Cornelis (Cees) van der Knaap (born 27 January 1951, in
Bennekom) is a
Dutch politician. He was
State Secretary for
Defence
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare
* Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks
* Defense indus ...
for the
Christian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal ( nl, Christen-Democratisch Appèl, ; CDA) is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. It was originally formed in 1977 from a confederation of the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolution ...
(CDA).
Biography
After attending a
MULO school, Van der Knaap worked for
Vroom & Dreesmann. Between 1970 and 1975 he served as an
enlisted soldier in the
Royal Netherlands Army. After that he worked for the
customs service. Since 1978 he has worked for the
National Federation of Christian Trade Unions in the Netherlands, first as district board member, later as a member of the national board of the transport union. In 1992 he became a member of the national board of the federal trade union, first as coordinator working conditions, later as general secretary.
In
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
Van der Knaap became a member of the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
for the
Christian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal ( nl, Christen-Democratisch Appèl, ; CDA) is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. It was originally formed in 1977 from a confederation of the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolution ...
. In 2002 he became
State Secretary for
Defence
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare
* Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks
* Defense indus ...
in the
First Balkenende cabinet
The first Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Netherlands government from 22 July 2002 until 27 May 2003. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the nationalistic Pim Fortuyn List (L ...
, a post he has held until 2008, even though there were considerable mutations between the
second Balkenende cabinet
The second Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 27 May 2003 until 7 July 2006. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the conservative-liberal Peo ...
, the
third cabinet Balkenende and the
Fourth Balkenende cabinet
The fourth Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 22 February 2007 until 14 October 2010. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and Christian Unio ...
. Van der Knaap is a trustee of
Jan Peter Balkenende
Jan Pieter "Jan Peter" Balkenende Jr. (; born 7 May 1956) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 to 14 October 2010.
Balkenende studied H ...
, and has been an important contact between the cabinet and the trade unions in times of crisis.
Van der Knaap has become
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
of
Ede in 2008,
his successor as State Secretary was
Jack de Vries.
References
*
Parlement.com biography
1951 births
Living people
Christian Democratic Appeal politicians
Dutch trade union leaders
Dutch trade unionists
Mayors in Gelderland
Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands)
People from Ede, Netherlands
State Secretaries for Defence of the Netherlands
21st-century Dutch politicians
{{Netherlands-mayor-stub