Nicolien van Vroonhoven



Jennifer Nicolien van Vroonhoven-Kok (born 9 April 1971) is a Dutch politician who has a seat in the House of Representatives. She was the second candidate of the New Social Contract party in the 2023 general election. From 2002 to 2010, she held a seat in the House on behalf of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). From 2010 to 2011, she was for a member of the municipal council of The Hague and from 7 May 2014 to 17 December 2017 she was an alderman in the municipality of Hilversum, both for CDA.

Biography
Van Vroonhoven was born in Bussum. After attending high school at the Gemeentelijk Gymnasium in Hilversum between 1983 and 1989, she went to Leiden University, where she received an MA degree in Art history in 1994 and an LLM degree in International law in 1995. Subsequently, she studied at the University of Amsterdam, where she obtained an LLM in Tax Law in 2000. During this study, she worked briefly as a junior tax advisor at Arthur Andersen & Co. In 1997, she became a finance policy officer for Dutch politician Jan Peter Balkenende of the CDA (who later served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands). Van Vroonhoven introduced Pieter Omtzigt to Balkenende in 2002. On 23 May 2002, Van Vroonhoven entered the Dutch House of Representatives. She was a tax spokesperson and was involved in cultural policy and starting entrepreneurs. Between 13 May and 17 August 2008, she was temporarily replaced as Member of Parliament by Ine Aasted-Madsen. She was not a candidate in the 2010 Dutch general election so her membership of the House ended on 17 June 2010. Between 11 March 2010, and the end of 2011 she sat for the CDA in the municipal council of The Hague. From 7 May 2014 to 17 December 2017, Van Vroonhoven was an alderman in the municipality of Hilversum. Her portfolio included housing and land affairs, nature, environment and sustainability and historic preservation. She resigned from her position on 17 December 2017; her husband had found a job in Melbourne, Australia and the entire Van Vroonhoven family emigrated with them.

Van Vroonhoven returned to the Netherlands in 2022. When Pieter Omtzigt founded the New Social Contract party in the summer, she canceled her CDA membership and started assisting the party, including as spokesperson. Placed second on the party list, she was elected in the 2023 Dutch general election, and she returned to the parliament after more than a decade. Van Vroonhoven serves as the NSC's vice parliamentary leader and as its spokesperson for justice, security, culture, and labor market.

Personal life
Van Vroonhoven-Kok married in 1999 and has five children. She had a Dutch Reformed upbringing, and she switched to the Catholic Church in her twenties. She stayed at an Augustinian abbey in Maastricht for four months while studying.