Martin van Rijn to step down as Medical Care Minister in July

Martin van Rijn will leave the position of Minister for Medical Care on July 9. Van Rijn, member of opposition party PvdA, was appointed in March to temporarily succeed VVD member Bruno Bruins, who stepped down due to exhaustion.

Van Rijn was appointed on a temporary basis, for three months with the option to extend, NOS reports. He joined the cabinet in a personal capacity, therefore ot as a member of the PvdA.

On Thursday morning, PvdA leader Lodewijk Asscher said that Van Rijn's temporary term as Minister would soon come to an end, now that the "alarm phase" of the coronavirus crisis seems to be over. Later on Thursday, government information service RVD confirmed that he would step down on July 9.

According to the RVD, the VVD found a good candidate to take over from Van Rijn and their name will be announced soon.

Van Rijn's name was also mentioned as the possible new mayor of The Hague, according to NOS. The city council of The Hague will nominate a candidate to succeed Johan Remkes, who stepped in as interim mayor when Pauline Krikke resigned. Sources from the city told NOS that Van Rijn did not apply for the position.

Before being appointed as Minister, Van Rijn was chairman of the board of the Hagagroep, which covers hospitals in The Hague, Delft, and Zoetermeer. It is not yet known whether he will return to this position.