# Frans Timmermans to chair animal protection society from 2027

> The former GroenLinks-PvdA leader takes over as chair of the supervisory board of the Dierenbescherming, the Dutch animal protection society, on 1 January 2027.

Society · published 2026-10-21 23:14 · https://nlnow.nl/a/frans-timmermans-to-chair-dutch-animal-welfare-group-s-board/

Former politician Frans Timmermans will become chair of the supervisory board (raad van toezicht) of the Dierenbescherming. The members' council (ledenraad) approved his appointment last weekend, the organisation said.

Timmermans starts on 1 January 2027. He succeeds Karin Broekhuizen, whose second term ends at the end of this year.

Timmermans said he was especially honoured. "It is an honour to contribute to the Dierenbescherming's important mission: looking after the interests of animals in the Netherlands, protecting them, and cherishing their intrinsic worth as sentient beings who have a right to humane treatment," he said.

Ellen Bien, the Dierenbescherming's managing director (director-bestuurder), said Timmermans has "a great track record that fits our ambitions seamlessly". She added: "He has always committed himself wholeheartedly to the vulnerable in our society."

Timmermans led GroenLinks-PvdA in the 2025 Tweede Kamer elections, where the party lost five seats compared with 2023. He stepped down as party leader after the result and left politics.

He was previously Dutch foreign minister at the time of the MH17 disaster. From 2014 to 2023 he held several posts at the European Commission.

## Background

- **Tweede Kamer**: The House of Representatives, the lower and more powerful house of the Dutch parliament. Its 150 members are elected directly; it can amend bills and holds the cabinet to account.
- **Dierenbescherming**: Dierenbescherming is the Dutch animal welfare organisation, a membership-based group that works to protect animals in the Netherlands. It campaigns for better treatment of animals, lobbies government and industry on animal welfare rules, and runs the Beter Leven label for higher welfare standards in farming. Its governance has a members' council (ledenraad), which approves appointments, and a supervisory board (raad van toezicht) that oversees the organisation.

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