Neelie Kroes (born July 19, 1941) is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and since November 22, 2004 the European Commissioner for Competition.

Neelie Kroes was a Member of Parliament in the Netherlands for the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). Later she was the Dutch State Secretary and Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. Neelie Kroes was member of the board of commissioners of several multinationals. She currently is the European Commissioner for Competition.

Kroes went to a Protestant grammar school in Rotterdam. She continued on a Protestant high school. In 1958 she went to study economics at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. In 1961, Kroes was praeses of the R.V.S.V. (the largest Rotterdam sorority). She was also elected as a member of the University Council. After obtaining her Master of Science in economics in 1965, she became a research fellow at the economic faculty at that university. During this period Kroes was involved in the women's organisation within the VVD. In this period she also was member of the board of heavy transporting company "ZwaTra", the company of her father.