Ank Bijleveld

Anna Theodora Bernardina "Ank" Bijleveld-Schouten (born March 17, 1962 in IJsselmuiden) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA).

She was Defense Minister in the Third Rutte cabinet.

Bijleveld was born in a family, of which the father was in the military. After studying public administration at the Technical College of Twente, she became a municipal councillor of Enschede in 1986. She was chosen into the Second Chamber in 1989. She was successively mayor of the municipality of Hof van Twente from 2001 to 2007, deputy government minister in the Fourth Balkenende cabinet from 2007 to 2010, and King's Commissioner of the Province of Overijssel from 2011 to 2017.

From October 26, 2017 to September 17, 2021, she was Minister of Defense in Rutte 3. She stepped down because the evacuation of Afghans who worked for the Netherlands and tried to flee from the Taliban after they conquered Afghanistan, did not quite go well.^[1] Foreign minister Sigrid Kaag resigned before her.^[2]

She has been acting mayor of Almere since January 17, 2022, as successor of Franc Weerwind.

Ank Bijleveld is married with two children, and is a member of the Catholic Church.