Pieter van Vollenhoven Jr. (born April 30, 1939) is the husband of

Princess Margriet of the Netherlands Princess Margriet Francisca of the Netherlands (born 19 January 1943) is the third daughter of Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard. As an aunt of the reigning monarch, King Willem-Alexander, she is a member of the Dutch Royal House and currently ...

and a member, by marriage, of the

Dutch Royal House In the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the monarchy is a constitutional office and is controlled by the Constitution of the Netherlands. A distinction is made between members of the royal family and members of the royal house. Membership According t ...

Early life and career

Van Vollenhoven was born in

Schiedam Schiedam () is a city and municipality in the west of the Netherlands. It is located in the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, west of Rotterdam, east of Vlaardingen, and south of Delft. In the south the city is connected with the village ...

, he is the second son of Pieter van Vollenhoven Sr. (1897–1977) and his wife Jacoba Gijsbertha Stuylingh de Lange (1906–1983). The van Vollenhoven family and the Stuylingh de Lange family belong to the Dutch patriciate. Van Vollenhoven attended secondary school in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, and he subsequently studied law at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

. He graduated in 1965, after which he worked as a legal officer for the Netherlands Council of State. In 1966, he performed his military service with the

Royal Netherlands Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

, and attained a military pilot license the following year.

Current positions

Van Vollenhoven is currently most well known in The Netherlands for having been the chairman of the

Dutch Safety Board The Dutch Safety Board (DSB; nl, Onderzoeksraad voor Veiligheid, OVV, literally "Investigation Council for Safety") is an organisation based in The Hague, Netherlands.minister

Tjerk Westerterp Theodorus Engelbertus "Tjerk" Westerterp (born 2 December 1930) is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and businessman. Westerterp atten ...

. Following the Bijlmer and Hercules disasters, a need was felt in The Netherlands for a single body to investigate all transportation-related incidents; the Transportation Safety Council (Dutch: ''Raad voor de Transportveiligheid'') was created, which incorporated the earlier Road Transportation Safety and Rail Incident Boards and also had Van Vollenhoven as chairman. Van Vollenhoven felt, however, that the country should have a single board to investigate ''all'' safety-related issues; lobbying on his part finally convinced the government to transform the Transportation Safety Council into a general Safety Board, of which Van Vollenhoven was made the first chairman. Due to his expertise in the area, the

University of Twente The University of Twente (Dutch: ''Universiteit Twente''; , abbr. ) is a public technical university located in Enschede, Netherlands. The university has been placed in the top 170 universities in the world by multiple central ranking tables. I ...

made Van Vollenhoven a professor on October 1, 2005. He holds the policy research chair, which is a subspecialty of the risk management group. He held his

oration Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

on April 28, 2006 and called for the creation of a Minister of Safety at that time. In 1989, Van Vollenhoven took the initiative in setting up the Dutch Victim Support Fund, of which he is also the chairman. He is also chairman of the Nationaal Groenfonds, the National Restorationfund and the Society, Safety and Police Association and the International Transport Safety Board. He is a member of the

European Transport Safety Council Automotive safety is the study and practice of design, construction, equipment and regulation to minimize the occurrence and consequences of traffic collisions involving motor vehicles. Road traffic safety more broadly includes roadway design. ...

Notable acts

As Chairman of the Safety Board, Van Vollenhoven oversaw the investigation of the Schipholbrand, a fire in a holding facility for illegal immigrants in The Netherlands. He presented a final report on September 21, 2006 with such devastating findings that ministers

Piet Hein Donner Jan Pieter Hendrik "Piet Hein" Donner (born 20 October 1948) is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist. He was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 21 December 2018. Early life and care ...

and

Sybilla Dekker Sybilla Maria Dekker (born 23 March 1942) is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businesswoman. She was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 22 June 2018. A member of the People's Pa ...

resigned over it. A third responsible minister,

Rita Verdonk Maria Cornelia Frederika "Rita" Verdonk (born 18 October 1955) is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and later founder of the Proud of the Netherlands (Trots) party and businesswoman. Verdonk atten ...

refused to resign despite her responsibility in the matter. Following the

Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 (also known as the Poldercrash or the Schiphol Polderbaan incident) was a passenger flight that crashed during landing at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, the Netherlands, on 25 February 2009, resulting in the deaths of ...

crash, Van Vollenhoven led the investigation by the Safety Board. This investigation brought him into conflict with the Office of the Attorney General, which requested access to the

black box In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...

data. Citing that there was no reason at that time to suspect foul play and that the Board investigation would be hampered by the threat of legal action against persons, Van Vollenhoven absolutely refused this access. When he turned 70, Barry Sweedler (of the US National Transportation Safety Board) said to him: "The world is a safer place because of your work and leadership".

