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Reinette Klever

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Reinette Klever
Klever in 2024
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development
Incumbent
Assumed office
2 July 2024
Prime MinisterDick Schoof
MinisterCaspar Veldkamp
Preceded byLiesje Schreinemacher
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
20 September 2012 – 23 March 2017
Member of the Senate
In office
7 June 2011 – 20 September 2012
Personal details
Born
Reinette Joanne Klever

(1967-07-21) 21 July 1967 (age 57)
Weesp, Netherlands
Political partyParty for Freedom
Children3
Parent
Residence(s)Ermelo, Netherlands
Occupation

Reinette Joanne Klever (born 21 July 1967) is a Dutch politician, asset manager and broadcaster. She has served as Minister for Foreign Trade and Development in the Schoof cabinet since July 2024, on behalf of the Party for Freedom (PVV).

Career

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Klever studied business economics, and she worked for banks and other companies in Paris, New York City, and Santiago.[1] She was a member of the Senate for the Party for Freedom (PVV) from 7 June 2011 to 20 September 2012. She subsequently served as member of the House of Representatives between 20 September 2012 and 23 March 2017, and she was her party's spokesperson for healthcare, economic affairs, and energy.[1][2][3] She advocated abolishing health insurance deductibles and proposed to fund this by scrapping the entire development cooperation budget.[1] She also referred to climate change as hoax by the elite in a social media post she later deleted.[4] After her departure from politics in 2017, Klever returned as an employee in her husband's investment company. She complained that her experience as a PVV politician complicated finding jobs.[1]

She joined a think tank advocating a Dutch withdrawal from the European Union in 2019, and she co-founded the alternative media broadcasting association Ongehoord Nederland [nl] (ON!) in 2020. She served as an administrator and correspondent of its Zwarte Pietenjournaal, a Sinterklaas-themed news broadcast that was an alternative to Het Sinterklaasjournaal after it stopped including the blackface character Zwarte Piet.[4] When ON! was admitted to the Dutch public broadcasting system in 2022, Klever became a board member and a regular commentator on its TV program Ongehoord Nieuws [nl].[3][4] She has repeatedly criticized the broadcasting system, which fined ON! for violating its journalistic code.[5] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Klever spread anti-vaccine messaging, and she shared social media posts promoting the Great Reset conspiracy theory.[4]

After the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB formed the Schoof cabinet, Klever was sworn in as Minister for Foreign Trade and Development on 2 July 2024. As such, she serves as a minister without portfolio at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[1][6] "Development cooperation" was changed to "development" in the title, and Klever was tasked with executing a budget cut of €2.4 billion per year starting in 2027 that was agreed on in the coalition agreement.[4] During her confirmation hearing, she was asked about her sharing a social media post about omvolking, referring to the far-right Great Replacement conspiracy theory. Klever refused to distance herself from the term as she had not used it, and she called it a "factual description of a demographic trend".[7][8] A motion of no confidence against her by GroenLinks–PvdA did not receive a majority during the cabinet's inaugural debate.[4] After GeenStijl, a blog, reported in August 2024 that Klever had handed over her duties as board member of ON! to her daughter, the Dutch Media Authority responded it was looking into the matter. Klever denied the allegations.[9]

During cabinet negotiations for the 2025 budget, Klever requested additional funds in line with economic growth. However, Minister of Finance Eelco Heinen decided to decouple the development aid budget from the size of the economy, which had been in place for decades.[10] She explored the idea of sheltering rejected African asylum seekers in Uganda in exchange for financial compensation. However, after a trip by Klever to the country, Ugandan foreign affairs minister Jeje Odongo denied that the topic had been discussed.[11][12]

Personal life

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Klever is the daughter of Wim Klever, a philosopher specialized in Baruch Spinoza. As of 2024, she lived with her husband in Ermelo, Gelderland.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Reinette Klever (PVV) wilde van ontwikkelingshulp af, nu beoogd minister" [Reinette Klever (PVV) wanted to get rid of development cooperation, now nominated as minister]. nos.nl (in Dutch). 13 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Drs. R.J. (Reinette) Klever" (in Dutch). Parlement.com. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  3. ^ a b Derix, Steven; Van den Dool, Pim; Stokmans, Derk; Vermeer, Oscar; Klumpenaar, Sjoerd; König, Eppo; Pelgrim, Christiaan; Bouwman, Boris (13 June 2024). "Van diplomaat tot Boer zoekt Vrouw-kandidaat: dit zijn de beoogde ministers van het kabinet-Schoof" [From diplomat to Farmer Wants Wife contender: These are the ministers-designate of the Schoof cabinet]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Van de Griend, Robert (13 July 2024). "Hoe diepgeworteld zijn de omstreden opvattingen van minister Reinette Klever?" [How ingrained are Minister Reinette Klever's controversial views?]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  5. ^ "PVV'er die ontwikkelingshulp wilde afschaffen nu kandidaat-minister voor Ontwikkelingshulp" [PVV politician who wanted to abolish development cooperation now candidate for development cooperation minister]. nos.nl (in Dutch). 13 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Ministers en staatssecretarissen kabinet-Schoof beëdigd" [Ministers and state secretaries of Schoof cabinet sworn in]. NOS (in Dutch). 2 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  7. ^ "PVV'er Klever ziet 'omvolking' niet als complottheorie na kritiek vanuit oppositie" [PVV politician Klever does not believe 'replacement' is a conspiracy theory following criticism from opposition parties]. NU.nl (in Dutch). 22 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Beoogd minister Klever (PVV) noemt omvolking 'feitelijke omschrijving demografische ontwikkeling'" [Minister-designate Klever (PVV) calls replacement a 'factual description of a demographic trend']. RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 21 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  9. ^ Bhikhie, Avinash (7 August 2024). "Ook VVD wil opheldering over integriteit PVV-minister Klever bij Ongehoord Nederland" [Also VVD wants integrity of PVV minister Klever at Ongehoord Nederland clarified]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  10. ^ De Haan, Marko (3 October 2024). "Kabinet laat koppeling tussen ontwikkelingssamenwerking en economie los, tot verrassing van coalitiepartner NSC" [Cabinet removes link between development cooperation and economy, surprising coalition partner NSC]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  11. ^ "Kabinet wil uitgeprocedeerde Afrikaanse asielzoekers naar Uganda sturen" [Cabinet wants to send rejected asylum seekers to Uganda]. NOS (in Dutch). 16 October 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  12. ^ Klaassen, Niels (18 October 2024). "Weer gedoe over plan-Klever (PVV): minister Oeganda ontkent gesproken te hebben over opvang-idee" [More fuss about Klever's (PVV) plan: Ugandan minister denies having discussed sheltering idea]. Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 October 2024.
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Media related to Reinette Klever at Wikimedia Commons

Political offices
Preceded by Minister for Foreign Trade and Development
2024–present 		Incumbent
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