Leader of the Christian Union

The Leader of the Christian Union is the most senior politician within the Christian Union (Dutch: ChristenUnie, CU) in the Netherlands. The post is currently held by Mirjam Bikker, who succeeded Gert-Jan Segers in 2023.^[1]

History

The Leaders outwardly act as the 'figurehead' and the main representative of the party. Within the party, they must ensure political consensus. At election time the Leader is always the Lijsttrekker (top candidate) of the party list. Outside election time the Leader can serve as the Opposition leader. In the Christian Union the Leader is often the Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives. One Christian Union leader became a Minister in a Cabinet.

Leader			Term of office	Age as Leader	Position(s) as Leader	Further position(s)	Former Affiliation	Professional Background	Church	Lijsttrekker
		Dr. Kars Veling (born 1948)	17 January 2001 – 12 November 2002 (1 year, 299 days)[1]	52–54	Member of the Senate (GPV) (1991–2002) Member of the House of Representatives (2002) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (2002)	Parliamentary leader in the Senate (GPV) (1991–1999)	Reformed Political League	Theologian Historian Teacher	Reformed Churches Liberated	2002
		André Rouvoet (born 1962)	12 November 2002 – 28 April 2011 (8 years, 167 days)[1]	40–49	Member of the House of Representatives (1994–2007) (2010–2011) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (2002–2007) (2010–2011) Minister for Youth Policy and Family Policy (2007–2010) Deputy Prime Minister (2007–2010) Minister of Education, Culture and Science (2010)		Reformatory Political Federation	Jurist Political consultant Researcher Teacher	Christian Reformed Churches	2003
										2006
										2010
		Arie Slob (born 1961)	28 April 2011 – 10 November 2015 (4 years, 196 days)[1]	49–53	Member of the House of Representatives (2002–2015) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (2011–2015)	Member of the House of Representatives (2001–2002) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (2007–2010) Minister for Primary and Secondary Education and Media (2017–2022)	Reformed Political League	Teacher School administrator	Reformed Churches Liberated	2012
		Gert-Jan Segers (born 1969)	10 November 2015 – 17 January 2023 (7 years, 68 days)[1]	46–53	Member of the House of Representatives (2012–2023) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (2015–2023)		Reformatory Political Federation	Political scientist Researcher Nonprofit director Author	Protestant Church	2017
										2021
		Mirjam Bikker (born 1982)	17 January 2023 – Incumbent (1 year, 103 days)[1]	40–41	Member of the House of Representatives (since 2021) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (since 2023)	Member of the Senate (2015–2016) (2016–2021) Parliamentary leader in the Senate (2019–2021)		Jurist	Protestant Church (Reformed Association)	2023

Deputy Leaders

The Christian Union doesn't have an official designated Deputy Leader in the party's hierarchy but some are given the title as an unofficial description by the media. Because of the often unofficial nature of the position, reliable sources can sometimes differ over who the deputy actually is or was.

Deputy Leader			Term of office	Position(s) as Deputy Leader	Leader(s)
		Arie Slob (born 1961)	30 January 2003 – 28 April 2011 (8 years, 88 days)[1]	Member of the House of Representatives (2002–2015) Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives (2007–2010)	André Rouvoet
Not in use (28 April 2011 – 10 November 2015)
		Carola Schouten (born 1977)	10 November 2015 – Incumbent (8 years, 171 days)[2]	Member of the House of Representatives (2011–2017) Deputy Prime Minister (since 2017) Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (since 2017)	Gert-Jan Segers

See also

• Christian Union

References

External links

Official

• (in Dutch) Official website