Wim Kok
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| Wim Kok | |
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| Assumed office 11 April 2003 |
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| Monarch | Beatrix |
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| In office 22 August 1994 – 22 July 2002 |
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| Monarch | Beatrix |
| Preceded by | Ruud Lubbers |
| Succeeded by | Jan Peter Balkenende |
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| In office 7 November 1989 – 22 August 1994 |
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| Prime Minister | Ruud Lubbers |
| Preceded by | Onno Ruding |
| Succeeded by | Gerrit Zalm |
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| In office 7 November 1989 – 22 August 1994 |
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| Prime Minister | Ruud Lubbers |
| Preceded by | Rudolf de Korte |
| Succeeded by | Hans Dijkstal Hans van Mierlo |
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| In office 21 July 1986 – 5 November 1989 |
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| Preceded by | Joop den Uyl |
| Succeeded by | Thijs Wöltgens |
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| In office 3 June 1986 – 6 November 1989 |
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| Born | September 29, 1938 Bergambacht, Netherlands |
| Birth name | Willem Kok |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Political party | PvdA |
| Spouse(s) | Rita Kok (born 1939) |
| Residence | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Alma mater | Nyenrode Business Universiteit (Dr.h.c.) University of Münster (Dr.h.c.) |
| Occupation | Politician Trade Union Leader |
| Religion | Atheism |
Willem "Wim" Kok (
Wim Kok (help·info)) (born 29 September 1938) is a retired Dutch politician of the Dutch Labour Party who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 August 1994 until 22 July 2002.
He is a former trade union leader who succeeded Joop den Uyl as party leader of the Dutch Labour Party in 1986. After three years in the opposition he became Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister in the Lubbers III Cabinet. After winning the Dutch General Election of 1994, Kok became Prime Minister of the Netherlands, leading the Cabinets Kok I and Kok II, also known as the Purple Coalitions.
On 11 April 2003 he was granted the honorary title of Minister of State.[1]
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Wim Kok was born in Bergambacht, The Netherlands. After completing his studies at the Nyenrode business school, he started his career in 1961 at the socialist Nederlands Verbond van Vakverenigingen (NVV), where he was chairman from 1973 until 1982. Between 1976 and 1986 he was chair of the Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging (FNV), a merger of the NVV and the Catholic trade union NKV, which he had overseen.
In 1986, Kok succeeded Joop den Uyl as leader of the social democratic Dutch Labour Party. From 1989 until 1994 he was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in a cabinet with the centre-right party Christian Democratic Appeal.
[edit] Prime Minister
In 1994, Kok became Prime Minister in a cabinet with the conservative liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and the social liberal party Democrats 66. This cabinet goes under the name of Kok I Cabinet. This Purple coalition was the first in decades to form a government without the Christian Democratic Appeal. After the elections in 1998 he led a second government with the same partners, Kok II Cabinet.
During most of Kok's time as Prime Minister, the Netherlands was booming economically and Kok was credited internationally for the Dutch Polder Model. This same "Polder model" went out of fashion early 2002, which saw the rise of Pim Fortuyn, a right-wing populist political newcomer.
Kok's cabinet fell just weeks before the May 2002 elections when Kok and all his ministers stepped down because of the discussion about the possible Dutch responsibility in the Srebrenica massacre.
Kok left Dutch politics after the election, as he had already announced the year before, but that does not mean his political life has ended. Like many whose official political careers have ended, he continues to influence politics.
Kok was succeeded as leader of the Dutch Labour Party by Ad Melkert, who went on to lose the 2002 general election.
At present, Wim Kok holds the following positions:
- President of the Board of Governors of The Netherlands Cancer Institute
- Member of the Supervisory Board of ING Group (international financial services)
- Member of the Supervisory Board of Royal Dutch Shell (oil company)
- Member of the Supervisory Board of TNT (international postal company with Dutch origin)
- Member of the Supervisory Board of KLM (airline)
- Member of the Strategic Advisory Panel of the European Business Awards
- Member of the Club of Madrid
- Member of the Bilderberg Group
- Special member of Supervisory Board of Stork (industrial group)
- Commissioner of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).
[edit] After politics
Between April and November 2004, Kok headed up a review of the Lisbon Strategy and presented a report containing suggestions on how to give new impetus to the Lisbon process. The European Commission used this report to declare that the social and environmental parts are no longer a priority and declared a return to the Lisbon Agenda under economic terms only.
Kok now lobbies for the Lisbon Strategy of the European Commission and has also been appointed to the Avisory Board of the European Association of History Educators.
[edit] References
- ^ (Dutch) Kok benoemd tot minister van Staat
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wim Kok |
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Joop den Uyl |
Chair of the Parliamentary Party – PvdA House of Representatives 1986-1989 |
Succeeded by Thijs Wöltgens |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by Onno Ruding |
Minister of Finance 1989-1994 |
Succeeded by Gerrit Zalm |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Ruud Lubbers |
Prime Minister of the Netherlands 1994-2002 |
Succeeded by Jan Peter Balkenende |
