Leendert Adrie "Ad" Geelhoed (12 November 1942 – 20 April 2007) was a Dutch professor, civil service worker, and Advocate-General of the
European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...
.
Biography
Geelhoed was born in 1942 in
Vught
Vught () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands, and lies just south of the industrial and administrative centre of 's-Hertogenbosch. Many commuters live in the municipality, and the town of Vugh ...
, he finished his study of Dutch law at
Utrecht University
Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
in 1970. He stayed on at the university for one year to work as a scientific employee for the Europe Institute. Geelhoed then moved to Luxembourg to work as an assistant for the Dutch judge
André Donner
Andreas Matthias Donner (15 June 1918 in Rotterdam – 24 August 1992 in Amersfoort) was a Dutch judge and the second President of the European Court of Justice, a position which he served between 1958 and 1964.
Early life
Donner stems from ...
at the
European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...
. In 1974 he returned to the Netherlands and became an advisor to the
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry.
Lists of current ministries of justice
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia)
* Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Just ...
. In 1983 he took his role as advisor to a higher level when he became member of the
Scientific Council for Government Policy
The Scientific Council for Government Policy (Dutch: Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het Regeringsbeleid, WRR) is an independent think tank of the Government of the Netherlands based in The Hague, whose members include prominent social scientists, ec ...
. He worked for this institution until 1990. From 1985 to 1989 he also worked as a professor of European and economic law at the
Erasmus University Rotterdam
Erasmus University Rotterdam (abbreviated as ''EUR'', nl, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam ) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century humanist ...
. In 1990 he became the Secretary-General, the highest civil servant, of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, in 1997 he transferred to the
Ministry of General Affairs
, type = Department
, logo = Ministerie van Algemene Zaken Logo.png
, logo_width = 250x250px
, logo_caption = Logo of the Ministry of General Affairs
, image = Ministerie Algeme ...
. During his time as Secretary-General in the early 1990s he stated that the Netherlands could fire up to a quarter of its civil servants.
In October 2000 he gave this position up to become Advocate-General (AG) of the European Court of Justice. During his time as AG he produced an above average number of 240 opinions. Many of which were seen as remarkable or innovating by the press. In one opinion he proposed cutting the pension of a
European Commissioner
A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by the President of the European Commission. In simple terms they are the equivalent ...
in half for
nepotism
Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, an ...
. In another opinion he proposed scrapping a Directive a it was qualitatively bad. His term ended in October 2006. He then returned to his part-time professorship of European Integration at
Utrecht University
Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
, which he had since 1998. On 20 April 2007 he died. At the time of his death he was member of the board of the Independent Post and Telecommunications Authority.
On 29 April 1994 he was made Knight in the
Order of the Netherlands Lion
The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands ( nl, De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, french: L'Ordre du Lion Néerlandais) is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on ...
. He was a member of the Labour Party and a close aid to Prime Minister