Ad Melkert
Ad Melkert | |
---|---|
Minister of Social Affairs and Employment | |
In office 22 August 1994 – 3 August 1998 | |
Prime Minister | Wim Kok |
Preceded by | Bert de Vries |
Succeeded by | Klaas de Vries |
Member of the House of Representatives | |
In office 19 May 1998 – 17 October 2002 | |
In office 3 June 1986 – 22 Augustus 1994 | |
Parliamentary group | Labour Party |
Personal details | |
Born | Adrianus Petrus Wilhelmus Melkert 12 February 1956 Gouda, Netherlands |
Political party | Labour Party (from 1982) |
Other political affiliations | Political Party of Radicals (1974–1981) |
Children | 2 daughters |
Residence(s) | The Hague, Netherlands |
Alma mater | University of Amsterdam (B.Soc.Sc, MSSc) |
Occupation | Politician · Diplomat · Civil servant · Corporate director · Nonprofit director · Trade association executive · Activist |
Adrianus Petrus Wilhelmus "Ad" Melkert (Dutch: [ˈɑt ˈmɛlkərt] ⓘ; born 12 February 1956) is a Dutch politician and diplomat of the Labour Party (PvdA) who has served as a Member of the Council of State since 20 January 2016.
Melkert studied
For the
Melkert continued to be active in politics and in December 2015 was nominated as a Member of the Council of State on 20 January 2016. Melkert also became active in the private and public sectors as a corporate and non-profit director and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government, and works as a trade association executive serving as Chairman of the Dutch Hospitals association since December 2018 and became a Member of the Social and Economic Council for the Industry and Employers confederation (VNO-NCW) in April 2019.
Biography
Early life
Adrianus Petrus Wilhelmus Melkert was born into a Roman Catholic middle-class family in Gouderak, a small village situated in the province of South Holland. His father was a barber. Melkert attended a Roman Catholic primary school in Moordrecht until 1968, after which he continued his studies at the Coornhert Gymnasium in Gouda, a state school specialising in the arts. In the final year of his secondary education, he worked for a greengrocer at the local market. Melkert graduated in 1974 and went on to study political science at the University of Amsterdam. During this period he became active within the radical left-wing Christian Political Party of Radicals (PPR) party and served as a member of the board of the youth organisation of the PPR between 1978 and 1980. He went on to become a member of the general board of the Dutch branch of the European Movement, the chairperson of the Council of European National Youth Committees and the chairperson of the Dutch Platform for International Youth Work. In 1979 he was elected into the party board of the PPR, and was 3rd candidate on the PPR's list for the 1979 European Parliament elections. He graduated in 1981 and received the Dutch Society for International Relations prize for best Master's thesis of 1981, the subject of which dealt with the foreign policy of the Den Uyl cabinet.
In 1981 he became general secretary of the youth forum of the European Community in
. He also became a member of the board of the local PvdA branch. In 1986 he published a book on international development in the Netherlands titled: The Next Minister: Development Cooperation with the Cabinet, 1965 – 19?Politics
In 1996 Melkert was elected into the House of Representatives. In the early years, he was the party's spokesperson on foreign affairs, development cooperation and environmental affairs.
After the 1989 elections he took the post of financial spokesperson of the PvdA, becoming the party's primary spokesperson in the debates on the national budget. Between 1990 and 1994 he was vice-chairman of the parliament's committee on finance.
As an MP, Melkert also participated in several boards of civil society organisations. He was a member of the board of advisers of the Foundation for Communication on Development Cooperation, chairman of the Foundation for Development Cooperation Almere-Port Sudan, and vice-chairman of the Atlantic Committee. Also, he wrote a column in the region newspaper, De Gooi- en Eemlander, that covered Hilversum and the Almere region.
In 1994 Melkert became the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment in the first cabinet of prime minister, Wim Kok. He held responsibility for one of its main goals, which, in the words of those who shaped the cabinet was: Employment, Employment, Employment. As minister, Melkert was known for his work ethic. Each Friday he would fill a postman's cart, which he had bought specifically for that purpose, with dossiers. Upon his return to work the following Monday all the dossiers would have been read. His work ethic was also noticeable in the vast amount of policies and laws he initiated during his tenure as minister.
