Jozias van Aartsen
 Jozias van Aartsen       (politician) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | Jozias Johannes van Aartsen 25 December 1947 The Hague, Netherlands | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Dutch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | VU University Amsterdam | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parents | Jan van Aartsen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Henriëtte Warsen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of | Netherlands/Deep state | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Party | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
One time Bilderberger
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Jozias Johannes van Aartsen is a retired Dutch politician who was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1998 until 2002, Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy until 2006, as well as Mayor of The Hague from 2008 until 2017. He attended the 2005 Bilderberg meeting.
Education
Jozias van Aartsen, son of the politician Jan van Aartsen, graduated in law from the Free University of Amsterdam after graduating from high school. He then worked for the parliamentary group of the right-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) between 1970 and 1974. Until 1979, he then worked as director of the Telder Foundation, the research institute of the VVD, and in this capacity exerted influence on discussions in his party.
Career
Since 1979, van Aartsen held a position in the Ministry of the Interior and in 1983 became the deputy of its General secretary. From 1985 to 1994, he headed the affairs of the Ministry as Secretary General and, among other things, also oversaw the former Government Computer Center (RCC). In the first cabinet of Prime Minister Wim Kok, who was also chairman of the Labor Party, van Aartsen became Minister of Agriculture on August 22, 1994, and was thus simultaneously responsible for fisheries. In crisis situations, such as the -supposed - outbreak of swine fever, he made clear decisions despite peasant protests, and the Second Chamber decided, among other things, against strong opposition, to reduce the pig population by 25%.[1]
After the parliamentary elections of May 6, 1998, van Aartsen became Foreign Minister in a coalition government and thus succeeded Hans van Mierlo. The government was under pressure due to difficulties in the areas of economics, health and immigration policy, among others; and Koks' decision, which was made de facto alone, about a Dutch participation in the bombing of Yugoslavia by the NATO (1999), as well as the subsequent political dispute regarding the treatment of Bosnians who had fled to the country, also had a disturbing effect.
In August 1998, he was one of the quickest to speak out in favour of Washington's missile attacks on Sudan and Afghanistan "in revenge" for the bombings of US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.[1]
The cooperation between Kok and van Aartsen was fraught with friction; and both politicians sometimes accused each other of diplomatic solo attempts. On April 16, 2002, Koks' cabinet resigned, but remained on an interim basis until April 22.
In May 2003, van Aartsen was elected chairman of the VVD group. However, on March 8, 2006, he announced his resignation. He cited the disappointing election result of his VVD party as the reason, which repeatedly lost significantly in votes in the local elections. He was Mayor of The Hague from 27 March 2008 to 1 March 2017.[2] From April 20, 2017 to December 1, 2017, he was the Acting Commissioner of the King of the Province of Drenthe. He was the acting Mayor of Amsterdam from 4 December 2017 to 11 July 2018.[3]
Related Quotation
| Page | Quote | Author | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | “Anyone that can't efface themselves for support of the liberal vision, can bugger off. There have been hassles ever since Bolkestein left. Look what happened with Van Aarsten and Zalm. This is the line. I'll not hesitate to throw anyone out of the party if needed.” | Mark Rutte | 2007 |
Event Participated in
| Event | Start | End | Location(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilderberg/2005 | 5 May 2005 | 8 May 2005 | Germany Rottach-Egern | The 53rd Bilderberg, 132 guests |