Hobbies

Van Vollenhoven is an avid pianist. In 1986 he formed a trio – ''De Gevleugelde Vrienden'' – with two of the country's leading pianists (

Pim Jacobs Willem Bernard "Pim" Jacobs (29 October 1934 – 3 July 1996) was a Dutch jazz pianist, composer and television presenter. Early life Jacobs was born on 29 October 1934 in Hilversum, the Netherlands. His parents were artistic. He started playin ...

and

Louis van Dijk Louis van Dijk, also spelled Louis van Dyke (27 November 1941 – 12 April 2020), was a beloved Dutch pianist. Born as Arnold Ludwig van Dijk in Amsterdam, he studied solo piano at the Amsterdam Conservatorium. Louis van Dijk became well-known fo ...

) and gave some twenty concerts a year both at home and abroad in aid of the Victim Support Fund. De Gevleugelde Vrienden were awarded four gold discs. Since the death of one of the members of the trio, Pim Jacobs, Van Vollenhoven has continued to give concerts with pianists

and Koos Mark. Van Vollenhoven is still an active pilot and he also dives. He almost lost the tip of his right

index finger The index finger (also referred to as forefinger, first finger, second finger, pointer finger, trigger finger, digitus secundus, digitus II, and many other terms) is the second digit of a human hand. It is located between the thumb and the mid ...

during a dive in 2005, when he got caught between the boat and the dock steps. Doctors were able to reattach the tip. He is also a photographer. The Victim Support Fund raised money in 2008 and 2009 by selling

calendars A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physi ...

with his photographs.

Health

Van Vollenhoven was diagnosed with a

Melanoma Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...

, a common type of skin cancer, in May 2017. He had it removed at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam. In November that same year, he was diagnosed with another Melanoma and had it removed.

Marriage and family

Van Vollenhoven married

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 of ...

on January 10, 1967, in the St. James Church. This made him the first member of the

being a

commoner A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither ...

and not of

royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...

origin. He was not given any royal titles as a result of the marriage and is therefore formally addressed as "Mister Van Vollenhoven" or by his professional title as "Professor Van Vollenhoven". The couple went to live in Het Loo House, near the

Het Loo Palace Het Loo Palace ( nl, Paleis Het Loo , meaning "The Lea") is a palace in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, built by the House of Orange-Nassau. History The symmetrical Dutch Baroque building was designed by Jacob Roman and Johan van Swieten and was bui ...

. They have four sons: *

Prince Maurits of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven Prince Maurits Willem Pieter Hendrik of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven (born 17 April 1968) is a member of the Dutch royal family as the eldest son of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and Pieter van Vollenhoven. Before the succession of his ...

(born April 17, 1968), married Marilène van den Broek (born February 4, 1970); *

Prince Bernhard of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven Bernhard Lucas Emmanuel, Prince of Orange-Nassau, van VollenhovenPrince Be ...

(born December 25, 1969), married Annette Sekrève (born April 18, 1972); *

Prince Pieter-Christiaan of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven Prince Pieter-Christiaan Michiel of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven (born 22 March 1972), is the third son of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and Pieter van Vollenhoven. Before the succession of his cousin Prince Willem-Alexander as King i ...

(born March 22, 1972), married

Anita van Eijk Princess Anita of Orange-Nassau (Anita Theodora, née van Eijk; born 27 October 1969) is a member of the Dutch Royal Family. She is the wife of Prince Pieter-Christiaan of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven. Early life Anita van Eijk was born in ...

(born October 27, 1969); *

Prince Floris of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven Prince Floris Frederik Martijn of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven (born 10 April 1975) is the fourth and youngest son of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and Pieter van Vollenhoven. Prince Floris has three older brothers: Prince Maurits, Pr ...

(born April 10, 1975), married Aimée Söhngen (born October 19, 1977). The German house name Lippe-Biesterfeld is borne by the children of Prince Maurits (making them Van Lippe-Biesterfeld van Vollenhoven); his other (grand)children are just van Vollenhoven.

