State Secretary (staatssecretaris in Dutch, plural: staatssecretarissen) is the title of a junior member of the Dutch or Belgian cabinet. Other terms for the title are deputy minister, junior minister or vice-minister. A state secretary is a member of the cabinet (and not of a house), who works under a minister and falls under the responsibility of the minister, but is separately responsible to parliament. State secretaries take over part of the minister's portfolio. Some state secretaries have clearly defined portfolios like culture, science or the environment, while others' portfolios overlap with their minister's. State secretaries almost always have a different political affiliation than their minister. State secretaries do not attend the weekly ministerraad unless asked to do so.
Some have had impressive political careers after their secretaryship (staatssecretariaat in Dutch). For example, Neelie Kroes was State Secretary of Transport, Public Works and Water Management between 1977 and 1981, Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management between 1982 and 1989 and served as the Dutch European Commissioner of Competition[1] between 2004 and 2009. She is currently serving as European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, as well as one of the seven vice presidents of the European Commission.
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