State Secretary (Dutch: Staatssecretaris) is the title of a junior member of the Cabinet of the Netherlands and Cabinet of the Belgium. A State Secretary is a member of the cabinet, who works under a Minister and falls under the responsibility of the Minister, but is separately responsible to Parliament. State Secretaries take over part of the minister's portfolio. Some State Secretaries have clearly defined portfolios like Culture, Science or the Environment, while others' portfolios overlap with their Minister. State Secretaries often have a different political affiliation than their Minister. State Secretaries do not attend the weekly Council of Ministers unless specifically invited.
The incumbent Second Rutte cabinet has the following State Secretaries.
| Position | Portfolio | Name | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Secretary | Finance |
Frans Weekers | VVD | |
| State Secretary * | Security and Justice |
Fred Teeven | VVD | |
| State Secretary * | Economic Affairs |
Sharon Dijksma | PvdA | |
| State Secretary | Health, Welfare and Sport |
Martin van Rijn | PvdA | |
| State Secretary | Education, Culture and Science |
Sander Dekker | VVD | |
| State Secretary * | Infrastructure and the Environment |
Wilma Mansveld | PvdA | |
| State Secretary | Social Affairs and Employment ) |
Jetta Klijnsma | PvdA | |
Famous quotes containing the words state and/or secretary:
“In days gone by, we were afraid of dying in dishonor or a state of sin. Nowadays, we are afraid of dying fools. Now the fact is that there is no Extreme Unction to absolve us of foolishness. We endure it here on earth as subjective eternity.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)
“The truth is, the whole administration under Roosevelt was demoralized by the system of dealing directly with subordinates. It was obviated in the State Department and the War Department under [Secretary of State Elihu] Root and me [Taft was the Secretary of War], because we simply ignored the interference and went on as we chose.... The subordinates gained nothing by his assumption of authority, but it was not so in the other departments.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)