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Jan Peter Balkenende

Jan Peter Balkenende (born 7 May 1956) is a Dutch politician. He was the Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 2002 until 2010. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal party.

Jan Peter Balkenende
Jan Peter Balkenende 2006.jpg
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
In office
22 July 2002 – 14 October 2010
MonarchBeatrix
Deputy
See list
Preceded byWim Kok
Succeeded byMark Rutte
Leader of Christian Democratic Appeal in the House of Representatives
In office
23 November 2006 – 21 February 2007
Preceded byMaxime Verhagen
Succeeded byPieter van Geel
In office
23 January 2003 – 21 May 2003
Preceded byMaxime Verhagen
Succeeded byMaxime Verhagen
In office
1 October 2001 – 11 July 2002
Preceded byJaap de Hoop Scheffer
Succeeded byMaxime Verhagen
Leader of Christian Democratic Appeal
In office
1 October 2001 – 9 June 2010
Preceded byJaap de Hoop Scheffer
Succeeded bySybrand van Haersma Buma
Personal details
Born7 May 1956 (aged 69)
Biezelinge, Netherlands
Political partyChristian Democratic Appeal
Spouse(s)Bianca Hoogendijk (1996–present)
ChildrenAmelie
ResidenceCapelle aan den IJssel
Alma materFree University Amsterdam
Signature

Balkenende lives in Capelle aan den IJssel, Netherlands.

Biography

Balkenende grew up in the village of Biezelinge in Zeeland province. He completed his high school at the Christelijk Lyceum for Zeeland in Goes and earned a degree in History and Dutch law from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. His political career started in Amstelveen, where he was a city council member from 1982 to 1998. During this time, he also earned a PhD in law and became a part-time professor of Christian social thought at VU, a position he held until becoming prime minister in 2002.

Balkenende's political career started very quickly. He joined the CDA faction in the Dutch House of Representatives in 1998 and became the faction leader in 2001 after an internal power struggle. As the party leader, he led the CDA to a big victory in the 2002 elections, which focused on voter dissatisfaction with the previous governments and the rise and fall of Pim Fortuyn. However, the coalition formed by the CDA, VVD, and Fortuyn’s LPF lasted only three months before collapsing.

After new elections, the second Balkenende cabinet (2003-2006) was formed, but the coalition between CDA, VVD, and D66 also failed. D66's departure led to the brief Balkenende III cabinet, which became a caretaker government after a few months due to new elections. The fourth Balkenende cabinet (2007-2010) struggled to work together, and it fell in 2010 after a crisis over the Uruzgan decision. After the CDA lost heavily in the 2010 elections, Balkenende resigned as party leader, and his (caretaker) premiership ended with the formation of the Rutte cabinet in October 2010.

Much of Balkenende’s time being primer minister was during good economic times. The public debate in the Netherlands focused on identity, with issues of multiculturalism and immigration becoming political topics. Balkenende positioned himself as a defender of values and norms and led the search for national identity. The economic climate shifted towards the end of his premiership due to the financial crisis, and the government intervened by supporting struggling banks. Policy changes also included a significant reform of the healthcare system in 2006.

Since late 2010, Balkenende has been a professor of Governance, Institutions, and Internationalisation at Erasmus University Rotterdam.

From 2011, he worked for Ernst & Young (EY) as a partner and later as an external advisor. Since 2021, he has also worked as an independent professional at Hague Corporate Affairs.

Jan Peter Balkenende Media

References

Other websites

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