Tineke Huizinga

Who is Tineke Huizinga?

Johanna Catharina Huizinga-Heringa is a former Dutch politician. She was a Member of Parliament for the ChristianUnion from 2002 to 2007. From 2007 till 2010 she was a Secretary of State and in 2010 Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning.

Huizinga grew up in Amersfoort; both of her parents were teachers. After attending gymnasium, she began to study law at the University of Utrecht. She became involved in the Christian student's association Ichtus, where she met her future husband. They married in 1982. After passing her candidate exams, she stopped her studies and moved to Heerenveen. She became a housewife and mother of three children.

She volunteered as translator at a Christian foundation, Open Doors, which advocates the interest of persecuted Christians worldwide. She became involved in the cases of asylum seekers and refugees and worked as a volunteer for VluchtenlingenWerk Nederland. Because of her involvement with social and religious issues, the Reformatory Political Federation asked her to become their top candidate in Heerenveen for the 1998 municipal elections. She was elected into the Heerenveen municipal council.