Jetta Klijnsma

Jetta Klijnsma
Klijnsma in 2015
King's Commissioner of Drenthe
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 December 2017
Monarch	Willem-Alexander
Preceded by	Jozias van Aartsen (Acting)
State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment
In office 5 November 2012 – 26 October 2017
Prime Minister	Mark Rutte
Preceded by	Paul de Krom
Succeeded by	Tamara van Ark
In office 18 December 2008 – 23 February 2010
Prime Minister	Jan Peter Balkenende
Preceded by	Ahmed Aboutaleb
Succeeded by	Paul de Krom
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 17 June 2010 – 5 November 2012
Mayor of The Hague
Ad interim
In office 1 January 2008 – 26 March 2008
Preceded by	Wim Deetman
Succeeded by	Jozias van Aartsen
Personal details
Born	Jellejetta Klijnsma (1957-03-18) 18 March 1957 (age 67) Hoogeveen, Netherlands
Political party	Labour Party
Residence	Assen
Alma mater	University of Groningen (Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts)
Occupation	Politician historian political consultant nonprofit director

Jellejetta "Jetta" Klijnsma (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈjɛtaː ˈklɛinsmaː]; born 18 March 1957) is a Dutch politician serving as the King's Commissioner of Drenthe since 2017. She is a member of the Labour Party (PvdA).

Elected to the House of Representatives from 2010 to 2012, she focused on matters of culture, senior citizens, disabled people and medical ethics. Previously she was State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment under the Fourth Balkenende cabinet (2008–2010) and an alderwoman of the municipality of The Hague (1998–2008). From 2012 to 2017 she was appointed again as State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment, dealing with the matters of unemployment insurances, pay equality, long-term unemployment, poverty, health and safety at work under the Second Rutte cabinet.^[1]

Klijnsma was born 18 March 1957 in Hoogeveen.^[1] She studied history at the University of Groningen, with a specialization in social history and economic history. After graduating she began to work for the Labour Party's parliamentary group. She was assistant to MPs André van der Louw, Marcel van Dam and Thijs Wöltgens.

Klijnsma has a physical handicap. She was born with spastic legs and only learned how to walk at age thirteen. She has a Reformed background but turned non-religious and became a member of the Dutch Humanist League.^[2]

In 1990 she was elected to the municipal council of The Hague. In 1998 she became alderwoman for welfare, health and emancipation.^[3] After the 2006 municipal elections she became responsible for culture and finance and also became vice-mayor. After Wim Deetman stepped down, she was mayor ad interim of The Hague and so became the first woman in that function.^{[citation needed]}

In December 2008 she succeeded fellow Labour Party politician Ahmed Aboutaleb as State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment in the Fourth Balkenende cabinet.^[4][5] She was State Secretary until February 2010, when the Labour Party withdrew its support for Balkenende's government. An MP from 2010 to 2012, she was appointed again as Social Affairs State Secretary in the Second Rutte cabinet in November 2012, serving until the inauguration on 26 October 2017 of the Third Rutte cabinet which the PvdA does not support. On 1 November 2017 she was appointed King's Commissioner of the province of Drenthe after former The Hague Mayor Jozias van Aartsen was appointed in March 2017 as Acting Commissioner; she took office on 1 December.^{[citation needed]}

Honours
Ribbon bar	Honour	Country	Date	Comment
	Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau	Netherlands	14 February 2018

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Official

• (in Dutch) Drs. J. (Jetta) Klijnsma Parlement & Politiek