Honours and awards

Van Vollenhoven received numerous honours and awards in the Netherlands but also internationally:

Netherlands Honours and decorations

*Grand Cross of the

Order of the House of Orange The Order of the House of Orange (Dutch: ''Huisorde van Oranje''), sometimes referred to as the House Order of Orange, is a dynastic order of the House of Orange-Nassau, the royal family of the Netherlands similar to the Royal Victorian Order in ...

(January 10, 1967) *Knight Grand Cross of 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 ...

(April 29, 2004) * Wedding Medal of Princess Beatrix, and Claus von Amsberg * The Netherlands Coronation Medal 1980 * Medal visiting Netherlands Antilles 1980 *

Royal Wedding Medal 2002 Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

* Officer's Long Service Decoration (The Netherlands), with Roman numeral XX * King Willem-Alexander Inauguration Medal 2013

Foreign honours and decorations

*: Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown *: Grand Cordon of

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...

*: Grand Cross First class of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

*: Grand Cross of the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. ...

*: Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit *: Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...

*: Grand Cross of the National Order *: Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six classes, the lowest ...

*: Grand Cordon of the

Supreme Order of the Renaissance The Supreme Order of the Renaissance (, "Medal of the Nahda") is the second knighthood order of the Kingdom of Jordan. History The order was instituted in 1917 by Emir Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca. According to correspondence between the ...

*: Grand Cross of the

Order of Adolphe of Nassau The Order of Civil and Military Merit of Adolph of Nassau (french: Ordre de Mérite civil et militaire d’Adolphe de Nassau) is an order of merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg for meritorious service to the Grand Duke, the Grand-Ducal House ...

*: Grand Cross of the

Order of the Oak Crown The Order of the Oak Crown (french: Ordre de la Couronne de chêne, german: Eichenlaubkronenorden, lb, Eechelaafkrounenuerden) is an order of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. History The Order of the Oak Crown was established in 1841 by Gran ...

*: Commemorative Medal of the marriage of TRH Prince Jean and Princess Josephine-Charlotte of Luxembourg *: Grand Cross of the

Royal Norwegian Order of Merit The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (Norwegian: ''Den Kongelige Norske Fortjenstorden'' (Bokmål) or ''Den Kongelege Norske Fortenesteordenen'' (Nynorsk)) was instituted by King Olav V in 1985. It is awarded to foreigners, Norwegian citizens livin ...

*: Commander's Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Order Zasługi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident ab ...

(2012)Poolse onderscheiding voor voorzitter SMVP
- website Stichting Maatschappij en Veiligheid *: Grand Cross of the

Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry ( pt, Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique) is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

: Grand Cross of the Order of August 23 *: Grand Cross of the

National Order of the Lion ("One People, One Goal, One Faith") , eligibility = , criteria = , status = Active , founder = , head_title = Grand Master , head = Macky Sall , head2_title = Grand Chancellor , head2 ...

*: Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic *: Grand Cordon of the

Honorary Order of the Yellow Star The Honorary Order of the Yellow Star (Dutch: ''Ere-Orde van de Gele Ster'') is the highest state decoration of the Republic of Suriname. The Order was instituted in 1975 at the independence of Suriname and replaced the Dutch Order of the Nether ...

*: Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Liberator The Order of the Liberator was the highest distinction of Venezuela and was appointed for services to the country, outstanding merit and benefits made to the community. For Venezuelans the order ranks first in the order of precedence from other or ...

*: Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of the ...

Honorary citizenship

On June 12, 2004, he was made an

Honorary citizen Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

of the town of

Vollenhove Vollenhove is a city in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is located in the municipality of Steenwijkerland, southwest of Steenwijk. Until the Noordoostpolder was drained, it was located on the coast of the Zuiderzee. Vollenhove received cit ...

References

External links

Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven
Description and CV on the Royal House website {{DEFAULTSORT:Vollenhoven, Pieter van 1939 births Living people Royal Netherlands Air Force pilots Royal Netherlands Air Force officers Dutch royalty House of Orange-Nassau People from Apeldoorn People from Schiedam University of Twente faculty Leiden University alumni Grand Cordons of the Honorary Order of the Yellow Star Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Grand Crosses of the Order of Prince Henry Grand Crosses of the Order of the House of Orange Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1st class Recipients of the National Order of the Lion