Johannes Stefanus Joseph "Hans" Hillen (born 17 June 1947) is a retired

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

politician of 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-Revolution ...

(CDA) party and journalist.

Biography

Early life

Hillen studied

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

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 ...

. He has been a (sports) journalist for the

Nederlandse Omroep Stichting The Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (; NOS ; English: Dutch Broadcasting Foundation) is one of the broadcasting organisations making up the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system. It has a special statutory obligation to make news and sports progra ...

(NOS), teacher and civil servant (in the eighties he was spokesman of minister of Finance Onno Ruding and defender of his outspoken budget cuts) before entering in politics

Politics

From 1990 till 2002 he was a 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 ...

and from 2007 till 2010 a member of the Senate. From October 14, 2010, to November 5, 2012, he was minister of Defence.His father worked in the army. He is in favor of a strong defence and close ties with

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Other activities

From 2003 till 2007 Hillen was president of CVZ, the Dutch council for the healthcare, and from 2005 till 2010 a member of the executive board of the Dutch

employers' organization An employers' organization or employers' association is a collective organization of manufacturers, retailers, or other employers of wage labor. Employers' organizations seek to coordinate the behavior of their member companies in matters of mutual ...

VNO-NCW. He also did some writing, he wrote columns for

Elsevier Elsevier () is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as '' The Lancet'', ''Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, '' Trends'', ...

and Katholiek Nieuwsblad. Furthermore, he is involved in the Edmund Burke Foundation, a Dutch

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

. In 2004 he left the advisory council because a conflict of opinion with prominent co-member

Bart Jan Spruyt Dr. Bastian Jan "Bart Jan" Spruyt (born 29 January 1964, in Ridderkerk) is a Dutch historian, journalist and conservative writer. Academic background Spruyt grew up in Rotterdam, and studied history, theology and law at the Utrecht University and L ...

, who wanted to found a new political party with

Geert Wilders Geert Wilders (; born 6 September 1963) is a Dutch politician who has led the Party for Freedom (''Partij voor de Vrijheid'' – PVV) since he founded it in 2006. He is also the party's leader in the House of Representatives (''Tweede Kamer'' ...

Personal life

Hillen is married and resides in Hilversum. He is 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 ...

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
Drs. J.S.J. (Hans) Hillen
Parlement & Politiek *
Drs. J.S.J. Hillen (CDA)
Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal {{DEFAULTSORT:Hillen, Hans 1947 births Living people Catholic People's Party politicians Christian Democratic Appeal politicians Dutch columnists Dutch corporate directors Dutch magazine editors Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Dutch lobbyists Dutch sports journalists Dutch reporters and correspondents Dutch trade association executives Dutch Roman Catholics Dutch television editors Dutch television presenters Dutch speechwriters Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Ministers of Defence of the Netherlands Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau People from Hilversum Politicians from The Hague Utrecht University alumni 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch educators 20th-century Dutch journalists 20th-century Dutch male writers 20th-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch civil servants 21st-century Dutch educators 21st-century Dutch journalists 21st-century Dutch male writers 21st-century Dutch politicians