12 Facts About Ank Bijleveld

Ank Bijleveld served as Minister of Defence in the third cabinet of Prime Minister Mark Rutte from 26 October 2017 to 17 September 2021.

Ank Bijleveld resigned after she was appointed as State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations in the Fourth Balkenende cabinet, serving from 22 February 2007 until 14 October 2010.

Ank Bijleveld accepted and resigned as King's Commissioner of Overijssel the same day she took office as the new Minister of Defence on 26 October 2017.

In 1986 Ank Bijleveld became a member of the Enschede municipal council for the Christian Democratic Appeal.

Ank Bijleveld served as a Member of the House of Representatives from 16 November 1989 until 16 January 2001.

Ank Bijleveld was Mayor of Hof van Twente from 1 January 2001 until 22 February 2007, when she resigned to become the State secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations in the Fourth Balkenende cabinet until 14 October 2010.

Ank Bijleveld was an MP till 1 January 2011 when she became King's Commissioner of Overijssel.

Ank Bijleveld left that position in 2017 as she was appointed to be Minister of Defence.

Early in her tenure, Ank Bijleveld oversaw Dutch efforts to disrupt a 2018 attempt by Russian intelligence agents to hack the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Ank Bijleveld was criticized, because she too could have informed the House of Representatives about this earlier.

Ank Bijleveld resigned on 17 September 2021 after the House of Representatives filed a motion of disapproval on how she and Sigrid Kaag handled the evacuation of Afghanistan, even though the day before she said she wouldn't resign.

Ank Bijleveld has been married to Riekele Ank Bijleveld since 1984 and has two daughters.