Derk Boswijk

Derk Boswijk
Member of the House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office 31 March 2021
Member of the States of Utrecht
In office 26 March 2015 – 14 April 2021
Succeeded by	Gerdien Bikker
Personal details
Born	Derk Geertsz Boswijk[1] (1989-04-08) 8 April 1989 (age 35) Woerden, Netherlands
Political party	Christian Democratic Appeal
Spouse	Wilma Boswijk-Kroon ​ (m. 2013)​
Children	3
Alma mater	ROC ASA Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht Saxion University of Applied Sciences
Website	derkboswijk.com

Derk Geertsz Boswijk (born 8 April 1989) is a Dutch politician serving as a member of the House of Representatives since the 2021 general election. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), he previously held a seat in the States of Utrecht from 2015 to 2021 and chaired his party's caucus during the last two of those years.

Early life and education

Boswijk was born in 1989 in the Utrecht city Woerden.^[2] His father worked as manager of a packaging materials factory.^[3] He attended the high school Driestar College in Gouda at vmbo level between 2001 and 2005 and was subsequently trained in architectural engineering at the mbo school ROC ASA in Utrecht until 2009.^[4][5] He would later during his career also obtain an hbo degree in Industrial Engineering & Management from the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (2013) and a master's degree in Urban and Area Development from the HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht and the Saxion University of Applied Sciences (2019).^[2]

Career

While studying in Utrecht in 2006, Boswijk founded Ingenieursbureau Bosons, a business specialized in permits and architectural drawings.^[2][6] At the time, he was a supporter of the populist Party for Freedom.^[5] Besides, Boswijk wrote a book called Zoon van een emigrant (Son of an emigrant) based on letters by his great-grandfather Cornelis Treur, who left the Netherlands in 1913 to live in United States. It came out in 2014.^[7] A historical novel written by Boswijk based on the same letters was released under the name Waarom ik vertrok (Why I left) in 2017.^[8]

He participated in the 2015 provincial election in Utrecht as the CDA's sixth candidate and was elected to the States of Utrecht, where he focussed on the environment, mobility, and the economy.^[9][10] Boswijk kept working at Bosons until 2016, when he left to work as property developer at real estate investment firm Heyen Beheer.^[2] In the states-provincial, Boswijk tried to improve internet connections in rural areas, and he called for the province to do more to support family businesses.^[11][12] Boswijk was re-elected in the 2019 election as his party's lead candidate and became caucus leader.^[13][14] He also became a reserve officer (second lieutenant) in the Royal Netherlands Army the following year.^[15][16]

House of Representatives

First term

Boswijk was elected member of parliament in the March 2021 general election, being placed 14th on the CDA's party list.^[17] He received 1,603 preference votes after a campaign in which he talked about what he perceived as a lack of attention by the House of Representatives for people with a vocational education.^[18][19] Boswijk left Heyen Beheer, and he vacated his seat in the States of Utrecht the following month.^[20] In the House of Representatives, he became a member of the Committee for Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality; the Committee for Defence; Committee for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy; the Committee for European Affairs; the Committee for Foreign Affairs; the Committee for Infrastructure and Water Management; the contact group United States (vice chair); and the Dutch parliamentary delegation to the NATO Assembly. His specialties were initially agriculture and defense, but they changed to foreign affairs, defense, climate, and energy near the end of his first term.^[2][21]

While Boswijk served as the CDA's agricultural spokesperson in the House in July 2021, the party presented its new agricultural vision, which was characterized as a break from its past. It called shrinking the number of farm animals necessary in order to halve reactive nitrogen emissions by 2030 but said it was not a goal in itself. The CDA's plans also called for between €1.5 billion and €2 billion in funds per year to, among other things, assist farmers in developing and maintaining natural areas, which would allow them to make a living with fewer farm animals. To achieve this goal, he proposed the introduction of a new type of land in between agricultural and natural land he dubbed landschapsgrond (landscape land), which later became part of the coalition agreement of the fourth Rutte cabinet. Boswijk defended his plans during a speech at a farmers' protest the day after he had announced them.^[22][23][24] Boswijk later offered a five-step plan to nature and nitrogen policy minister Christianne van der Wal, in which he outlined a localized approach as opposed to a generic one to reduce reactive nitrogen emission.^[25] He also complained that the cabinet was mostly focused on cutting agricultural emissions while not creating as detailed plans for other sectors.^[26] In June 2022, Boswijk defied the advice of the counter-terrorism unit NCTV to not attend a farmer's protest in Stroe. Following a visit from a disgruntled farmer at his home later that month while his family was there, he announced that he would stay at home with his family for some days.^[27] Boswijk proposed in late 2022 that dairy companies should be forced to use at least a certain percentage of sustainable milk in their products. This would help the earning power of sustainable dairy farmers.^[28]

