists of the mayor and the members of ...

, in which he was in charge of economic and agricultural affairs, spatial planning, traffic, the environment and public housing until 2001, when he became Deputy Mayor and alderman in charge of economic affairs, agribusiness, recreation and tourism and strategic projects. He held the position until 2005, when he entered the

following the resignation of

Hubert Bruls Hubertus Maria Franciscus "Hubert" Bruls (born 6 February 1966) is a Dutch politician who has served as Mayor of Nijmegen since 2012. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), he has also served as chairman of the Dutch Security Council s ...

, who had been appointed to the mayorship of

Venlo Venlo () is a city and municipality in the southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg, about 50 km east of the city of Eindhoven, 65 km north east of the provincial capital Maastricht, a ...

National career

Knops has served as a member of the House of Representatives from 11 October 2005 to 30 November 2006, from 1 March 2007 to 17 June 2010, from 7 September 2010 to 26 October 2017 and again since 31 March 2021. He returned as a parliamentarian in 2007 as the

Fourth Balkenende cabinet The fourth Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 22 February 2007 until 14 October 2010. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and Christian Union ( ...

had been sworn in, as well as in 2010 as the successor of

Ab Klink Abraham "Ab" Klink (born 2 November 1958) is a retired Dutch politician of Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and sociologist. He is a corporate director of the VGZ Cooperative since 1 January 2014 and a professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amster ...

, who had resigned his seat. In the 2021 election, Knops was returned to the House of Representatives as the outgoing State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations. In the House of Representatives, he focuses his work on matters of political asylum policy and

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

. Knops was appointed State Secretary 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 ...

under Minister

Kajsa Ollongren Jkvr. Karin Hildur "Kajsa" Ollongren (; ; born 28 May 1967) is a Dutch politician serving as the Netherlands' Minister of Defence since 10 January 2022. A member of the Democrats 66 (D66), she previously served as Minister of the Interior and K ...

in the

on 26 October 2017. From 1 November 2019 until 14 April 2020, he was Acting Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations due to Ollongren's extended medical leave of absence. He then returned as a State Secretary and was succeeded on 10 January 2022 by Alexandra van Huffelen as the

Fourth Rutte cabinet The Fourth Rutte cabinet is the current Government of the Netherlands. It was inaugurated on 10 January 2022. The cabinet is a continuation of the previous third Rutte cabinet and is formed by the conservative-liberal People's Party for Free ...

was installed. There had been speculation Knops would be

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

in the Fourth Rutte cabinet after similar speculation in 2017. However, during the 2021–2022 cabinet formation process, the ministry was awarded to Ollongren of the

Democrats 66 Democrats 66 (; abbreviated D66, ) is a social liberal political party in the Netherlands, which positions itself in the centre of the political spectrum. It is a member of the Liberal International (LI) and the Alliance of Liberals and Demo ...

party."Knops keert niet terug in Rutte IV"
curacao.nu (in Dutch), 31 December 2021.

References

External links

;Official *
Drs. R.W. (Raymond) Knops
Parlement.com *
Raymond Knops
CDA.nl {{DEFAULTSORT:Knops, Raymond 1971 births Living people 20th-century Dutch educators 20th-century Dutch military personnel 20th-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch educators 21st-century Dutch military personnel 21st-century Dutch politicians Aldermen in Limburg (Netherlands) Christian Democratic Appeal politicians Dutch aviators Dutch colonels Dutch flight instructors Dutch military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Erasmus University Rotterdam alumni Graduates of the Koninklijke Militaire Academie Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Military personnel of the Iraq War Ministers of Kingdom Relations of the Netherlands Ministers of the Interior of the Netherlands Municipal councillors in Limburg (Netherlands) People from Horst aan de Maas Royal Netherlands Air Force officers Royal Netherlands Air Force pilots State Secretaries for the Interior of the Netherlands