{"id":196261,"date":"2026-02-19T13:44:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T12:44:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=196261"},"modified":"2026-02-19T13:44:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T12:44:21","slug":"rianne-letschert-slim-aardig-en-attent-met-respect-voor-persvrijheid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2026\/02\/19\/rianne-letschert-slim-aardig-en-attent-met-respect-voor-persvrijheid\/","title":{"rendered":"Rianne Letschert: smart, kind and attentive, with respect for press freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Rianne Letschert, the incoming minister of education, culture and science, made a meteoric career in academia and became a university administrator. She receives much praise for her style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rianne Letschert will be the new minister of education, culture and science.

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In December 2025 Rianne Letschert suddenly found herself in the spotlight of national politics. She was asked as informateur, leading the coalition talks between D66, CDA and VVD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She received the request while she was in the car, she said<\/a> during the press conference in which she introduced herself to journalists. “I almost drove into the crash barrier.” She found the assignment an honour, but also exciting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the The Hague journalists asked about her style: how would she describe her way of working herself? Letschert replied: “Sharp on the content, not on the person. And warm in the relationship.” It may sound clich\u00e9d, but others say it rings true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Victimolog<\/strong>y<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rianne Letschert (1976) grew up in Stiphout in North Brabant. She studied international law and then went into academia. In 2005 she completed her PhD in Tilburg on the position of minorities in international law. There she was appointed professor of victimology in 2012. She conducted research<\/a> into victims of wartime violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2013 she became a member of De Jonge Akademie, a society of relatively young leading scientists who want to improve academia. Two years later she became its chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She had actually been due to become dean of Tilburg’s law faculty in 2016, as the next step in her career, but then she was offered the position of rector magnificus at Maastricht University. She did not turn down this opportunity. At 39 she became the youngest female rector magnificus ever. In 2021 she shifted seats and became chair of the Executive Board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t

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\n\t\t'She has charm, but she is also simply very clever'\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Free press<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Letschert is friendly and attentive, says editor-in-chief Wendy Degens of the Maastricht university paper Observant<\/em>. “A university employee had lost her mother. Letschert knew that and on the next Mother’s Day she sent a message to offer her condolences.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, Letschert holds the free press in high regard. “We occasionally write critical stories that she doesn’t like”, says Degens. “She sometimes reacts to that, but it has never had any consequences. We can be the ‘watchdog’ and she is always willing to talk to us.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Observant<\/em> wanted to send a weekly newsletter to all students and staff, but previous administrators were not willing to arrange that. Letschert approved straight away, Degens says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As rector, she did not shy away from lobbying. Degens: “She travelled to The Hague a lot to talk about internationalisation. For that she received support from across the region: mayors, the province and other educational institutions. She has charm, but she is also simply very clever. She sees things she wants to tackle and heads straight for them.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t

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Een lijst met artikelen<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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