H.H.F. "Herman" Wijffels (born 13 March 1942) is a retired

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

politician of 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-Revolutionary ...

(CDA) party and businessman. From 1981 to 1999 he worked for the

Rabobank Rabobank (; full name: ''Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A.'') is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands. The group comprises 89 local Dutch Rabobanks (2019), a central organisation (Raboban ...

ultimately as chairman of the board of directors and from 15 March 1999 until 1 April 2006 he was chairman of the

Social-Economic Council The Social and Economic Council (Dutch: ''Sociaal-Economische Raad'', SER) is a major economic advisory council to the cabinet of the Netherlands. Formally it heads a system of sector-based regulatory organisations. It represents the social part ...

(Sociaal-Economische Raad, SER). From 2006 to 2008 he was the Dutch representative at the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

, succeeding

Ad Melkert Adrianus Petrus Wilhelmus "Ad" Melkert (; born 12 February 1956) is a Dutch politician and diplomat of the Labour Party (PvdA) who has served as a Member of the Council of State since 20 January 2016. Melkert studied Political science at the U ...

. For the 2006-2007 Dutch cabinet formation, Wijffels was recommended by informateur

Rein Jan Hoekstra Rein Jan Hoekstra (born 1941) was born in Dokkum. He graduated from the University of Groningen in 1965, majoring in Law. He has since worked as an attorney (1965–1970), Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers in 1983, and Secretary General ...

to lead the negotiations between the CDA, PvdA and

ChristianUnion The Christian Union ( nl, ChristenUnie, CU) is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CU is a centrist party, maintaining more progressive stances on economic, immigration and environmental issues while holding more social ...

. On 22 December 2006 Queen Beatrix appointed him as Hoekstra's successor as

informateur A formateur (French for "someone who forms, who constitutes") is a politician who is appointed to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur i ...

. He has been referred to as "the best prime minister the Netherlands never had". He has been involved in supporting many causes since his retirement from the SER as his biography by Jan Smit illustrates. On leaving the SER, he demonstrated his bridging role by bringing together people from his traditional world and alternative world in a leaving event with Prof Ervin Laszlo, Dr Don Beck an
Peter Merry
He repeated this with a major event focused on societal transformation in the Netherlands called Klaar om te Wenden (which translates as the sailing term "Ready About!").

Decorations

Honorary degrees

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;Official *
Dr. H.H.F. (Herman) Wijffels
Parlement & Politiek 1942 births Living people Catholic People's Party politicians Chairmen of the Social and Economic Council Christian Democratic Appeal politicians Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Dutch academic administrators Dutch bankers Dutch business writers Dutch chief executives in the finance industry Dutch corporate directors Dutch expatriates in the United States Dutch financial advisors Dutch financial analysts Dutch financial writers Dutch lobbyists Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Dutch Roman Catholics Dutch trade association executives International economists International Monetary Fund people Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Monetarists Monetary economists People from Maarn People from Sluis Tilburg University alumni Tilburg University faculty Utrecht University faculty World Bank people 20th-century Dutch businesspeople 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch economists 20th-century Dutch educators 20th-century Dutch male writers 20th-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch businesspeople 21st-century Dutch civil servants 21st-century Dutch economists 21st-century Dutch educators 21st-century Dutch male writers 21st-century Dutch politicians {{Netherlands-CDA-politician-stub