third Rutte cabinet The third Rutte cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 26 October 2017 until 10 January 2022 (since 15 January 2021 demissionary). It was formed by a coalition government of the political parties People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ...

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 ...

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

permanent representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

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 ...

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

demissionary cabinet A demissionary cabinet ( nl, demissionair kabinet) is a type of caretaker cabinet in the Netherlands. A demissionary cabinet continues the current government after a cabinet has ended. This can either be after completion of the full term, betwe ...

Sigrid Kaag Sigrid Agnes Maria Kaag (; born 2 November 1961) is a Dutch diplomat and politician, serving as List of Ministers of Finance of the Netherlands, Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands, First Deputy Prime Minister in the ...

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 cou ...

Ben Knapen Hubertus Petrus Maria "Ben" Knapen (born 6 January 1951) is a Dutch historian and politician serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 24 September 2021 to 10 January 2022. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), he previously was St ...

North Brabant North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the we ...

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022, He has four older siblings, and his father died when De Bruijn was thirteen years old. He attended the Eindhoven secondary school Sint-Joris Lyceum in the years 1961–66 and subsequently went to the St. Thomascollege, a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

in

Venlo Venlo () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg (Netherland ...

, completing his secondary education in 1968. He studied political science at the

Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, or the Geneva Graduate Institute (french: Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement), abbreviated IHEID, is a government-accredited postgraduate institution ...

in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, Switzerland until 1973 and subsequently pursued a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in war studies at King's College, part of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. After graduating in 1974, De Bruijn studied Dutch law 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 ...

, obtaining his degree in 1977.

Career

1977–2011: Government and diplomatic career

After completing his studies, De Bruijn took a job at the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

, working at its treaty department. He switched to the ministry's international organizations department in 1981 and became Head of the General Integration Affairs Section at the European integration department three years later. In 1988, De Bruijn became the first secretary of the Dutch permanent representation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in Geneva. He returned to the European integration department another four years later, serving as its deputy director. He was promoted to director in 1994, and he became the

Director-General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a government ...

for European Cooperation in 1998. In his years at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he worked behind the scenes on the

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. , 167 c ...

(1982) and the

Treaty of Amsterdam The Treaty of Amsterdam, officially the Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, was signed on 2 October 1997, and entered into force on 1 May 1999; i ...

(1997). De Bruijn was appointed Dutch

permanent representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...

to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

in January 2003, succeeding

Ben Bot Bernard Rudolf "Ben" Bot (; born 21 November 1937) is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 3 December 2003 until 22 February 2007 in the Cabinets Balkene ...

, who had become the

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 cou ...

. While in that position, De Bruijn was involved in the drafting of the

Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE; commonly referred to as the European Constitution or as the Constitutional Treaty) was an unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European U ...

(2004), which was later rejected by the Netherlands in a referendum, as a deputy government representative as well as in the drafting of the

Treaty of Lisbon The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member sta ...

(2007) and the

European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement The European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement is a European Union Association Agreement between the European Union (EU), the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), Ukraine and the EU's 28 member states at the time (which are separate pa ...

(2014). He was also on the

advisory board An advisory board is a body that provides non-binding strategic advice to the management of a corporation, organization, or foundation. The informal nature of an advisory board gives greater flexibility in structure and management compared to th ...

of Nexus Institute, which studies European cultural heritage.

2011–2014: Council of State

He left the post of permanent representative after eight years in June 2011 to serve as a state councilor of the advisory division of the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

, a governmental advisory body. De Bruijn mostly concerned himself with pensions,

decentralization Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group. Conce ...

, and European legislation. Starting in early 2012, he was simultaneously a special advisor to the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

's Task Force for Greece, which provided assistance to Greece in reforming its government during the country's government-debt crisis. De Bruijn's focus was on eliminating corruption. Furthermore, he served as a guest lecturer at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

, and he chaired both the advisory board of ProDemos, which educates the public about democracy and the rule of law, and the

executive board A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of Europa decentraal, which provides information about European legislation to local and regional governments. De Bruijn stepped down from the Council of State and from his secondary positions when he became an alderman in The Hague in 2014.

