Eelco Heinen
Member of the House of Representatives
Assumed office
31 March 2021
Personal details
Born
E. Heinen

(1981-04-27) 27 April 1981
Laren, North Holland
Political partyPeople's Party for Freedom and Democracy
Children2
Alma mater

Eelco Heinen (born 27 April 1981) is a Dutch politician, serving as a member of the House of Representatives since March 2021. He is a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and previously worked as a party staffer.

Early life and career

He was born in 1981 in the North Holland town Laren and studied computer science at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences from 1998 until 2002. Heinen subsequently studied economics at the University of Amsterdam. After he graduated with a Master of Science degree in macroeconomics in 2005, he did another master's in international relations. He became a policy officer at the Ministry of Finance in 2007.[1]

Between 2011 and 2014, Heinen worked as senior finance policy advisor for the VVD's House caucus and was promoted to political secretary and head of policy in the latter year.[2][3] He had joined the VVD in 2006.[4] He served as a member of the campaign team for the 2017 election and also helped write the election program.[3][5]

Heinen – then also political assistant of MP Klaas Dijkhoff – ran for member of parliament in the 2021 general election, being placed twelfth on the VVD's party list.[6] He was again member of the campaign team and of the election program committee.[7][8] He was elected, receiving 679 preference votes, and he was sworn in as House member on 31 March.[9] Heinen's specializations are government budget, European and international monetary policy, financial markets, financial supervision, state participation, government expenditure, macroeconomic policy, European economic policy, and National Growth Fund and he is on the Committees for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, European Affairs, Finance, and Public Expenditure.[1][10] When prices of petrol were on the rise, Heinen proposed to bring a planned increase in the tax-exempt traveling allowance forward in time.[11] He also complained about spending by the cabinet without the House's approval. The cabinet has this power in case of a crisis, but Heinen decried their repeated use of the provision.[12] He later filed an amendment to only allow usage if the House agreed with the cabinet's reasoning of necessity.[13]

When the fourth Rutte cabinet collapsed in July 2023 – triggering a snap election in November – Heinen became the VVD's campaign leader.[14]

Personal life

Heinen has a Spanish wife called Inés, and they have two sons.[15] He is a resident of The Hague.[1]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Eelco Heinen
Year Body Party Pos. Votes Result Ref.
Party seats Individual
2021 House of Representatives People's Party for Freedom and Democracy 12 679 34 Won [16]
2023 House of Representatives People's Party for Freedom and Democracy 7 3,159 24 Won [17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Eelco Heinen". Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  2. ↑ "Drs.ing. E. (Eelco) Heinen". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  3. 1 2 Vrijsen, Eric (4 February 2017). "Achter de schermen van de VVD" [Behind the scenes at the VVD]. Elsevier Weekblad (in Dutch). Vol. 73, no. 5. p. 24.
  4. ↑ "Biografie, onderwijs en loopbaan van Eelco Heinen" [Biography, education, and career of Eelco Heinen]. Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal (in Dutch). Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  5. ↑ "Zeker Nederland" [Certain Netherlands] (PDF). VVD (in Dutch). 16 December 2016. p. 2. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  6. ↑ Du Pré, Raoul (1 December 2020). "Rutte gaat met vrouwenkopgroep de campagne in" [Rutte enters the campagne with a leading group of women]. De Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  7. ↑ Van Steenbergen, Enzo; De Koning, Petra (14 March 2021). "Hoe team-Rutte de term 'Rutte-doctrine' liet verdwijnen" [How Rutte's team made the term Rutte doctrine disappear]. nrc.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  8. ↑ Korteweg, Ariejan (25 August 2020). "Hoe de coronacrisis de partijprogramma's vormt: zowel links als rechts is nu voor een sterkere overheid" [How the corona crisis is shaping election programs: both left and right support a strong government]. De Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  9. ↑ "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 17 maart 2021" [Results general election 17 March 2021] (PDF). Kiesraad (in Dutch). 26 March 2021. p. 185. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  10. ↑ "Eelco Heinen". VVD (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  11. ↑ Brandsema, Leon (22 March 2022). "Poging om pijn aan de pomp te verlichten: Kamer wil sneller hogere kilometervergoeding" [Attempt to ease the pain at the pump: House wants higher traveling allowance earlier]. De Limburger. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  12. ↑ De Horde, Cor (9 June 2022). "Tweede Kamer eist meer controle op uitgaven" [House of Representatives demand more control over spending]. FD (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  13. ↑ De Horde, Cor (31 May 2023). "Kabinet kritisch over inperken noodroute voor uitgaven" [Cabinet critical of confining emergency route for spending]. FD (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  14. ↑ Joosten, Carla (29 July 2023). "VVD wil zaken doen met PVV" [VVD wants to do business with PVV]. Elsevier Weekblad (in Dutch). Vol. 79, no. 30. p. 25.
  15. ↑ Kraaijeveld, Maaike (26 February 2021). "Vrouw van VVD'er Eelco Heinen bevalt van zoontje ín de auto: 'Ineens was daar het hoofdje'" [Wife of VVD member Eelco Heinen gives birth to son in car: 'His head was suddenly there']. AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  16. ↑ "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. 14–15. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  17. ↑ "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. 15–16. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
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