- In 1995 he initiated a plan to employ 40.000 long-term unemployed. They would be offered a so-called, Melkert-job, mostly in the public sector e.g. tram conductor, high school janitor etc. These jobs were subsidised by the national government.
- In 1995 Melkert also published a note, The Other Side of the Netherlands, in which he proposed several plans to combat silent poverty and social exclusion. This led to the 1997 law: Prevention and Combat of Poverty and Social Exclusion. It changed the social security and the old age pension laws, giving municipalities more ways of offering special social benefits to the poorest citizens.
- In the same year he also wrote the note, Flexibility and Certainty, in which proposals for a more flexible labour market were made.
- In 1997, in collaboration with Frank de Grave, the VVD (Liberal) state secretary of social affairs, he published the note, Working on Security, in which the future of the social security system was researched. It included plans to reform the way old-age pensions were financed.
- In the same year he also initiated a White Cleaners plan, which stimulated the hiring of cleaners by individuals with the added responsibility of paying taxes and social benefits. The plan was intended to combat unemployment of the least educated, and the informal economy.
- In addition, he united all employment laws, such as the Youth Work law, as well as the 'job-pools' into one Law Activation Working-Seeking, which offered municipalities more possibilities to employ the long-term unemployed.
As minister of Social Affairs he often came into conflict with the VVD's (People's Party for Freedom and Democracy) Minister of Finance, Gerrit Zalm.
Following the 1998 general elections in which Melkert was the PvdA's fifth ranking candidate, he became leader of the PvdA in parliament. He also served as chair of the parliament's committee on Information and Security Services. During his period as chairman, the party discipline tightened. The PvdA's image appeared arrogant. A conflict situation between Melkert and Rob van Gijzel, a popular PvdA MP, regarding the post of spokesperson on fraud in the construction sector, resulted in Van Gijzel leaving parliament. Despite concerns regarding Melkert's policy of marginalising and isolating the Socialist Party, he was seen as a competent politician, and was designated to succeed prime minister, Wim Kok, who officially retired as leader of the PvdA in 2001.
Elections of 2002
It was widely anticipated that the election would revolve mainly around the question as to whether the Labour Party or the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) would become the largest party and that either Melkert or the Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Hans Dijkstal were to become the next Prime Minister. Melkert and Dijkstal were the front runners to in the early stages of the campaign but the unexpected arrival of former Sociology professor Pim Fortuyn of the Livable Netherlands (LN) party and later the Pim Fortuyn List (LPF) party turned the polls.
Fortuyn shifted the election issues from
On 6 May 2002 nine days before the election Fortuyn was assassinated by a 32-year-old environmental activist. in Hilversum. A few relatively minor riots erupted in The Hague where Melkert was at the time, urging him to make a quick departure from the city. After receiving death threats, including a loaded gun in the mail, he and his family temporarily went into hiding. Melkert's PvdA lost nearly half its seats, decreasing from 45 to 23 in the 150 seat House of Representatives. The party fell from 1st to 4th place. Melkert resigned as political leader on election night and was replaced by former speaker of the House of Representatives, Jeltje van Nieuwenhoven. Melkert remained in parliament for a short time afterwards. His last major parliamentary debate was on the state of the European Union.
World Bank and the United Nations
In November, 2002 Melkert was appointed executive director of the World Bank. In April 2005 he was a serious candidate for the post of Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It went, however, to the Turkish economist and politician, Kemel Dervis. In January 2006 Melkert was appointed Associate Administrator of the UNDP. In 2009 Melkert was appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Iraq. He was a candidate to succeed Juan Somavía as Director-General of the International Labour Organization but lost to Guy Ryder.[1]
Decorations
Honours | ||||
Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 30 October 1998 |
References
- ^ (in Dutch) Melkert geen topman bij ILO, NOS, May 28, 2012
External links
- (in Dutch) Drs. A.P.W. (Ad) Melkert Parlement & Politiek