2014–2019: Local politics

Coalition formation and term as alderman

In the wake of the 2014 municipal election in The Hague, De Bruijn was chosen as the

formateur 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 is ...

to create a

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

for the municipality. D66 had received a plurality of votes in the election, and De Bruijn was appointed nearly four weeks after scout

Han Polman Johannes Marcellus Maria "Han" Polman (born 16 January 1963) is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party. He has been the King's Commissioner of Zeeland since 1 March 2013. Previously he was Mayor of Bergen op Zoom and Noordwijkerhout. ...

had published his report about possible coalitions. The fact that at least five parties were required to form a coalition and disagreements about a proposed cultural center caused The Hague to be among the last municipalities to form a government after the election. De Bruijn became an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

in the new

municipal executive In the Netherlands, the municipal executive (, ) is the executive board of a municipality. It plays a central role in municipal politics in the Netherlands, similar to the communal college in Belgium. It consists of the mayor and the members of t ...

in June 2014, and he was responsible for finances, traffic, transportation, and the environment. Due to legal issues, he initially wanted to discontinue the municipality's policy of lowering subsidies for organizations with managers earning more than a government minister. However, he decided against the move when the municipal council criticized it. The Council of State found the policy to be illegal in 2016, a month after De Bruijn had decided that 25 organizations would receive lower subsidies. De Bruijn subsequently advocated unsuccessfully for the laws to be changed such that local governments could restrict subsidies based on management income. As alderman, he was also responsible for the construction of several bicycle parking garages in the city center, and he assisted

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation f ...

, which experienced financial hardship starting in 2015. De Bruijn said that the municipality would not give financial aid to the football club, but he spoke with Wang Hui, the club's investor, who was not providing the funds he had promised. The municipality gave up its priority share in 2017 after it had refused sign off on the sixth version of ADO Den Haag's budget.

Acting mayor and post-aldermanship

On 16 February 2017 – shortly before Mayor

Jozias van Aartsen 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, he attended the Christelijk Gymnasium Sorghvliet ...

stepped down – De Bruijn was appointed

deputy mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor, assistant mayor, or mayor ''pro tem'') is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many, but not all, local governments. Duties and functions Many elected dep ...

of The Hague next to his position as alderman, replacing

Ingrid van Engelshoven Ingrid Katharina van Engelshoven (born 12 July 1966) is a Dutch politician who served as Minister of Education, Culture and Science in the Third Rutte cabinet from 26 October 2017 until 10 January 2022. A member of Democrats 66 (D66) party, s ...

, who was participating in the

2017 general election This national electoral calendar for 2017 lists the national/federal elections held in 2017 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 November ...

. De Bruijn became acting mayor upon Van Aartsen's resignation on 1 March.

Pauline Krikke Pauline Christine Krikke (born 9 May 1961) is a Dutch politician who served as mayor of The Hague from 2017 until 2019. A member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), she previously served as mayor of Arnhem from 2001 to 2013. Sh ...

was sworn in as mayor on 17 March, bringing an end to De Bruijn's mayoralty. His term as alderman ended on 7 June 2018, when the new municipal executive was installed following the 2018 municipal elections. De Bruijn had told in an interview half a year before that he did not want to continue as alderman, saying it was time for something different. He became the chair of the

advisory board An advisory board is a body that provides non-binding strategic advice to the management of a corporation, organization, or foundation. The informal nature of an advisory board gives greater flexibility in structure and management compared to th ...

of the

Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael The Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael ( nl, Nederlands Instituut voor Internationale Betrekkingen Clingendael) or Clingendael Institute (''Instituut Clingendael'') is a Dutch think tank and academy on international relat ...

in March 2019 after having served as its vice chair. De Bruijn also returned as guest lecturer to Leiden University, and he held positions at Duitsland Instituut (Germany institute;

supervisory board In corporate governance, a governance board also known as council of delegates are chosen by the stockholders of a company to promote their interests through the governance of the company and to hire and fire the board of directors. In civil s ...

chair),

Transparency International Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil ...

Nederland (advisory board member), and the lottery holding company Nationale Goede Doelen Loterijen (supervisory board member). In October 2019, parties of The Hague's municipal executive lost confidence in its two Groep de Mos/Hart voor Den Haag aldermen including

Richard de Mos Richard de Mos (born 5 May 1976) is a Dutch politician and teacher who served as a member of the House of Representatives for the Party for Freedom (PVV) from 1 September 2009 to 20 September 2012. He sat on the municipal council of The Hague fr ...

after they had become the subjects of a corruption investigation. De Bruijn was chosen as a scout to investigate possible new coalitions. After a week, he advised Groep de Mos/Hart voor Den Haag to be replaced by 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 ...

and the Labour Party. De Bruijn subsequently served as formateur; the coalition he had proposed was formed in December.

