Rosanne Yente Hertzberger (; born 9 September 1984) is a Dutch microbiologist and politician of

New Social Contract New Social Contract ( ; NSC) is a centre to centre-right political party in the Netherlands founded by Pieter Omtzigt. History In early 2021, Omtzigt wrote the manifesto '' A New Social Contract'', with ideas for the Christian Democratic App ...

(NSC).

Early career

Hertzberger was a microbiologist, working as a researcher at

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam The (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public university, public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in ...

. She was a columnist for '' NRC'' from 2009 until 2023.

Politics

She was elected to the

Dutch Parliament The States General of the Netherlands ( ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The States General originated in ...

in the

2023 Dutch general election Early general elections were held in the Netherlands on 22 November 2023 to elect the members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands), House of Representatives. The elections had been expected to be held in 2025, but a snap election was ca ...

, and her focus was on higher education,

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 the

nitrogen crisis in the Netherlands The nitrogen crisis in the Netherlands () is an ecological and legal crisis that has been defined as such since 2019, following a ruling by the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State, Administrative Jurisdiction Division of ...

. Hertzberger was on the committee carrying out the parliamentary inquiry into the Dutch response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which commenced in February 2024. After New Social Contract formed a coalition with the right-wing populist

Party for Freedom The Party for Freedom ( , PVV) is a right-wing populist, far-right political party in the Netherlands. Geert Wilders is the founder, party leader, and sole registered member of the party. Founded in 2006 as the successor to Wilders' one-ma ...

(PVV) and two other parties, she declared that she felt great discomfort about her party's cooperation with the PVV. Hertzberger advocated in a policy memorandum for further research into a rise of

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 ...

among individuals under 30 with

mental disorder A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

s, and she proposed drafting media guidelines on euthanasia reporting to mitigate contagion effects. She also called for an investigation into

gender-affirming care Transgender health care includes the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of physical and mental health conditions which affect transgender individuals.Gorton N, Grubb HM (2014). General, Sexual, and Reproductive health. In L. Erickson-Schroth. ...

. On 15 November 2024, State Secretary Nora Achahbar (NSC) resigned, citing "polarizing interactions during the past weeks" in response to Amsterdam attacks targeting supporters of the Israeli football club

Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club (; ''Moadon Kaduregel Maccabi Tel Aviv'') is an Israeli professional football club from Tel Aviv and part of the Maccabi Tel Aviv Sport Club. Founded in 1906 in Jaffa as the HaRishon Le Zion-Yafo Association, i ...

Media outlets reported offensive, radical, and potentially racist remarks made during a

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

meeting, with State Secretary Jurgen Nobel stating that a significant portion of Islamic youth did not endorse Dutch norms and values, referring to the perpetrators of the attacks. A collapse of 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 averted during crisis talks, where it was decided that no other NSC cabinet members would step down. On 19 November, Hertzberger and Femke Zeedijk announced their resignations from the House. Hertzberger said that cabinet members had uttered "completely inappropriate statements," both publicly and behind the scenes. She added that "basic norms of decency, civility ..and how one speaks about Dutch citizens" had been disregarded. She became director of NSC's

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

in January 2025.

Early career

Politics

Electoral history

References

See also