Ben Knapen

Ben Knapen   (politician, editor)
Born	6 January 1951 Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands
Nationality	Dutch
Alma mater	University of Nijmegen
Religion	Catholic
Member of	Dutch Round Table
Party	Christian Democratic Appeal
NRC Handelsblad/Editor-in-Chief, NOS correspondent, State secretary of European Affairs from 2010 to 2012, Dutch Senator.  Netherlands/Minister/Foreign Affairs In office 24 September 2021 - 10 January 2022 Succeeded by Wopke Hoekstra  NRC Handelsblad/Editor-in-Chief  In office 1990 - 1996

Hubertus Petrus Maria "Ben" Knapen is a Dutch journalist and politician who was Foreign Affairs||Minister of Foreign Affairs from 24 September 2021 to 10 January 2022. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), he previously was State Secretary for Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2012.

He attended the 1991 Bilderberg meeting as Editor-in-Chief of the NRC Handelsblad.

Education

Knapen studied modern history at the University of Nijmegen.

Career

Originally a historian, Knapen worked as a correspondent in Bonn and Washington for the NOS-Journaal and the NRC Handelsblad from the beginning of the 1980s. In 1990, he succeeded Wout Woltz as editor-in-chief at the NRC Handelsblad, having already been his deputy for three years. Under Knapen, the paper was the first of the national newspapers of the Netherlands to go online in July 1995 and also reached its circulation zenith at this time.

In 1996, Knapen left the NRC Handelsblad and became director of Public Relations at Philips, his successor was Folkert Jensma. However, he moved to the group management of PCM Uitgevers, the publisher of the NRC Handelsblad, already in 1999. The following years were unfavorable, so the national daily newspapers of the group lost significantly in circulation, furthermore, some Internet projects were discontinued due to failure. In 2005, Knapen left the Group Executive Board and returned to journalism as a correspondent in Jakarta for the NRC Handelsblad. A year earlier, Knapen had also been accepted into the foundation management of the University of Tilburg. From 1 January 2008 to 14 October 2010 he was a member of the Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) and also a university lecturer at the Radboud University Nijmegen.

From 2010 to 2012 he was state secretary for Development Cooperation and trade in the Mark Rutte cabinet. In 2010 Knapen, together with Minister Rosenthal, announce da change in development coperation. The number of partner countries was drastically reduced, as well as the number of policy themes. Furthermore, there was a shift from social to economic development and a greater emphasis on self-sufficiency. The number of them was reduced from 33 to 15 (divided into three categories, low-income countries, fragile states and countries with healthy economic growth).

Knapen was first member of Parliament between June 2015 until June 2023, with a brief interruption during his ministership. He was also a CDA List leader for the 2019 Dutch legislative election. On 24 September 2021, he became caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs. He succeeded Sigrid Kaag who resigned a week before.

On February 8, 2022, he was again installed as a member of the Senate.

 

Event Participated in

Event	Start	End	Location(s)	Description
Bilderberg/1991	6 June 1991	9 June 1991	Germany Baden-Baden Steigenberger Hotel Badischer Hof	The 39th Bilderberg, 114 guests

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