Jozias Johannes van Aartsen (. born 25 December 1947) is a retired Dutch politician who served as
Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy from 2004 to 2006.
A native of
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
, he attended the
Christelijk Gymnasium Sorghvliet from April 1960 until May 1968 and applied at the
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in June 1968
majoring in
Law and obtaining an
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...
degree in July 1970. Van Aartsen served as
Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Fisheries (1994–1998) and
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...
(1998–2002) under Prime Minister
Wim Kok, as well as
Mayor of The Hague from 2008 until 2017.
Early life
Jozias Johannes van Aartsen was born on 25 December 1947 in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
, son of
Jan van Aartsen
Johannes "Jan" van Aartsen (15 September 1909 – 3 February 1992) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist.
Van Aartsen applied at the Free Uni ...
, a politician of the
Anti Revolutionary Party (ARP). He served as
Minister of Transport and Water Management,
Minister of Housing and Construction and
Queen's Commissioner of
Zeeland. After completing the
Gymnasium-a he studied
law at the
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. At the age of 22 van Aartsen moved to
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
to work in politics.
Politics
When
Hans Wiegel
Hans Wiegel (; born 16 July 1941) is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businessperson.
Wiegel studied Law at the University of Amsterdam before switching to Political science obtaining a Bachelo ...
became
party leader, in 1971, Van Aartsen was asked to work for Wiegel as employee of the party in the
House of Representatives. In 1974 he became director-general of the Telders Foundation, the scientific institute of the
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party i ...
. Van Aartsen worked as a political consultant for the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy from July 1970 until August 1974 and as the director of the Telders Foundation think tank from August 1974 until February 1979. Van Aartsen worked as a civil servant for the
Ministry of the Interior
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministr ...
from February 1979 until August 1994 as Deputy Director-General of the department for Administrative Affairs from February 1979 until April 1981 and as Director-General of the department for Administrative Affairs from April 1981 until July 1983 and as Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of the Interior from July 1983 until January 1985 and as Secretary-General of the Ministry of the Interior from January 1985 until August 1994.
In 1978 Van Aartsen became Chef de Bureau of the Secretary General of Interior. He did this under Ministers Rietkerk, Van Dijk, De Korte, De Koning, Dales and De Graaf. In 1985 he became Secretary General of Interior himself. After the
election of 1994 he was made the Minister of Agriculture from 1994 to 1998 in the
First Kok cabinet
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
. After the
election of 1998 in the
Second Kok cabinet
The second Kok cabinet, also called the second Purple cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch government from 3 August 1998 until 22 July 2002. The cabinet was a continuation of the previous first Kok cabinet and was formed by the social ...
he was made the Minister of Foreign Affairs. When the cabinet fell as a direct result of the
NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies report about the fall of
Srebrenica during the
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
, he became parliamentary leader in the lower house of the States General.
On 1 April 2004 an attempt was made to run over Van Aartsen by a car when he and a co-worker were doing a photoshoot in front of Hotel Des Indes in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
. Van Aartsen was not hurt but the co-worker did sustain a shoulder injury. The assailant, a 41-year-old lawyer by the name of Frederiek de Jongh and an employee of ''Bureau Rechtshulp'' in
Utrecht confessed her action was politically motivated.
Van Aartsen stepped down as VVD Leader in 2006; in a letter to the newly-elected party leader
Mark Rutte, he however expressed his disappointment with the demise of the
Second Balkenende cabinet which in his view was uncalled for. He also warned for VVD interparty warring between a populist fraction with a no-nonsense attitude and focus on tax cuts and law and order and a liberal fraction focused on personal freedoms, rule of law, international orientation and education. Jozias van Aartsen is a member of the
Bilderberg Group.
He served as Mayor of The Hague from 2008 to 2017. He then took two acting positions: as King's Commissioner of the province of
Drenthe and as Mayor of the capital
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
.
Van Aartsen waarnemend burgemeester in Amsterdam
nos.nl, 2 November 2017.
Personal life
Van Aartsen retired from national politics but has remained active in the public sector and continues to occupy numerous seats as a nonprofit director on several boards of directors and supervisory boards and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government.
Van Aartsen is known for his abilities as a manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activitie ...
and debater
Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...
. Van Aartsen continues to comment on political affairs as of and holds the distinction as the only person who served as both Mayor of The Hague and Mayor of Amsterdam. His father Jan was also a politician who served as Minister of Transport and Water Management and Minister of Housing and Construction.
Decorations
References
External links
*
J.J. (Jozias) van Aartsen
Parlement & Politiek
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aartsen, Jozias van
1947 births
Living people
Dutch campaign managers
Dutch expatriates in Belgium
Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church
Dutch nonprofit directors
Dutch nonprofit executives
Dutch officials of the European Union
Dutch political consultants
Dutch speechwriters
Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau
Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
King's and Queen's Commissioners of Drenthe
Mayors of Amsterdam
Mayors of The Hague
Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands)
Ministers of Agriculture of the Netherlands
Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
Leaders of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
Politicians from The Hague
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians
Protestant Church Christians from the Netherlands
Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni
20th-century Dutch civil servants
20th-century Dutch jurists
20th-century Dutch male writers
20th-century Dutch politicians
21st-century Dutch civil servants
21st-century Dutch jurists
21st-century Dutch politicians