2021–2022: Rutte cabinet

It was announced on 14 July 2021 that De Bruijn would join the demissionary

third Rutte cabinet The third Rutte cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 26 October 2017 until 10 January 2022 (since 15 January 2021 demissionary). It was formed by a coalition government of the political parties People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ...

as Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, replacing D66's political leader

Sigrid Kaag Sigrid Agnes Maria Kaag (; born 2 November 1961) is a Dutch diplomat and politician, serving as List of Ministers of Finance of the Netherlands, Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands, First Deputy Prime Minister in the ...

. De Bruijn took over the post, as Kaag had simultaneously been serving as

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 cou ...

since May. He was sworn into office on 10 August by King

Willem-Alexander Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born ) is King of the Netherlands, having acceded to the throne following his mother's abdication in 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht as the oldest child of Princess Beatri ...

at palace

Huis ten Bosch Huis ten Bosch ( nl, Paleis Huis ten Bosch, ; English: "House in the Woods") is a royal palace in The Hague, Netherlands. It is one of three official residences of the Dutch monarch; the two others being the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague and ...

after he had left his other positions. Kaag announced her resignation as Minister of Foreign Affairs on 16 September after 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 ...

had adopted a

censure motion A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spi ...

because of her handling of evacuations from Afghanistan following the fall of Kabul. De Bruijn took over her duties the following day as acting minister, while the

VVD 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 in ...

started looking for a permanent successor. De Bruijn's term ended a week later on 24 September, when

Ben Knapen Hubertus Petrus Maria "Ben" Knapen (born 6 January 1951) is a Dutch historian and politician serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 24 September 2021 to 10 January 2022. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), he previously was St ...

( CDA) was sworn in as Kaag's replacement. He attended the

2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP26, was the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference, held at the SEC Centre in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, from 31 October to 13 November 2021. The ...

(COP26) in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, where he signed an agreement to halt government financing for foreign fossil fuel projects. The cabinet had initially refused to join it. De Bruijn also started drafting legislation to oblige companies to adhere to

corporate social responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in or supporting volunteering or ethicall ...

principles in December 2021 after a similar proposal by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

had been postponed. His term ended on 10 January 2022, when the

fourth Rutte cabinet The Fourth Rutte cabinet is the current Government of the Netherlands. It was inaugurated on 10 January 2022. The cabinet is a continuation of the previous third Rutte cabinet and is formed by the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedo ...

was sworn in, and he was succeeded by

Liesje Schreinemacher Elisabeth "Liesje" Schreinemacher (born 13 May 1983) is a Dutch lawyer and politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) who has served as Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation in the fourth Rutte cabinet sin ...

. De Bruijn subsequently retired and became chair of the advisory council of Transparency International Nederland in July 2022, having been a member before.

Personal life

De Bruijn lived in The Hague while a minister, and he is married to

Angelien Eijsink Angeline Maria Catharina (Angelien) Eijsink (born 1 April 1960 in St. Isidorushoeve) is a Dutch politician and former civil servant and educator. As a member of the Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid) she was an MP between 30 January 2003 and ...

, a former 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 ...

of the Labour Party. He has three children with a previous partner. De Bruijn started playing hockey in his youth and has played at

HC Klein Zwitserland Hockey Club Klein Zwitserland, commonly known as Klein Zwitserland, is a Dutch field hockey club based in The Hague, South Holland. The women and men's first team compete in the hoofdklasse, the highest league of Dutch field hockey. The club wa ...

. He also enjoys cycling.

Decorations

*

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 ...

** Knight's Cross (18 June 2014)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruijn, Tom de 1948 births 20th-century Dutch diplomats 21st-century Dutch diplomats 21st-century Dutch politicians Aldermen of The Hague Alumni of King's College London Democrats 66 politicians Diplomats from The Hague Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni Knights of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Living people Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Ministers for Development Cooperation of the Netherlands People from Eindhoven Permanent Representatives of the Netherlands to the European Union Utrecht University alumni

Early life and education

Career

1977–2011: Government and diplomatic career

2011–2014: Council of State

2014–2019: Local politics

Coalition formation and term as alderman

Acting mayor and post-aldermanship

2021–2022: Rutte cabinet

Personal life

Decorations

References