Joan Marika Leemhuis-Stout (born June 29, 1946 in Hoogezand

Hoogezand

Hoogezand is a village in the municipality Hoogezand-Sappemeer, located in the principality Groningen in northeast Netherlands. The name refers to a higher sanded place in the peatlands cut through when the Winschoterdiep channel was dug. Near this channel in 1618 the village was founded.In the...

) is a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 and former civil servant. She is a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy

The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party located in the Netherlands. The VVD supports private enterprise in the Netherlands and is often perceived as an economic liberal party in contrast to the social-liberal Democrats 66 alongside which it sits in...

 (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie).

Leemhuis-Stout worked among others at the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture and Fishery

Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (Netherlands)

The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality was formerly the ministry of agriculture of the Netherlands...

 and for the Dutch Union of Water Boards.

From 1984 to 1994 she was dike-reeve of the water board of Schieland and from 1994 to 1999 Queen's Commissioner

Queen's Commissioner

The Queen's Commissioner is the head of a province in the Netherlands, who is chairman of both the Provinciale Staten and the Gedeputeerde Staten , but only has a right to vote in the latter...

 of the province of South Holland

South Holland

South Holland is a province situated on the North Sea in the western part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague and its largest city is Rotterdam.South Holland is one of the most densely populated and industrialised areas in the world...

. Since July 1, 2011 she has been interim mayor of Schiedam

Schiedam

Schiedam is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. It is part of the Rotterdam metropolitan area. The city is located west of Rotterdam, east of Vlaardingen and south of Delft...

.

Leemhuis-Stout studied agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 of the Netherlands at Wageningen University

Wageningen University

Wageningen University and Research Centre is a Dutch public university in Wageningen, The Netherlands. It consists of Wageningen University, the Van Hall-Larenstein School of Higher Professional Education, and the former agricultural research institutes of the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture...

.