Elizabeth Schmitz | |
---|---|
Secretary of State for Justice | |
In office 22 August 1994 –3 August 1998 | |
Prime Minister | Wim Kok |
Preceded by | Aad Kosto |
Succeeded by | Job Cohen |
Mayor of Haarlem | |
In office 1985–1994 | |
Preceded by | Jan Reehorst |
Succeeded by | Jaap Pop |
Personal details | |
Born | Rotterdam,Netherlands | 20 May 1938
Political party | Democrats 66 (to 1974) Labour Party (from 1974) |
Domestic partner | Ien Dales (1981–1994) |
Alma mater | Erasmus University |
Elizabeth Maria Alida Schmitz (born 20 May 1938) is a Dutch former politician of the Labour Party (PvdA).
Schmitz was born on 20 May 1938 in Rotterdam. [1] [2] She came from a middle-class Catholic family and her father,who sold tobacco,died early. [1] She was the only girl of five children. [2] She completed her secondary education at a girls school before spending a year working as an au pair in England,while studying for a lower certificate from the University of Cambridge. She then moved back to Rotterdam,where she worked for a shipping firm and then for the Stichting Samenwerkende Kerken. From 1958 to 1974,Schmitz worked for educational organisations in Rotterdam. [1] At the same time,she studied administrative law and political science at Erasmus University,studying at the evenings and on weekends. [1] [2] [3]
Schmitz first became involved in politics in 1968,when she joined the Democrats 66 (D66). From 1972 to 1974,Schmitz was a member of the Rotterdam City Council. She served first as a member of the D66 and then,in 1974,joined the Labour Party (PvdA). [1] [3] She became an alderman for social affairs on behalf of that party,serving between 1974 and 1982. She opposed cuts to social services and following fraud in the department,she appointed Ien Dales to take over as the social services director. While serving in these positions,the two women became close. [1] [4]
Schmitz was elected as the mayor of Haarlem between 16 February 1985 and 3 August 1994. [1] During this period,she had a relationship with Dales,then mayor of Nijmegen. [4] [5] She succeeded Jos van Kemenade as vice president of Pax Christi in 1986. She remained in this position until she joined the cabinet in 1994. [3]
Schmitz was appointed as the Secretary of State for Justice by Wim Kok on 22 August 1994,serving in the Kok I cabinet. [1] [2] She was responsible for immigration and asylum policy,family law,youth advocacy,gambling,legal aid and nationality. She held this position until 3 August 1998. During her tenure as state secretary,asylum policy was a hot topic across Europe. Schmitz made an effort to deport illegal immigrants from the Netherlands. The most famous of them was Amsterdam tailor Gümüş ,who had to return to Turkey with his family after living and working in the Netherlands for many years. [2] While in this position,she proposed legislation to pardon illegal immigrants who had been living in the country for six years,but this was blocked by the D66 and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VDD). [1] [6] [7] [8]
Schmitz was a deputy judge in the district court in Zwolle between 1999 and 2008 and a deputy judge in the district court in Zutphen between 2004 and 2008. She was a member of the Advisory Council on International Affairs between 2001 and January 2006 and a chair of the Advisory Board Members Selection Committee Judiciary from 2005. [2]
After four years as secretary of state,she left politics in August 1998. From 1999 to 2009,Schmitz chaired the curatorium of the African Studies Centre in Leiden. On 1 February 2000,she succeeded Til Gardeniers-Berendsen as the health insurance ombudsman,a position she held until 2010.[ citation needed ]
Schmitz was Roman Catholic and in 1970,she was offered a position as assistant secretary of the diocese of Rotterdam,but she rejected the offer due to her conflict with the bishop of the diocese,Adrianus Johannes Simonis. [1] [2] In 2016,an exhibit at the Museum Haarlem honoured the former mayors of the city,including Schmitz,Bernt Schneiders,Jaap Pop and Jan Reehorst. [9]
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands.
The second Kok cabinet,also called the second Purple cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch government from 3 August 1998 until 22 July 2002. The cabinet was a continuation of the previous first Kok cabinet and was formed by the social-democratic Labour Party (PvdA),the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the social-liberal Democrats 66 after the election of 1998. The cabinet was a centrist grand coalition and had a substantial majority in the House of Representatives with Labour Leader Wim Kok serving as Prime Minister. Prominent Liberal politician Annemarie Jorritsma the Minister of Transport and Water Management in the previous cabinet served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs,former Progressive-Liberal Leader Els Borst continued as Minister of Health,Welfare and Sport and served as Deputy Prime Minister.
