Queen Maxima only Dutch person on Time’s 100 most influential

Queen Máxima was named to Time Magazine’s Most Influential People list for 2016. The Argentine-born 44-year-old is the only Dutch citizen on this year’s ranking. Writing for the magazine, socially progressive finance leader Tilman Ehrbeck praised the Dutch queen’s work in bringing access to traditional banking services to people living in developing countries. “They need access to financial services to lower their vulnerability and increase their opportunities. Yet when Queen Máxima started working on financial inclusion, more than half of working-age adults globally were excluded from the formal financial system,” Ehrbeck wrote. Her intellect, charm and humor has allowed her to affect change in support of the poorest people, particularly in her role as UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate, he said. Máxima became the Netherlands’ queen when her husband, Willem-Alexander ascended to the throne on April 30, 2013. The two were married in 2002 at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam. They have three children.