Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Aid (Netherlands)

The Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Aid (Dutch: Minister voor Buitenlandse Handel en Ontwikkelingshulp) is a minister without portfolio in the Netherlands. The officeholder, who is a member of the Cabinet and the Council of Ministers, is assigned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The minister is tasked with trade and export, development aid and international environmental policies.

Until 2012, the title was Minister for Development Cooperation (Dutch: minister voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking). Foreign trade and export promotion were handled by another appointee, a state secretary at the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Internationally, the state secretary was allowed to use the title of minister on official business. In 2010 both posts were merged, first as a state secretary; two years later a ministership was reinstated.

According to the OECD, the Netherlands’ total ODA (USD 6.5 billion, preliminary data) increased in 2022 due to an increase in in-donor refugee costs, support to Ukraine and higher contributions to European Union (EU) institutions. It represented 0.67% of gross national income (GNI).

List of ministers and state secretaries

State Secretaries of Foreign Affairs (1959–1965)

Ministers for Aid to Developing Countries (1965–1971)

Ministers for Development Cooperation (1971–2002)

State Secretaries of Foreign Affairs (2002–2003)

^{Designated with the diplomatic rank of Minister}

Ministers for Development Cooperation (2003–2010)

^Resigned

^{Minister of Foreign Affairs}

State Secretaries of Foreign Affairs (2010–2012)

^{Designated with the diplomatic rank of Minister}

Ministers for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation (2012–2024)

^{Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs from 13 February 2018 until 7 March 2018 and from 25 May 2021 until 10 August 2021}

^{Appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs}

^Acting

Ministers for Foreign Trade and Development Aid (since 2024)

References