Four UU alumni in the new cabinet

The new State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Willemijn Aerdts (42, D66), is probably one of the least known newcomers in the Jetten cabinet, which will take office at the end of this month. She was a senator and worked as a lecturer and researcher at Leiden University.

According to her LinkedIn profile, she obtained a bachelor's degree in International & European Law, a master's degree in International Public Law, and a master's degree in International Relations, all at UU, between 2002 and 2008. Sounds impressive.

But what does the digital UBlad archive say about her? UBlad is DUB's predecessor in print. The archive, developed a few years ago by the UU Library and the Centre for Digital Humanities, contains all of UBlad's weekly issues until 2010, when it became a website.

Willemijn Aerdts. Photo: D66

When we type in her name, we quickly find confirmation that Willemijn was not an average UU student. In 2006, she was a member of the student team representing UU during the VPRO University Quiz.

Ublad reported on the event, writing that the team members had been thoroughly drilled beforehand. She took on the rhetoric round in the quiz. “I chose to do that myself. I really wanted to,” said Willemijn, then 22. The article does not say how they did in the end, as the quiz would be broadcast on television later, but UU did not make it to the final.

Perhaps Willemijn's knowledge, gained over two years earlier, was useful in the run-up to the quiz. In 2003, she appeared in another Ublad article as a participant in the Train Your Brain course, which gave students study tips. "I've always been a speed reader, and I mind map when it suits me," she told the reporter.

Veritas President
Judith Tielen (53, VVD) can also be found in the UBlad archives. This is not surprising, as the new State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science, a UU Medicine graduate, gained considerable administrative experience during her studies. She presided over Veritas, the student association, for a year, among other things.

The summer of 1995 was particularly challenging for her. She had to deal with Veritas members who were concerned about people who had behaved inappropriately during the association's initiation ceremony. Two prospective members were allegedly forced to drink so much that they ended up in the hospital, according to a Ublad article.

In addition, another prospective member, whose surname was Titulaer, allegedly had his face altered with glue and rolling tobacco to make him look more like the astronomer and television personality Chriet Titulaer. Removing the rolling tobacco allegedly resulted in cuts and scrapes to his face.

"We suspect that people wanted to cause us trouble by telling nonsense stories to the media," Tielen told UBlad. She knew nothing about hospital admissions and said that, at most, something had happened with a Pritt stick, but it did not cause any physical harm. The Veritas board promised to investigate matters further. Not into the circumstances of the incidents — because, according to them, they did not occur — but into the identity of the concerned member.

Judith Tielen. Photo: Arenda Oomen

But that's not the only article in which she appears. In another article, about Woolloomooloo's 25th anniversary, Tielen is asked whether Veritas considers the discotheque on Janskerkhof to be a competitor. She didn't think so. “We only go to Woo when we're tipsy after an evening at our own club, but don't feel like going home yet,” she said.

Finally, in an article about the appointment of a new pop music professor, UBlad asked several people at UU, including the Veritas president, about their musical preferences. The current state secretary said she loved Billy Joel.

"I listened to his music for the first time when I was working as an au pair on Long Island, just before going to university. That's where Billy Joel comes from, by the way. I was completely enthralled and listened to nothing but Billy Joel for six months. I still play his music every now and then, as I still think it's very beautiful. I think it's more than just a teenage fad."

Pastoral Psychology
Unfortunately, the two UU alumni who will become ministers in the new cabinet are less prominent in the UBlad archives. Pastor's daughter Mirjam Sterk (52, CDA) studied Theology from 1991 to 2000. She will become the Minister of Long-Term Care, Youth and Sport. Previously, she served as a Member of Parliament for CDA and as a member of the Provincial Executive of Utrecht. Her name appears only once in the archives. In June 1995, Sterk was a student assistant and posted an ad for an information meeting for students enrolled in the Pastoral Psychology course. 

Mirjam Sterk. Photo: Provincial Executive

UCU alumnus
Sjoerd Sjoerdsma (44) has been appointed Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation. He graduated cum laude from UCU in 2002 and later earned a master's degree from the London School of Economics. He was a prominent Member of Parliament for D66 for several years.

Sjoerdsma is not mentioned in the UBlad archive, but he was interviewed for DUB. About three years ago, we asked him about his time at UCU for an article about the university college's 25th anniversary.

Asked whether he could already see himself becoming a politician back when he was a student, he said: "Not at all! But I guess I could say that my political awakening started there. Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn got shot when I was a student, 9/11 happened when I was a student…"

Sjoerd Sjoerdsma. Photo: courtesy of Sjoerdsma

DUB does not have a complete overview of UU alumni who have served as ministers or state secretaries. However, in 2022, five members of Rutte IV's team had gone to UU. In the previous cabinet, led by Dick Schoof, only the Minister of Education, Eppo Bruins, had gone to UU.