Laurens Jan Brinkhorst
Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (born 18 March 1937) is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat of the Democrats 66 (D66) party.
Personal life
Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst was born in the city of Zwolle. After getting his high school diploma (gymnasium-B-diploma in Dutch) he studied law at the University of Leiden (Rijksuniversiteit Leiden in Dutch) (doctoral exam in 1959). He got his MA in Public Law and Government at Columbia University in New York City. Afterwards he worked at Shearman & Sterling in New York City. He married Jantien Heringa (born 2 February 1935 in Voorburg), daughter of Ewardus Heringa (Den Haag, 14 November 1904 - Den Haag, 30 November 1988) and wife (m. Utrecht, 4 August 1930) Petronela Johanna Roskam (Utrecht, 20 August 1905 - Den Haag, 19 December 1991). They are the parents of Marius Brinkhorst (born 9 February 1964) and the Dutch princess Laurentien Brinkhorst, who married Prince Constantijn in 2001.[1]
Career in politics and academia
From 1962, and from 1965 as a director, he worked at the Europe-institute at the Rijksuniversiteit Leiden where he became a Reader (Lector) in 1965 as well. During the period 1967-1973 he was Professor of European Law at the University of Groningen (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen in Dutch). On 11 May 1973, he became Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet of Den Uyl.
In 1977 he was again a member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch parliament for D66 and in 1981 became the leader of his party in parliament. From 1983-1987 he was Ambassador of the European Community in Japan. In 1987 he became a correspondent of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.[2] In 1994 Brinkhorst became a member of the European Parliament, serving there until 1999.
Brinkhorst was also a member of the Provinciale Staten (the provincial parliament) of the province of Groningen for D66, a member of the board of advice of the World Resources Institute in Washington DC, a member of the board of governors of the Nederlands Economisch Instituut (Dutch Economical Institute), a professor by special appointment of international environmental law at the University of Leiden, a member of the Board of Directors of the Salzburg Seminar, a member of the Board of Directors of the International Institute of Sustainable Development, and a professor (on a temporary basis) of international environmental law at the University of Lausanne.
On 8 June 1999 he became the minister of agriculture, environmental control and fishery in the cabinet Kok-II. Afterwards (2002) he became an Adviser of European Affairs at NautaDulith in Brussels and was awarded a professorship in transnational and European Governance at the University of Tilburg. After the electoral defeat of D66 he became a minister of economic affairs in the second Balkenende cabinet. Brinkhorst, as well as Alexander Pechtold, resigned from his minister post after the second Balkenende cabinet lost the confidence of parliament on 29 June 2006. The next day, Balkenende offered the resignation of the full cabinet to the Dutch Queen.
Since 1 November 2006, Brinkhorst is a full professor at the Leiden University. Brinkhorst is also a member of the Bilderberg Group.In addition, he is the vice-chairman of the Executive Committee of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation. Also, he is on the advisory board of OMFIF where he is regularly involved in meetings regarding the financial and monetary system.
References
- ↑ Geneall
- ↑ "Laurans Jan Brinkhorst". Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
External links
- Official
- (Dutch) Mr. L.J. (Laurens Jan) Brinkhorst Parlement & Politiek
Party political offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Jan Terlouw |
Parliamentary leader of the Democrats 66 in the House of Representatives of the Netherlands 1981–1982 |
Succeeded by Maarten Engwirda |
Leader of the Democrats 66 1982 | ||
Government offices | ||
Preceded by Tjerk Westerterp |
Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands 1973–1977 Served alongside: Pieter Kooijmans |
Succeeded by Durk van der Mei |
Preceded by Haijo Apotheker |
Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Fisheries of the Netherlands 1999–2002 |
Succeeded by Cees Veerman |
Preceded by Hans Hoogervorst |
Minister of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands 2003–2006 |
Succeeded by Gerrit Zalm |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by Thom de Graaf |
Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands 2005–2006 Served alongside: Gerrit Zalm |
Succeeded by Gerrit Zalm |
Diplomatic posts | ||
Preceded by Leslie Fielding |
Ambassador of the European Union to Japan 1982–1987 |
Succeeded by Dries van Agt |