Renske Leijten


Renske Maria Leijten is a Dutch politician of the Socialist Party, who was a member of the House of Representatives between 2006 and 2023.
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Biography

Leijten studied Dutch language and literature at the University of Groningen. She was raised Roman Catholic but is now agnostic. Starting in 2005, she was a member of SP's party executive committee. From 2005 to 2007 she was also chairwoman of SP's youth organization ROOD.
She was first elected to the House of Representatives in the 2006 general election. She focused on matters of public health, quality of life and sports. From 6 February 2014 until 29 May 2014 she was temporarily absent due to maternity leave, she was first replaced by Tjitske Siderius, and starting on 14 May 2014 by Henri Swinkels. She rose to prominence through the uncovering by Pieter Omtzigt and her of the childcare benefits scandal, which led to the resignation of the third Rutte cabinet. Leijten announced she would leave politics on 1 July 2023, and she vacated her seat in the House of Representatives three days later. She told that she had made the decision in February and elaborated that one can no longer function when frustration dominates.