Ireland-born airforce general Elanor Boekholt-O’Sullivan is set to become housing minister in the new Dutch cabinet, where she will be tasked with tackling the housing shortage and encouraging international investors to return to the residential sector.

Elanor Boekholt-O’Sullivan will spearhead the new housing programme

Boekholt-O’Sullivan, 49, succeeds Mona Keijzer and was nominated by D66, the liberal democratic party and the largest grouping within the new coalition. The new administration will take office on February 23. 

She joined the airforce at 18 and served on several overseas missions, including in Afghanistan, where she oversaw the rebuilding of the country’s civil aviation sector. She became the first woman to reach the rank of lieutenant-general in the Dutch armed forces, as well as the first female commander of Eindhoven airbase and the first leader there without a pilot’s background.

As housing minister, she will oversee one of the coalition’s main priorities: addressing the chronic housing shortage.

Defence expansion

Boekholt-O’Sullivan has no direct experience in housing policy and only joined D66 after being appointed to the post. However, she previously led a defence ministry operation to secure more space in the Netherlands for the armed forces, a programme that involved disputes with local residents over expansion plans.

The NRC reported that defence ministry officials praised her calm approach and clear communication. Former general Martin Wijnen, now the top civil servant at the infrastructure ministry’s roads department, said she does not have “a big ego that needs feeding”.

“If necessary, she will do the sums to reach her goal,” he said, adding that this would be “an extremely important characteristic” in a minority cabinet.

Minority cabinet

The new government will rely on opposition parties to secure parliamentary backing for its policies. Housing is a top priority and the coalition has pledged to introduce legislation to improve the investment climate for residential property.

The coalition agreement says the housing crisis “demands an honest response to its size and causes” and sets out a three-pronged approach: more construction, affordable homes and less interference.

Plans include the development of “at least” 30 new large residential areas. Red tape, complex planning procedures and the right to object to developments will be scaled back and accelerated.