Markus Gerardus Jozef "Mark" Harbers (born 19 April 1969) is a Dutch politician who serves as the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management in 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 Free ...

since 10 January 2022. He previously served the State Secretary for Justice and Security in the

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 ...

from 26 October 2017 until 21 May 2019. He is a 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 ...

(VVD).

Early life and education

Harbers was born in Ede,

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 ...

. He studied

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

Erasmus University Rotterdam 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 humani ...

but dropped out before graduation.

Political career

Career in local politics

A former communication employee, Harbers served as a member of the district council of

Kralingen-Crooswijk Kralingen-Crooswijk () is a township of the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands. It is located at the immediate east of the city's centre. As of 2005 it has about 52,379 inhabitants and has a territory of about 1,286 ha. It consists of the two boroughs ...

from 1992 to 1998 and municipal councillor of

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 ...

from 2002 until 2007. He was 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 ...

from 2007 to 2009, in charge of Economic Affairs, the Port of Rotterdam and the Environment.

Career in national politics

During the 2006 general election, Harbers occupied the 26th place on the list of VVD candidates; the party obtained 22 seats. On 1 December 2009, he entered 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 ...

following the resignation of Arend Jan Boekestijn. He was reelected in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and 2017. On 26 October 2017, Harbers resigned from the House of Representatives to become State Secretary at the

Ministry of Justice and Security The Ministry of Justice and Security ( nl, Ministerie van Justitie en Veiligheid; JenV) is the Dutch Ministry responsible for justice, imprisonment and public security. The Ministry was created in 1798 as the ''Department of Justice'', before it ...

, dealing with Asylum and Migration Affairs under the supervision of Minister

Ferdinand Grapperhaus Ferdinand Bernhard Joseph "Ferd" Grapperhaus (born 8 November 1959) is a Dutch politician who served as Minister of Justice and Security in the Third Rutte cabinet from 26 October 2017 until 10 January 2022. He is a member of the Christian Democ ...

. Effective 21 May 2019, Harbers resigned from his position following the publication of a report minimising the crimes committed by asylum seekers in the Netherlands. He was replaced by Senate President

Ankie Broekers-Knol Anneke "Ankie" Broekers-Knol (born 23 November 1946) is a Dutch politician and jurist who served as State Secretary for Justice and Security in the Third Rutte cabinet from 11 June 2019 until 10 January 2022. She is a member of the People's Part ...

and returned to the House of Representatives shortly thereafter.

Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, 2022–present

Early in his tenure, Harbers closed the Netherlands' airspace to Russian aircraft in response to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

.Anthony Deutsch (27 February 2022)
Netherlands to close airspace to Russia from Sunday evening
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Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

''.

References

*
Parlement.com biography

External links

*
Mark Harbers
*
House of Representatives biography
*
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harbers, Mark 1969 births Living people 21st-century Dutch politicians Aldermen of Rotterdam Dutch political consultants Dutch speechwriters Gay politicians LGBT businesspeople from the Netherlands LGBT cabinet members of the Netherlands LGBT conservatism LGBT members of the Parliament of the Netherlands Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Ministers of Infrastructure of the Netherlands Ministers of Water Management of the Netherlands Municipal councillors of Rotterdam People from Ede, Netherlands People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians State Secretaries for Justice of the Netherlands Vice Chairmen of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy 20th-century Dutch people