Frans Weisglas

Frans Weisglas
Frans Weisglas
	Frans Weisglas in 2010
Speaker of the House of Representatives
	In office; 28 May 2002 – 30 November 2006
Preceded by	Jeltje van Nieuwenhoven
Succeeded by	Gerdi Verbeet
Member of the House of Representatives
	In office; 16 September 1982 – 30 November 2006
Parliamentary group	People's Party for ; Freedom and Democracy
Personal details
Born	Frans Willy Weisglas; 8 August 1946 (age 78); The Hague, Netherlands
Political party	People's Party for ; Freedom and Democracy ; (from 1967)
Spouse	Nynke Kuperus (m. 1973)
Residence(s)	Rotterdam, Netherlands
Alma mater	Erasmus University Rotterdam ; (Bachelor of Economics, Master of Economics)
Occupation	Politician · Diplomat · Civil servant · Economist · Nonprofit director · Political pundit
Website	(in Dutch) fransweisglas.nl

Frans Willy Weisglas (born 8 August 1946) is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and economist. He served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from 16 May 2002 until 30 November 2006 and a Member of the House of Representatives from 16 September 1982 until 30 November 2006.^[1]

Biography

Early life

Weisglas studied economics at the Erasmus University, in Rotterdam, obtaining a degree in 1970.

Politics

After his graduation, he worked for some years for the Dutch foreign service, being part of the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations (1970–1977). He then worked as a secretary to the Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation (1978–1981). In 1982, he became an elected member of the House of Representatives, where he focused on foreign and European affairs.

In 2002, Weisglas was elected Speaker of the House, after Jeltje van Nieuwenhoven of the Labour Party stepped down. He was the first Speaker of the House to be elected (and re-elected in 2003) by a democratic vote among parliamentarians without requiring royal approval.

On 15 August 2006 he announced that he would not be a candidate in the 2006 Dutch general election, ending his 24-year-old career as a politician. His last day as Speaker of the House was on 30 November 2006.^[2]

Trivia

He is an ambassador for Terre des hommes.

Decorations

Ribbon bar	Honour	Country	Date
Honours
	Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion	Netherlands	28 April 1995
	Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown	Luxembourg	24 April 2006
	Commander of Order of Leopold	Belgium	4 July 2006
	Grand Cordon of Order of Independence	Jordan	30 October 2006
	Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau	Netherlands	29 November 2006

References

^ (in Dutch) Frans Weisglas houdt de politiek voor gezien Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine, Elsevier, 10 August 2006
^ (in Dutch) Frans Weisglas: 'Met genoegen schrijf ik over het einde van dit wangedrocht', Volkskrant, 22 April 2012

External links

Official

(in Dutch) Drs. F.W. (Frans) Weisglas Parlement & Politiek

Political offices
Preceded by Jeltje van Nieuwenhoven	Speaker of the House of Representatives 2002–2006	Succeeded by Gerdi Verbeet

[1] (in Dutch) Frans Weisglas houdt de politiek voor gezien Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine, Elsevier, 10 August 2006

[2] (in Dutch) Frans Weisglas: 'Met genoegen schrijf ik over het einde van dit wangedrocht', Volkskrant, 22 April 2012

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