Hugo de Jonge

De Jonge studied at the Ichthus Hogeschool in Rotterdam to become a teacher in primary education and then continued in Zwolle a study for school management, which he completed with a diploma "school leader primary education." He worked in education for five years, first as a schoolteacher and eventually as a primary school deputy director. De Jonge moved to national policy by working as a policy assistant for the CDA group in the House of Representatives in 2004. Between 2006 and 2010, he worked at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science as political assistant to CDA Minister Maria van der Hoeven and State Secretary Marja van Bijsterveldt and as a policy assistant focusing on quality improvement of secondary education. == Political career ==

Alderman In 2010, De Jonge was appointed as an alderman in the Rotterdam municipal executive, tasked with the Education, Youth and Family portfolio. As such, he argued in 2013 on national television for the closing of the Islamic school association Ibn Ghaldoun after several problems came to light. Following the 2014 municipal election, De Jonge was again appointed an alderman, with the Healthcare portfolio. The same year, he was announced as the "Politician of the Year" in Rotterdam. In October 2016, he announced a programme to persuade parents who are considered vulnerable to consider voluntary birth control. As he left the Rotterdam politics in October 2017, he was awarded the municipal Wolfert van Borselenpenning. Minister In October 2017, De Jonge was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport in the Third Rutte cabinet. During the administration of the oath and installation of the new Ministers, De Jonge received media attention because of his unusual choice of shoes, receiving both criticism and praise. In this capacity, he initiated the development of a COVID-19 app. He won the vote against Pieter Omtzigt. As Minister for Housing and Spatial Planning, De Jonge introduced the Good Landlordship Act to regulate rented housing, and it passed both houses of parliament in March 2023. He proposed an amendment the following year to extend rent control beyond public housing, and he filed a bill that would mandate a certain percentage of new housing to be affordable. It went into effect in July 2024. The fourth Rutte cabinet had been a caretaker government since July 2023. However, De Jonge continued introducing new legislative proposals as no housing-related subjects had been exempted from consideration by the House of Representatives. His term as minister ended on 2 July 2024, when the Schoof cabinet was sworn in, and he became King's Commissioner of Zeeland in an acting capacity on 16 September 2024, succeeding Han Polman. He was appointed to the office and his acting period ended on 1 July 2025. ==Political positions==

In his candidacy for the CDA leadership, De Jonge expressed his commitment to the political centre, seeing the CDA as a "broad people's party." He is seen as less right-wing on economic issues than his predecessors, having previously called for the market and competition in healthcare to be restrained. He also believes his party should not cooperate with the right-wing populist parties, Party for Freedom and Forum for Democracy. ==Personal life==

De Jonge has a wife called Mirelle, and they have children. ==References==