Defence minister Jeanine Hennis has been named ‘most influential woman’ in the Netherlands by feminist magazine Opzij.

Hennis has authority across the entire armed forces, from senior officers to ordinary soldiers, the magazine says.

‘At a time in which we are made aware on a daily basis how fragile peace, freedom and security in the Netherlands and Europe actually is, she leads an army and is fully devoted to it,’ the magazine says.

Hennis was elected to the European parliament on behalf of the right-wing Liberal VVD in 2004. In 2010 she became an MP in The Hague and in 2012 was appointed defence minister.

The Opzij ranking is based on a four-woman jury rather than public vote. Last year, the award went to Herna Verhagen, chief executive of postal company PostNL.