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Gijs Tuinman

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Gijs Tuinman
RMWO
Official portrait, 2024
State Secretary for Defence
In office
2 July 2024 – 23 February 2026
Prime MinisterDick Schoof
MinisterRuben Brekelmans
Preceded byChristophe van der Maat
Succeeded byDerk Boswijk
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
6 December 2023 – 2 July 2024
Succeeded byMarieke Wijen-Nass
Personal details
BornGijs Pepijn Tuinman
(1979-11-15) 15 November 1979 (age 46)
Heerlen, Netherlands
PartyFarmer–Citizen Movement (2022–26)
Children1
Education
Awards
Military service
Allegiance Netherlands
Branch/serviceRoyal Netherlands Army
Years of service
1998–2012, 2013–2023
Rank Lieutenant Colonel
UnitKorps Commandotroepen
Battles/warsWar in Afghanistan

Gijs Pepijn Tuinman (pronounced [ˈɣɛis pəˈpɛin ˈtœymɑn]; born 15 November 1979)[1] is a Dutch retired military officer and former politician of the Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB), who served as State Secretary for Defence in the Schoof cabinet from July 2024 to February 2026. He was a member of the House of Representatives in the preceding seven months. Tuinman is one of the only three living knights of the Military Order of William, the oldest and highest order of chivalry of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Biography

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Gijs Tuinman was born in 1979 in Heerlen, Limburg, where he attended the Bernardinuscollege from 1992 to 1998. In 1998, he went to the Royal Military Academy in Breda. In 2001, he became a platoon commander in the Korps Commandotroepen to be.[1] By 2009, he had been on at least five deployments to Afghanistan, several to Africa and other missions.[2] On 7 October 2009, for a mission in 2006, he was awarded the Bronze Lion, the second highest military decoration awarded by Queen Beatrix.[3]

From 2009 to 2012, he worked as a special operations policy advisor at the Ministry of Defence in The Hague. After this, he became a 'civilian' consultant at Deloitte. He returned to military duty in 2013.[1][4]

Military Order of William

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On 4 December 2014 at the Binnenhof in The Hague, Tuinman received the highest military honour of the Netherlands and was appointed a Knight (4th class) of the Military William Order (RMWO) by King Willem-Alexander, for exceptional leadership and personal bravery during multiple high‑risk operations in Afghanistan, in which he disrupted Taliban forces, secured strategically vital areas, and coordinated the rescue of a wounded soldier under fire without further losses.[5] The King referred to Tuinman and Epke Zonderland in his Christmas speech in 2014.

Politics

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He was elected to the House of Representatives in November 2023 as the third candidate of the Farmer–Citizen Movement, and he became the BBB's spokesperson for foreign affairs, trade, defense, and kingdom relations.[6][7] Tuinman told in February 2024 – during the Russian invasion of Ukraine – on BNR Nieuwsradio that he believed the Netherlands should more actively support NATO's defense of Central and Eastern Europe against Russia. He suggested Dutch soldiers should be permanently stationed in Lithuania or Poland.[8]

After the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB formed the Schoof cabinet, Tuinman was sworn in as State State Secretary for Defence on 2 July 2024.[6][9] His portfolio includes personnel, materiel, real estate, defence industry, IT and innovation, physical and social security, and resilience.[10] In September 2024, Tuinman and Minister Ruben Brekelmans announced €2.4 billion in increased yearly funding for the Netherlands Armed Forces. Coalition parties agreed to increase defense spending to adhere to the NATO norm of 2% of GDP in response the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Additional funding would go towards attracting more personnel and the purchase of munitions, 50 Leopard 2A8 battle tanks, six F-35 fighter jets, two Anti-Submarine Warfare Frigates, and several NH90 military helicopters. The Netherlands had been left without tanks since 2011 because of budget cuts.[11][12] Tuinman later told that he aimed to increase the defense ministry's personnel from 74,000 to at least 100,000.[13] Derk Boswijk succeeded Tuinman on 23 February 2026, when the Jetten cabinet was sworn in.

Electoral history

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Electoral history of Gijs Tuinman
Year Body Party Pos. Votes Result Ref.
Party seats Individual
2023 House of Representatives Farmer–Citizen Movement 3 5,834 7 Won [14]
2025 6 3,070 4 Lost [15]

Decorations

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 Gijs Tuinman, held tegen wil en dank, de Volkskrant, 20 October 2014.
  2. ↑ Bescheiden maar doeltreffend, Defensiekrant, 24 October 2014.
  3. ↑ Onderscheidingen aan Nederlanders voor deelnames aan internationale Vredesoperaties, Onderscheidingen.nl. Bezocht op 31 October 2014.
  4. ↑ Curriculum vitae majoor Gijs Tuinman, defensie.nl
  5. ↑ Ridderslag voor Gijs Tuinman - website of the Netherlands Ministry of Defence
  6. 1 2 "Ridder Gijs Tuinman wordt staatssecretaris op 'zijn' departement" [Knight Gijs Tuinman will become state secretary for 'his' department]. NOS (in Dutch). 13 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  7. ↑ "Gijs Tuinman". Farmer–Citizen Movement (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 22 January 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  8. ↑ Kock, Remy (5 February 2024). "BBB: 'Nederlandse krijgsmacht moet grondig gereorganiseerd worden'" [BBB: 'Dutch military should be thoroughly reorganized']. BNR Nieuwsradio (in Dutch). Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  9. ↑ "Ministers en staatssecretarissen kabinet-Schoof beëdigd" [Ministers and state secretaries of Schoof cabinet sworn in]. NOS (in Dutch). 2 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  10. ↑ "Gijs Tuinman". Government of the Netherlands (in Dutch). Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  11. ↑ "Defensienota: leger redt het niet met alleen beroepsmilitairen en reservisten" [Defense memo: Army needs more than just professional soldiers and reservists]. NOS (in Dutch). 5 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  12. ↑ Derix, Steven (5 September 2024). "Tanks, vliegtuigen en fregatten zijn niet genoeg: defensie heeft de samenleving nodig" [Tanks, aircraft, and frigates are not enough: Defense needs society]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  13. ↑ Hendrickx, Frank (26 January 2025). "Staatssecretaris Gijs Tuinman wil Defensie snel laten groeien naar 100.000 man" [State Secretary Gijs Tuinman wants to quickly grow defense to 100,000 personnel]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  14. ↑ "Proces-verbaal van de uitslag van de verkiezing van de Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal 2023 d.d. 4 december 2023" [Report of the results of the election of the House of Representatives on 4 December 2023] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 4 December 2023. pp. 125–182, 245. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  15. ↑ "Proces-verbaal van het centraal stembureau met de uitslag van de verkiezing van de Tweede Kamer 2025 d.d. 7 november 2025" [Report of the central electoral committee with the results of the 2025 election of the House of Representatives dated 7 November 2025] (PDF). Electoral Council (in Dutch). 7 November 2025. pp. 29–30, 132–133. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
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