When Kabul was captured by the Taliban in August 2021, he called on the Dutch government to evacuate all Afghans who had assisted the Dutch army in the War in Afghanistan and were being threatened by the Taliban.^[29] He also had contact with people in Afghanistan in order to help them get evacuated.^[30] He criticized the government's evacuation operation, describing it as a "clusterfuck", and he successfully advocated an external investigation into the matter.^[31] In a profile in de Volkskrant, Boswijk was called an activist member of parliament for being critical of the governing coalition to which his party belonged, and he was therefore compared to Pieter Omtzigt, who had played a prominent role in uncovering the childcare benefits scandal and who had left the CDA earlier that year.^[32] During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he pled for a reinstatement of conscription in order to relieve the personnel shortage of the Netherlands Armed Forces. He was in favor of a voluntary system similar to that of Sweden, where only motivated citizens are invited.^[33]

Campaign leader and re-election

Boswijk was the CDA's national campaign leader for the 2022 municipal elections as well as the lijstduwer in his home municipality of Stichtse Vecht in those elections.^[34][35] He again ran the CDA's national campaign for the 2023 provincial elections.^[36] When his party received 6.6% of the vote – compared to 11.1% four years earlier – Boswijk called the results rubbish and said that the story of the CDA was not getting across.^[37][38] The collapse of the fourth Rutte cabinet in July 2023 triggered a November snap election. Party leader Wopke Hoekstra announced he would no longer be the CDA's lead candidate, and Boswijk applied to succeed him. Boswijk endorsed Henri Bontenbal, when the board nominated him as the new party leader.^[39] Boswijk was re-elected after he was placed third on the party list, while his specialties changed to foreign affairs, foreign trade, development cooperation, justice, security, and defense.^[40] Responding to a personnel shortage in prisons, he worked with Jesse Six Dijkstra (NSC) and Joost Sneller (D66) on a bill to allow courts to impose house arrest and electronic ankle monitoring as an alternative to short prison sentences. They also argued that it would help lower the risk of repeat offenses.^[41]

Personal life

Boswijk married Wilma Kroon in 2013, and they have three daughters. He resides in the village of Kockengen in the province Utrecht, having lived in nearby Wilnis before, and he is a member of the Reformed Association in the Protestant Church in the Netherlands.^{[14][42][43][44][45]} Boswijk tried to climb Mont Blanc in 2016 to raise money for the hearing loss foundation Hear the World, as his eldest daughter was born with the condition. He did not reach the summit but did manage to raise €8,000.^[46]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Derk Boswijk

Year	Body	Party		Pos.	Votes	Result		Ref.
						Party seats	Individual
2021	House of Representatives		Christian Democratic Appeal	14	1,603	15	Won	[47]
2023	House of Representatives		Christian Democratic Appeal	3	3,217	5	Won	[48]

Bibliography

• 2014 – Zoon van een emigrant; English translation: Son of an Immigrant
• 2017 – Waarom ik vertrok (Why I left)
• 2020 – Theodore Roosevelt: De progressieve populist (Theodore Roosevelt: The progressive populist)
• 2022 – Honger & oorlog: Waarom oneliners geen oplossingen bieden voor complexe problemen (Hunger & war: Why one-liners will not solve complex issues)

