Clemens Gerard Antoon Cornielje (10 June 1958 – 17 March 2022) was a Dutch politician and

political consultant Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely tel ...

and educator.

Biography

Born in Lobith, he was member 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 in ...

(Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie). From 1994 to 2005 he was a member of the Dutch House of Representatives. From 31 August 2005 to 23 January 2019 he has been King's Commissioner (Queen's Commissioner until 2013) of the province of

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

. Cornielje studied

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

and mathematics at a

vocational university A university of applied sciences (UAS), nowadays much less commonly called a polytechnic university or vocational university, is an institution of higher education and sometimes research that provides vocational education and grants academic d ...

in Nijmegen to become a teacher in secondary education. He was a member of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and was openly gay. 2016-07-11 dru burgmeester oij

At the beginning of 2010, Cornielje was diagnosed with a

malignant tumor Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal ble ...

, requiring him to resign. But he returned to work after several months. He was diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

again in May 2015. In April 2017, a

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

was discovered. On 11 April 2018, Cornielje announced his intention to resign as King's Commissioner on 1 February 2019. He justified this not because of his illness, but because it is time for his successor. By announcing his departure early, according to him, there will be enough space to find his successor in time. He told his political party that he wanted to be a member of the Dutch Senate. On 2 August 2018, it was announced that Cornielje had temporarily resigned from his duties as King's commissioner because of meningitis. He came back to his duties, and bid farewell to the position on 23 January 2019. He was officially replaced by John Berends on 6 February 2019. Clemens Cornielje was one of three openly gay politicians who served as King's Commissioner, the other two are Jan Franssen and

Arno Brok Arnoud Adrianus Maria "Arno" Brok (born 29 July 1968) is a Dutch politician serving as the King's Commissioner of Friesland since 2017.List of openly LGBT heads of government This is a list of openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, or trans (LGBT) people who have been the head of state or government of a country or a subnational division such as a state, a province, or a territory. Openly LGBT people have served as a national ...

List of LGBT holders of political offices in the Netherlands LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) holders of political offices in the Netherlands. Cabinet Current * Kajsa Ollongren (D66) ** Deputy Prime Minister (2017-2022) ** Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (2017-2022) ** Minister o ...

References

External links

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Queen's Commissioner Clemens Cornielje
Province of Gelderland website {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornielje, Clemens 1958 births 2022 deaths Deaths from brain cancer in the Netherlands Dutch educators Dutch political consultants Dutch Roman Catholics King's and Queen's Commissioners of Gelderland Gay politicians Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau LGBT conservatism LGBT King's and Queen's Commissioners of the Netherlands LGBT members of the Parliament of the Netherlands LGBT Roman Catholics Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) People from Rijnwaarden People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians 20th-century Dutch LGBT people 21st-century Dutch LGBT people