Paul Schnabel (born 17 July 1948) is a Dutch

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and sociologist who served on the

Social and Economic Council The Social and Economic Council (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Sociaal-Economische Raad'', SER) is a major economic advisory council to the cabinet of the Netherlands. Formally it heads a Publiekrechtelijke Bedrijfsorganisatie, system of sector-based ...

(SER) from 2013 to 2015 and in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on behalf of

Democrats 66 Democrats 66 (; abbreviated D66, ) is a Social liberalism, social liberal List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands, which positions itself in the Centrism, centre of the Left–right political spectrum, p ...

(D66) from 2015 until 2019. Schnabel, a professor 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 ...

, previously served as director of the (SCP, known in English as the Netherlands Institute for Social Research), an agency within the Government of the Netherlands, from 1998 to 2013, when he was appointed to the SER by the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

. In 2013, upon leading office as SCP director, he was made a 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 ...

Biography

A native of

Bergen op Zoom Bergen op Zoom (; called ''Berrege'' in the local dialect) is a municipality and a city located in the south of the Netherlands. Etymology The city was built on a place where two types of soil meet: sandy soil and marine clay. The sandy soil p ...

, Schnabel grew up in

Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...

. He studied

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

and

Bielefeld University Bielefeld University (german: Universität Bielefeld) is a university in Bielefeld, Germany. Founded in 1969, it is one of the country's newer universities, and considers itself a "reform" university, following a different style of organization a ...

. He received his PhD in 1982 for his dissertation on

new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin or th ...

s and

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

Paul Schnabel bij het D66 Utrecht Stadscongres

Apart from his work for the SCP he worked with several institutions in Dutch society such as the

Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...

(RKD) and 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 ...

(WRR). He is a columnist to the Dutch newspapers '' NRC'' and ''

Het Financieele Dagblad ''Het Financieele Dagblad'' is a daily Dutch newspaper focused on business and financial matters. In English, the name translates to ''The financial daily newspaper.'' The paper was established in 1943. The company is headquartered in Amsterdam. I ...

''. As of 2008, he is also the chairman of the committee that selected the 1,000 texts deemed as "key" of the Dutch and Flemish cultural history for the

Digital library for Dutch literature The Digital Library for Dutch Literature (Dutch: Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren or DBNL) is a website (showing the abbreviation as dbnl) about Dutch language and Dutch literature. It contains thousands of literary texts, second ...

.Somers, Maartje ''Van abel spel tot Achterhuis: De basisbibliotheek – het Nederlands erfgoed in duizend sleutelteksten'' in ''

NRC Handelsblad ''NRC'', previously called ''NRC Handelsblad'' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by NRC Media. It is generally accepted as a newspaper of record in the Netherlands. History ''NRC Handelsblad'' was first published on 1 ...

'' 4 April 2008 section 'Boeken', page 10. In

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, he was placed seventh on the

list for the

and elected. In addition to his role in Parliament, Schnabel served as a member of the Dutch delegation to the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up o ...

from 2015. As member of D66, he was part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group (ALDE). In Parliament, he was a member of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media; the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development; the Subcommittee on Public Health and Sustainable Development; and the Subcommittee on Culture, Diversity and Heritage. From 2006 ''

de Volkskrant ''de Volkskrant'' (; ''The People's Paper'') is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000. Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium-sized c ...

'' listed him in its top ten of the most influential persons in the Netherlands for a few years.

References

*Delft, Dirk van ''Snelle generalist'' in the ''

'' edition of 29 July 2006 (Dutch language)

Selected bibliography

* ''Tussen stigma en charisma: nieuwe religieuze bewegingen en geestelijke volksgezondheid''/''Between stigma and charisma: new religious movements and mental health''

Erasmus university 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 ...

Rotterdam, Faculty of Medicine, Ph.D. thesis, (Deventer, Van Loghum Slaterus, 1982
available on the internet
* ''De weerbarstige geestesziekte: naar een nieuwe sociologie van de geestelijke gezondheidszorg'', 1995, SUN (with Derksen, Jan)

External links

*
Webpage on the website of the Social and Cultural Planning Bureau
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schnabel, Paul 1948 births Living people Democrats 66 politicians Dutch civil servants Dutch columnists Dutch sociologists Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Members of the Social and Economic Council People from Bergen op Zoom People from Breda Utrecht University alumni Academic staff of Utrecht University