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Richard van Zwol (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈriɕɑrt fɑn ˈzʋɔl]; born 8 February 1965) is a Dutch civil servant who has been a member of the Council of State since 2017. He led three government ministries as secretary general: General Affairs (2007–2011), Finance (2011–2013) and Interior and Kingdom Relations (2013–2017). A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), Van Zwol has been involved in several cabinet formations, including as formateur and informateur in 2023–2024.

Career

Van Zwol studied legal public administration and public finance at Tilburg University. He was a close advisor to prime ministers Wim Kok, Jan Peter Balkenende, and Mark Rutte, leading newspaper NRC to call him a "hidden force of the Dutch government". He helped write the coalition agreement of the first Kok cabinet in 1994, reportedly due to him being the only civil servant with proficiency in the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet editor. Starting in 2007, Van Zwol consecutively served as secretary general of the Ministries of General Affairs, of Finance, and of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), and he was involved in the formation of the second, third, and fourth Balkenende cabinets as secretary.

He became a state councilor at the advisory division of the Council of State in October 2017. Concurrently, he served as chair of the CDA's think tank between 2018 and 2022, and he investigated the CDA's loss of seats in the 2021 general election. Van Zwol has argued that the rule of law and local governments would have to be strengthened to heal the relationship between the government and citizens. He has also stressed the importance of a service-oriented government. Van Zwol chairs the supervisory board of the Dutch branch of accounting firm EY, and he led the State Commission on Demographic Developments 2050, which published its conclusions in January 2024. It advised the Dutch government to reduce migration while still preventing a population decline.

On 20 March 2024 – as part of the 2023–2024 Dutch cabinet formation – PVV leader Geert Wilders selected Van Zwol to serve as informateur alongside Elbert Dijkgraaf. They were tasked with investigating a governing coalition with a concise agreement between the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB as recommended by their predecessor Kim Putters within eight weeks. Van Zwol and Dijkgraaf managed to successfully facilitate the formation of a coalition, and they handed the agreement titled "Hope, Courage, and Pride" to the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the night of 16 May 2024 – two hours after the expiration of their deadline. Van Zwol was chosen to lead the next phase as formateur. He was charged with forming a cabinet, of which half its members are from outside the political sphere – as had been agreed upon by the four parties under informateur Putters. The cabinet, consisting of 29 members and headed by Dick Schoof, was sworn in on 2 July 2024. Van Zwol had declined to become prime minister himself.

References

1. ^ "Drs. R. (Richard) van Zwol". Council of State (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 March 2024.
2. ^ Derix, Steven; König, Eppo (20 March 2024). "Nieuwe informateurs: SGP'er die alles weet van financiën en CDA'er met lange staat van dienst in ambtelijk Den Haag" [New informateurs: SGP member who knows everything about finances and CDA member with an extensive civil career in The Hague]. NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 March 2024.
3. ^ Van den Bovenkamp, Niels (20 March 2024). "Topadviseur van drie premiers moet de formatie tot een goed einde brengen: wie is Richard van Zwol?" [High-level advisor of three prime ministers tasked with bringing the formation to a successful conclusion: Who is Richard van Zwol?]. Nederlands Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 March 2024.
4. Von Piekartz, Hessel (20 March 2024). "Richard van Zwol mag zich weer over een moeilijke puzzel buigen: de formatie" [Richard van Zwol can deal with another complicated problem: The formation]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 March 2024.
5. De Horde, Cor; Wolzak, Marine (20 March 2024). "Eindelijk gaan PVV, VVD, NSC en BBB 'hard onderhandelen'" [PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB will finally start 'tough negotiations']. Het Financieele Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 March 2024.
6. Stolwijk, Daphne (20 March 2024). "De nieuwe informateurs lijken geknipt voor de taak" [The new informateurs are seemingly created for their new task]. BNR Nieuwsradio (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 March 2024.
7. "Wilders draagt Dijkgraaf en Van Zwol voor als nieuwe informateurs" [Wilders proposes Dijkgraaf en Van Zwol as new informateurs]. RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 20 March 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
8. Brandeman, Ilse (21 March 2024). "Hoe willen de nieuwe informateurs het aanpakken? Volgende week begint 'het oefenen'" [How will the new informateurs act? 'Practice' will start next week]. Nederlands Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 March 2024.
9. "Partijleiders nu definitief akkoord • Presentatie verschoven naar vanochtend" [Party leaders definitively in agreement • Presentation postponed to this morning]. NOS (in Dutch). 16 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
10. "Hoe nu verder? Nog 'weken' werk te doen voor nieuw kabinet op bordes staat" [How to continue? Still 'weeks' of work left before a new cabinet will be presented]. NOS (in Dutch). 16 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
11. "Beoogd-ministers hebben er zin in" [Ministers-designate are eager]. NOS (in Dutch). 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
12. Hoedeman, Jan (25 November 2024). "Zo belandde Schoof in het torentje" [This is how Schoof ended up in the Torentje]. Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 November 2024.

• Living people
• 1965 births
• Tilburg University alumni
• 21st-century Dutch civil servants