References

1. Boswijk, Derk (30 September 2020). "CDA bijdrage Zomernota" [CDA contribution summer memo] (PDF). Retrieved 16 January 2022.
2. "Derk Boswijk". Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
3. Scheer, Paul (10 May 2021). "Dit CDA-Kamerlid (Derk Boswijk) was zelf ook ondernemer" [This CDA MP (Derk Boswijk) used to be an entrepreneur]. MKB Nederland (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 June 2021.
4. "Biografie, onderwijs en loopbaan van Derk Boswijk" [Biography, education, and career of Derk Boswijk]. Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
5. Mat, Joke; Luyendijk, Wubby; Derix, Steven (26 September 2009). "Waarom Wilders". nrc.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 February 2021.
6. Baas, Jan Hermans (7 October 2013). "Ons plan sluit aan bij Knorr" [Our plan is right for Knorr]. De Gooi- en Eemlander (in Dutch).
7. Van Zwienen, Simone (20 January 2014). "Ik moest en zou dit doen in mijn leven" [I had to do this in my life]. AD/Groene Hart (in Dutch). p. 7.
8. Kok, Rosanne (3 October 2017). "Van stapel brieven tot historische roman" [From a pile of letters to a historical novel]. AD/Groene Hart (in Dutch). pp. 6–7.
9. "Deel provincie komt er bekaaid af" [Part of province fares badly]. AD/Utrechts Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 21 March 2015. p. 10.
10. "Derk Boswijk gekozen tot lijsttrekker CDA Utrecht" [Derk Boswijk chosen as lead candidate CDA Utrecht]. RTV Utrecht (in Dutch). 27 June 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
11. "Miljoen voor internet op het Utrechtse platteland" [Million for internet in Utrecht countryside]. AD/Groene Hart (in Dutch). 30 September 2016. p. 5.
12. Heerschop, Tessa (25 January 2018). "Meer steun voor familiebedrijf" [More support for family businesses]. De Telegraaf (in Dutch). p. 10.
13. "Derk Boswijk". Provincie Utrecht (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 February 2021.
14. Van den Belt, Peter (22 March 2019). "Vier inwoners Groene Hart in Provinciale Staten" [Four Groene Hart inhabitants in states-provincial]. AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 February 2021.
15. Steinberger, Mathijs (26 July 2020). "Overdag is Derk (31) politicus, in het weekend is hij reservist in het leger: 'Militair worden was mijn jongensdroom'" [Derk (31) is a politician by day and an army reservist in weekends: 'Becoming a soldier was my boyhood dream']. AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 February 2021.
16. Brouwer, Evert (12 March 2021). "Defensie en de Tweede Kamerverkiezingen" [Defense and the general election]. Defensiekrant (in Dutch). Vol. 5, no. 9. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
17. Van Oostrom, Noa (27 October 2020). "CDA'er Derk Boswijk (31) verrast met hoge plek op kandidatenlijst Tweede Kamer" [CDA member Derk Boswijk (31) surprised by high spot on party list general election]. De Gelderlander (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 February 2021.
18. "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 17 maart 2021" [Results general election 17 March 2021] (PDF). Kiesraad (in Dutch). 26 March 2021. p. 190. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
19. Knieriem, Peter (11 March 2021). "Derk Boswijk (CDA) uit Kockengen wil meer aandacht voor mbo'ers in Den Haag" [Derk Boswijk (CDA) from Kockengen want more attention for mbo students in The Hague]. RTV Utrecht (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
20. "Samenstelling" [Composition]. Provincie Utrecht (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 April 2021.
21. "Tweede Kamerleden van het CDA" [Members of Parliament of the CDA]. CDA (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 November 2023.
22. Hallema, Tys (15 February 2022). "5 vragen over het concept landschapsgrond" [5 questions about the concept of landschapsgrond]. Nieuwe Oogst (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 March 2022.
23. Winterman, Peter (6 July 2021). "CDA: inkrimpen veestapel is onvermijdelijk" [CDA: shrinking number of farm animals inevitable]. Het Parool (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 August 2021.
24. Kuiper, Martin (6 July 2021). "Ook het CDA acht het krimpen van de veestapel nu 'onvermijdelijk'" [The CDA now also views shrinking the number of farm animals as 'inevitable']. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 August 2021.
25. Hallema, Tys (1 June 2022). "Boswijk adviseert kabinet met eigen vijfstappenplan stikstofaanpak" [Boswijk advises cabinet with his own five-step nitrogen approach]. Nieuwe Oogst (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 August 2022.
26. Klaassen, Niels (21 June 2022). "Coalitiepartijen zetten mes in stikstofkaart: 'Er moet maatwerk komen'" [Coalition parties discard nitrogen map: 'There should be customization']. Het Parool (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 August 2022.
27. "CDA'er blijft thuis na protest boeren, Kamerleden krijgen veiligheidsinstructies" [CDA members stays at home after protest farmers, House members receive safety instructions]. NOS (in Dutch). 29 June 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
28. Lemsom, Marloes (6 December 2022). "Kamermeerderheid wil zuivelbedrijven verplichten meer duurzame melk af te nemen, zodat boeren met minder koeien toe kunnen" [House majority wants to force dairy companies to buy more sustainable milk such that farmers could survive with fewer cows]. EenVandaag (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 December 2022.
