GroenLinks-PvdA’s Mei Li Vos elected chair of Dutch Senate; Expected to lead until 2027

Mei Li Vos of GroenLinks-PvdA has defeated two other candidates to become the new chair of the Eerste Kamer, also known as the Dutch Senate. She replaces Jan Anthonie Bruijn. The VVD member stepped down earlier this month to serve as caretaker Minister of Health.

A total of 75 senators voted, with Vos receiving 39 votes and Tanja Klip-Martin of the VVD coming second with 33 votes. Three senators chose to submit blank ballots. Vos is expected to serve until the 2027 elections. Vos is currently already serving as interim chair, taking over from Bruijn, who had held the role since 2019.

BBB’s Ilona Lagas also ran in the first round but withdrew ahead of the second round after receiving just 14 votes. In that initial round, Vos earned 35 votes and Klip-Martin 26, with no blank ballots cast.

After the vote, the new chair said she was “a little surprised and very pleasantly surprised.” She thanked her competitors and everyone for their trust.

Vos, 55, entered the Eerste Kamer in 2019 as a member of the Dutch Labour party, PvdA, before it merged with GroenLinks, the Green party. She has chaired the Senate’s Social Affairs and Employment Committee for the last four years, and she is the vice-chair for the GroenLinks-PvdA faction in the Senate. She previously served for over seven years in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, for the PvdA.

In explaining why she wanted to become chair, Vos stated that she will not fail to “remind the government and the Tweede Kamer that we take as much time as we deem necessary.”

Born in Eindhoven, Vos lives in Amsterdam with her partner and child, according to the Eerste Kamer. She teaches primary school students in their last year before graduating as a part time job in Amsterdam, and sits on the Supervisory Boards of several cultural organizations.