Catharina Joanna Maria Halkes (Vlaardingen, 2 July 1920 - Nijmegen, 21 April 2011) was a Dutch theologian and feminist, notable for having been the first Dutch professor of feminism and Christianity, at the Radboud University Nijmegen from 1983 to 1986. A Roman Catholic who was originally schooled in Dutch language and literature, she became active in the women's movement within the church, and gained a measure of notoriety when she was forbidden to address Pope John Paul II during his visit to the Netherlands in 1985. [1] She is considered the founding mother of feminist theology in the Netherlands. [2]
Halkes was the first professor of Feminism and Christianity at Radboud University in The Netherlands, which was then known as the Catholic University of Nijmegen. [3]
Nijmegen is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands and the first to be recognized as such in Roman times. In 2005, it celebrated 2,000 years of existence.
Radboud University (abbreviated as RU, Dutch: Radboud Universiteit, formerly Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen) is a public research university located in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. RU has seven faculties and more than 24,000 students.
Edward Cornelis Florentius Alfonsus Schillebeeckx was a Belgian Catholic theologian born in Antwerp. He taught at the Catholic University in Nijmegen. He was a member of the Dominican Order. His books on theology have been translated into many languages, and his contributions to the Second Vatican Council made him known throughout the world.
Marius Job Cohen is a retired Dutch politician and jurist who served as Mayor of Amsterdam from 2001 to 2010 and Leader of the Labour Party (PvdA) from 2010 to 2012.
Cornelis Hermanus Antonius "Kees" Koster was a Dutch computer scientist who was a professor in the Department of Informatics at the Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands.
Titus Brandsma, OCarm was a Dutch Carmelite friar, Catholic priest and professor of philosophy. Brandsma was vehemently opposed to Nazi ideology and spoke out against it many times before the Second World War. He was imprisoned at the Dachau concentration camp, where he was murdered. He was beatified by the Catholic Church in November 1985 as a martyr of the faith and canonized as a saint on 15 May 2022 by Pope Francis.
Medy Catharina van der Laan is a Dutch businesswoman, former civil servant and retired politician who served as State Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in charge of culture, media and art under Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's second cabinet (2003–2006). A member of the Democrats 66 (D66) party, which she joined in 1994, she previously was an assistant to State Secretary Jacob Kohnstamm at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Van der Laan first joined the Ministry of the Interior in 1991 as a civil servant.
The Radboud University Medical Center, is the teaching hospital affiliated with the Radboud University, in the city of Nijmegen in the eastern-central part of the Netherlands.
Constantinus Albertus Josephus Maria "Constantijn" Kortmann was a Dutch professor of constitutional law.
Josephus Antonius van Kemenade was a Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and sociologist. He was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 5 April 2002.
Frans Haarsma was a Roman Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Utrecht. He was a theologian and emeritus Professor in Pastoral Theology at the Radboud University Nijmegen.
The Eight May movement was a Dutch umbrella organization within the Catholic Church in the Netherlands with the aim to reform it, founded in 1985. It was established because of dissatisfaction with the ruling conservative current in the Catholic Church in the Netherlands. The immediate reason was the visit of Pope John Paul II to the Netherlands in 1985 and concerns over potential suppression of some fringe Catholic leaders, such as feminist theologian Catharina Halkes.
Norbert Pieter Marie Klein was a Dutch politician. As a member of 50PLUS, he was an MP between 20 September 2012 and 23 March 2017. He left 50PLUS in 2014 and continued as an independent. As a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) he was a member of the municipal council of Nijmegen from 1982 to 1989, and a member of the States-Provincial of Gelderland from 1991 to 2003. In 2006, he left the VVD.
Ellen José van Wolde is a Dutch biblical scholar. In her research she focuses mainly on the Hebrew Bible, applying achievements of semiotics and linguistics. She became known to the general public mainly through her oration (2009) on the first three sentences of the book of Genesis. Since the summer of 2021 she is Emeritus Professor at the Radboud University Nijmegen.
Daniela Müller is a German theologian and church historian. She is a full professor in the History of Christianity and Canon Law at Radboud University, and has published extensively on the subjects of heresy and dissidents. Her work focuses on "the concepts of orthodoxy and heterodoxy and on the history of dissident communities."
Louis Josephus Maria van de Laar was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and historian.
Theodorus Johannes Maria "Theo" van Els was a Dutch academic who served as Rector magnificus of the Radboud University Nijmegen between 1994 and 2000. He was a professor of applied linguistics.
Antje Susanne Meyer is a German-Dutch experimental psychologist, known for her work in language production. She is currently one of the scientific directors of the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and also a professor of individual differences in language processing at Radboud University.
Mieke Verloo is a Dutch political scientist and a professor of comparative politics and inequality issues at Radboud University in the Netherlands, and non-residential permanent fellow at the IWM, Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. She is considered one of the leading directors of scientific research on feminist politics and opposition to gender+ equality in Europe. In 2015 she won the ECPG Gender and Politics Career Achievement Award.
Johannes Ernest Everard "Jan" Keunen is a Dutch ophthalmologist, professor, and politician. After studying medicine at Radboud University Nijmegen and receiving his doctorate in 1988, he worked at academic hospitals in Utrecht, Leiden, and Nijmegen. He served as a member of the Senate between 2020 and 2023. Keunen is a member of the conservative–liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and has supported banning the sale of consumer fireworks.