Decorations
| Honours | ||||
| Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 1 March 2007 | Elevated from Knight (10 December 2002) |
Gijsbert Marius "Gijs" de Vries (born 22 February 1956) is a retired Dutch-American politician and diplomat who served as State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations from 1998 to 2002 and European Union Counter-terrorism Coordinator from 2004 until 2007. He was a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) until 2010,when he joined the Democrats 66 (D66) party.
From 1984 to 1998,Gijs de Vries was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for three consecutive terms. From 1994 to 1998,he was chairman of the group of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party. [1] He resigned from the European Parliament to become State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations under the Second Kok cabinet. He was later appointed the European Union's anti-terrorism coordinator from March 2004 to March 2007. As of September 2008,he was chairman of the European Security Research and Innovation Forum (ESRIF). [2]
As the EU anti-terrorism coordinator,he worked for Javier Solana in the Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters (PJCCM) pillar. Solana outlined his duties as being to streamline,organise and co-ordinate the EU and its members fight against terrorism.
He stood down from the post in March 2007,citing personal reasons,although it is commonly understood that the position's mandate did not have the necessary operational powers,as well as an overall reluctance within member states to supply information regarding anti-terror activities,even though the member states fully supported the establishment of the anti-terrorism coordinator after the 2004 Madrid train bombings. [3] In September 2007,MEPs called for the post to be filled,having been vacant for six months,as well as for it to be given real powers to carry out the post's tasks. [4] On 20 September 2007,the Belgian Gilles de Kerchove was appointed to succeed De Vries in the post. [5]
Prior to 2010 De Vries had been a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). However,due to dissatisfaction at the VVD's decision to form the First Rutte cabinet,a minority government with the support of the Party for Freedom (PVV) led by nationalist Geert Wilders he left the party and joined the social-liberal Democrats 66 (D66) party then in opposition. [6]
| Honours | ||||
| Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 1 March 2007 | Elevated from Knight (10 December 2002) |
The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party in the Netherlands. The VVD,whose forerunner was the Freedom Party,is a party of the centre-right,which promotes private enterprise and economic liberalism.
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands.
The Christian Union is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CU is a centrist party,maintaining more progressive stances on economic,immigration and environmental issues while holding more socially conservative positions on issues such as abortion and euthanasia. The party describes itself as "social Christian".
The Christian Democratic Appeal is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. It was originally formed in 1977 from a confederation of the Catholic People's Party,the Anti-Revolutionary Party and the Christian Historical Union;it has participated in all but three cabinets since it became a unitary party.
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 2004 European Parliament election in the Netherlands was the election of MEP representing Netherlands constituency for the 2004–2009 term of the European Parliament. It was part of the wider 2004 European election. It was held on 10 June 2004. Fifteen parties competed in a D'Hondt type election for 27 seats..
Liberalism in the Netherlands started as an anti-monarchical effort spearheaded by the Dutch statesman Thorbecke,who almost single-handedly wrote the 1848 Constitution of the Netherlands that turned the country into a constitutional monarchy.
Johannes Cornelis "Hans" van Baalen was a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) who served as a Member of the European Parliament and Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy in the European Parliament from 2009 until 2019. He also was President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party from 21 November 2015 until his death.
The 1994 European Parliament election in the Netherlands was the election of MEP representing Netherlands constituency for the 1994–1999 term of the European Parliament. It was part of the wider 1994 European election. It was held on 9 June 1994. Eleven parties competed in a D'Hondt type election for 31 seats..
The 1989 European Parliament election in the Netherlands was the election of MEP representing Netherlands constituency for the 1989–1994 term of the European Parliament. It was part of the wider 1989 European election. It was held on 15 June 1989. Ten parties competed in a D'Hondt type election for 25 seats.
The 1984 European Parliament election in the Netherlands was the election of MEP representing Netherlands constituency for the 1984–1989 term of the European Parliament. It was part of the wider 1984 European election. It was held on 14 June 1984. Nine parties competed in a D'Hondt type election for 25 seats.
The 2009 European Parliament election in the Netherlands took place on 4 June 2009. Seventeen parties competed in a D'Hondt type election for the available 25 seats. For the first time,all Dutch residents of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba were also entitled to vote in the election.
The Party for Freedom is a nationalist,right-wing populist political party in the Netherlands.
Cornelia "Cora" van Nieuwenhuizen-Wijbenga is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). She served as Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management in the Third Rutte cabinet from 2017 to 2021,and briefly as Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy in 2021.
The 2014 European Parliament election for the election of the delegation from the Netherlands was held on 22 May 2014. This is the 8th time the elections have been held for the European elections in the Netherlands.
M. J. R. L. "Marcel" de Graaff is a Dutch politician. He has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Netherlands since February 2020,and previously served between 2014 and 2019. He represented the Party for Freedom (PVV) and was co-president of the Europe of Nations and Freedom. De Graaff was a member of the Senate of the Netherlands for the PVV from 2011 to 2014.
The 2019 European Parliament election for the election of the delegation from the Netherlands is an election that was held on 23 May 2019. It is the ninth time the elections have been held for the European elections in the Netherlands. The number of Dutch seats was to increase from 26 to 29 following Brexit,but due to the extension of the Article 50 process in the United Kingdom,the number of seats to be elected will remain at 26.
Bart Groothuis is a Dutch politician serving as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2020. He is a member of the Dutch conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party,which are both part of the European political group Renew Europe.
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| Labour Party | |
|---|---|
| Christian Democratic Appeal | |
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | |
| Green Progressive Accord | |
| SGP, RPF and GPV | |
| Christian Democratic Appeal | |
|---|---|
| Labour Party | |
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | |
| Rainbow | |
| Democrats 66 | |
| SGP, GPV and RPF | |
| Christian Democratic Appeal | |
|---|---|
| Labour Party | |
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | |
| Democrats 66 | |
| SGP, GPV and RPF | |
| GreenLeft | |
| General | |
|---|---|
| National libraries | |
