Carola Schouten

 
Cornelia Johanna "Carola" Schouten (born 6 October 1977) is a Dutch politician serving as third Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality in the Third Rutte cabinet since 2017. She is a member of the Christian Union (CU).
Biography.
A native of 's-Hertogenbosch, Schouten grew up in Waardhuizen, managing her deceased father's dairy farm with her mother and her two sisters for four years, after which time the family ended the farming activities and moved to neighbouring village of Giessen (Waardhuizen and Giessen are nowadays located in the new municipality of Altena).
She attended Altena College in Sleeuwijk and studied business administration at Erasmus University Rotterdam with a year abroad at Tel Aviv University. Schouten worked at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment from 2000 to 2006. Subsequently, she was an assistant to the Christian Union parliamentary group before entering into politics by becoming a member of the House of Representatives in 2011 upon the resignation of former Deputy Prime Minister André Rouvoet. Schouten and party leader Gert-Jan Segers participated in the negotiations of forming the third Rutte coalition. Since autumn 2019 she has been facing farmers protests because of government's measures involving decreasing the number of livestock.
Carola Schouten is single with a child and is a member of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated). She lives in Rotterdam. Her younger sister Marjan van der Meij-Schouten is a member of the municipal council of Altena, like her older sister on behalf of the Christian Union.