Diederik Samsom

Diederik Samsom studied physics at Delft University of Technology before working as a Greenpeace activist and campaigner in the fields of energy and climate. Samsom entered politics in 2003 and was a member of the House of Representatives until 2016. During his time in office, he focused on energy and environmental issues and advocated for renewable energy and tackling climate change. In 2012, Samsom became leader of the Dutch Labour Party, leading the party in the national elections and later that year in a coalition government.00Between 2017 and 2019, Samsom worked as an adviser in both the public and private sectors, where he helped to bring about the Dutch Climate Agreement and provided strategic advice to investors and energy companies. In 2019, he became Chief of Staff to Executive Vice President Timmermans at the European Commission. He played a key role in the design and implementation of the European Green Deal and other landmark European policy initiatives, such as the Recovery and Resilience Fund to help rebuild European economies following COVID and the RePowerEU plan to make Europe independent of Russian gas after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.00As the right-hand of Commissioner Frans Timmermans, he was the architect of the European Green Deal. Diederik Samsom has been Chair of the Built Environment Climate Summit since 2025.