Democrats 66 is a social liberal political party in the Netherlands,which positions itself in the centre of the political spectrum. It is a member of the Liberal International (LI) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE).
The second Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 27 May 2003 until 7 July 2006. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA),the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD),and the social-liberal Democrats 66 (D66) after the election of 2003. The cabinet was a centre-right coalition and had a slim majority in the House of Representatives with Christian Democratic Leader Jan Peter Balkenende serving as Prime Minister. Liberal Leader Gerrit Zalm,a former Minister of Finance,served as Deputy Prime Minister and returned as Minister of Finance,while former Progressive-Liberal Leader Thom de Graaf served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister without Portfolio for the Interior.
Johannes Pieter "Jan" Pronk Jr. is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat of the Labour Party (PvdA) and activist.
The Party for the Animals is a political party in the Netherlands. Among its main goals are animal rights and animal welfare.
The Third Lubbers cabinet,also called the Lubbers–Kok cabinet,was the executive branch of the Dutch government from 7 November 1989 to 22 August 1994. The cabinet was formed the christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the social-democratic Labour Party (PvdA) after the election of 1989. The cabinet was a centrist grand coalition and had a substantial majority in the House of Representatives with Christian-Democratic Leader Ruud Lubbers serving as Prime Minister. Labour Leader Wim Kok served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
Following the 2006 Dutch general election,held on November 22,a process of cabinet formation started,involving negotiations about which coalition partners to form a common programme of policy and to divide the posts in cabinet. On February 22,2007 it resulted in the formation of the Fourth Balkenende cabinet.
Purple is a common term in politics used to describe governments or other political entities consisting of parties that have red and blue as their political colours. It is of particular note in three countries. In the politics of the Netherlands and Belgium,purple is the term for a government coalition of social democrats and liberals,excluding christian democrats. It is derived from the combination of the colour of the social democrats (red) and liberals (blue).
The Ministry of Housing,Spatial Planning and the Environment was a Dutch ministry. It was responsible for policies on public housing,spatial planning,the environment and the housing of national government agencies. It was merged with the Ministry of Transport,Public Works and Water Management into the new Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment on 14 October 2010.
Catharina Isabella "Ien" Dales was a Dutch politician and social worker. Born in Arnhem,she received a degree in education from the University of Amsterdam and worked in social services before her career in politics. She became a member of the Labour Party (PvdA) in 1968 and was appointed State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment in the Van Agt II cabinet,a position that she held between 1981 and 1982. Dales was a member of the House of Representatives between 1981 and 1987 and mayor of Nijmegen between 1987 and 1989. She was the Minister of the Interior in the Lubbers III cabinet from 1989 and 1994.
The Government of Rotterdam is the government of the municipality and city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Most of the inhabitants live in the city of Rotterdam,but the municipality also covers a number of small villages,and other parts of the local government,such as Rozenburg,cover an even larger area.
Salima Belhaj is a Dutch-Moroccan politician. She has been a member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands for the Democrats 66 (D66) since 26 January 2016. She previously served as a municipal councillor and group president in Rotterdam between 2008 and 2016.
The third Rutte cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 26 October 2017 until 10 January 2022. It was formed by a coalition government of the political parties People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD),Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA),Democrats 66 (D66) and Christian Union (CU) after the general election of 2017.
This article lists major events that happened in 2018 in the Netherlands.
Jorien Wuite is a Sint Maarten-Dutch civil servant,diplomat,and politician. Born in The Hague,she moved to Sint Maarten aged 32 to work in government. She rose to the position of Minister of Education,Culture,Youth and Sports and served as Minister Plenipotentiary of Sint Maarten in the period 2018–19. She moved back to the European part of the Netherlands due to her election to the House of Representatives in 2021 as a member of the social liberal party Democrats 66 (D66).
Jan Reehorst is a Dutch former politician.
Anne-Marijke Podt is a Dutch politician of the social liberal party Democrats 66 (D66),who has been serving as a member of the House of Representatives since September 2021. She had previously been a member of the Utrecht municipal council starting in 2014,and she has worked as an aid worker and as an independent adviser for municipalities.
After the Dutch general election of 15 May 2002,a cabinet formation took place in Netherlands. This resulted in the First Balkenende cabinet. The coalition was formed by Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA),People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Pim Fortuyn List (LPF).