29. "Tweede Kamer debatteert over crisis in Afghanistan: 'Een ongelooflijke clusterfuck'" [House of Representatives debates about crisis in Afghanistan: 'An unbelievable clusterfuck']. Hart van Nederland (in Dutch). 17 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
30. Botje, Harm Ede (22 August 2021). "CDA'er Boswijk heeft contact met grote groep Afghanen: 'Haal ze thuis op'" [CDA member Boswijk has contact with large group of Afghans]. NU.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 August 2021.
31. Julen, Jeannine (14 September 2021). "Kabinet laat debacle in Afghanistan onderzoeken door onafhankelijke commissie" [Cabinet will have debacle in Afghanistan investigated by independent commission]. Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 November 2021.
32. Korteweg, Ariejan (26 August 2021). "CDA'er Derk Boswijk vult activistisch gat dat Pieter Omtzigt heeft achtergelaten" [CDA member Derk Boswijk fills activist hole that Pieter Omtzigt has left behind]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 November 2021.
33. Hoenders, Josefin; Hoogerwerf, Margot (8 April 2022). "Ministerie kijkt naar dienstplicht volgens Zweeds model: zo lossen zij het personeelstekort op" [Ministry considers conscription according to Swedish model: We will solve the personnel shortage this way]. EenVandaag (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 June 2022.
34. "CDA rekent op flink verlies" [CDA counts on big loss]. NRC (in Dutch). 16 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
35. "Proces-verbaal van de verkiezingsuitslag van de gemeenteraad" [Report of the election results of the municipal council] (PDF). Gemeente Stichtse Vecht (in Dutch). 17 March 2022. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
36. Markus, Niels (20 February 2023). "Met fakkeldragers valt geen gesprek te voeren, maar wél met al die anderen die op debatavonden afkomen" [There is no debate to have with torchbearers, but there is with all those others that show up at debate nights]. Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 March 2023.
37. "Provinciale Staten 20 maart 2019" [States-provincial 20 March 2019]. Databank Verkiezingsuitslagen (in Dutch). Kiesraad. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
38. Hoedeman, Jan; Van Mersbergen, Chris; Nieuwenhuis, Marcia; Den Hartog, Tobias (15 March 2023). "Alle reacties op een rij: 'Nieuwe leider lost probleem CDA niet op'" [An overview of all responses: 'New leader won't solve the CDA's issues']. AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 May 2023.
39. Du Pré, Raoul (14 August 2023). "Bontenbal wil een fatsoenlijk land: 'Nederland is klaar met het cynisme en de zwartmakerij'" [Bontenbal wants a decent country: 'The Dutch are fed up with cynicism and slander']. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 September 2023.
40. "Tweede Kamerleden" [Members of parliament]. Christian Democratic Appeal (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 May 2024.
41. Oost, Georgia; Van de Ven, Liam (30 September 2024). "NSC en D66 willen in plaats van korte celstraffen de enkelband: 'Het is echt geen thuisvakantie'" [NSC and D66 want to replace short prison sentences by ankle monitoring: 'It is really not a staycation']. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 September 2024.
42. @DerkBoswijk (19 April 2014). "Whoehoee alweer 1 jaar married!! :-D met Wilma Boswijk-Kroon http://fb.me/16J3zTmpp" [Woo-hoo already 1 year married!! :-D with Wilma Boswijk-Kroon http://fb.me/16J3zTmpp] (Tweet) (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 March 2022 – via Twitter.
43. Boswijk, Dijk (30 January 2022). "Interview Derk Boswijk (Hour of Power Nederland)" (Interview) (in Dutch). Interviewed by Jan van den Bosch. Hour of Power NL. Retrieved 26 March 2022 – via YouTube.
44. Boswijk, Derk (5 March 2021). "Derk Boswijk wil namens het CDA de Kamer in: "We zijn te bescheiden geweest over ons geloof"" [Derk Boswijk wants to enter the House on behalf of the CDA: "We have been too modest about our faith"]. CIP (Interview) (in Dutch). Interviewed by Patrick Simons. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
45. @DerkBoswijk (20 October 2023). "God enorm dankbaar omdat wij opnieuw een gezonde en prachtige dochter mochten ontvangen. We noemen haar Saron Catharina Boswijk. En weer enorm veel respect voor mijn vrouw waarmee het goed gaat! Nog 34.997 Boswijkjes te gaan 😉" [Enormously grateful to God that we could once again receive a healthy and beautiful daughter. We call her Saron Catherina Boswijk. And again much respect to my wife, who is doing well! 34,997 little Boswijks to go 😉] (Tweet) (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 November 2023 – via Twitter.
46. "Een geweldige ervaring, maar ik doe het nooit meer" [An amazing experience but never again]. AD/Groene Hart (in Dutch). 16 September 2016. p. 4.
47. "Proces-verbaal verkiezingsuitslag Tweede Kamer 2021" [Report of the election results House of Representatives 2021] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 29 March 2021. pp. 22–60, 162. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
48. "Proces-verbaal van de uitslag van de verkiezing van de Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal 2023 d.d. 4 december 2023" [Report of the results of the election of the House of Representatives on 4 December 2023] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 4 December 2023. pp. 37–38. Retrieved 21 December 2023.

External links

• Personal website Archived 1 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine (in Dutch)