Jacqueline van den Hil

Jacqueline van den Hil (born 20 March 1968) is a Dutch politician of the conservative liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). She has served intermittently as a member of the House of Representatives since the 2021 general election. Before entering politics, Van den Hil worked as a health care manager in her native province of Zeeland.

Early life and career Van den Hil was born and raised in the Zeeland city Goes. She attended the secondary school Goese Lyceum at level in the years 1980–86. Van den Hil wanted to study medicine but failed to get in because of the quota. In the meantime, she studied economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam but quit after two years to be trained as a radiodiagnostic laboratory technician at Oosterschelde Hospital. Van den Hil kept working as a lab technician at the hospital after 1991, when her training was completed. She was promoted to medical imaging techniques manager in 2003. Van den Hil ran for member of parliament in the 2021 general election as the VVD's 25th candidate and was elected with 3,543 preference votes. She was sworn into the House of Representatives on 31 March as the only member from Zeeland and served as her party's spokesperson for health care labor market policy, health care professions and education, health care in the Caribbean Netherlands, war victims, resistance fighters, child benefits, child care, mental health care, and sheltered housing. The House of Representatives commemorated the North Sea flood of 1953 in 2023 at the request of Van den Hil, and she pled for a yearly remembrance of the disaster on 1 February.

Van den Hil lost her bid for re-election in November 2023, but she was again sworn into the House on 12 December to temporarily replace Queeny Rajkowski during her maternity leave. Van den Hil was the VVD's spokesperson for mental healthcare, assisted living, long-term healthcare, and childcare. Rajkowski returned to the House on 29 March 2024, bringing an end to Van den Hil's membership. When Sophie Hermans left the House to serve as climate minister in the Schoof cabinet, Van den Hil succeeded her on 4 July 2024, and her new portfolio included mental healthcare, assisted living, youth healthcare, and sports.

Personal life Van den Hil is a resident of her birthplace of Goes, and she is openly lesbian. She lived in the nearby village Kapelle between 2000 and 2017.

House of Representatives

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy