Jo Ritzen
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Jo Ritzen | |
---|---|
Minister of Education and Sciences | |
In office 7 November 1989 – 22 August 1994 | |
Prime Minister | Ruud Lubbers |
Preceded by | Gerrit Braks (Ad interim) |
Succeeded by | Himself as Minister of Education, Culture and Science |
Personal details | |
Born | Jozef Maria Mathias Ritzen 3 October 1945 Heerlen, Netherlands |
Political party | Labour Party (from 1970) |
Other political affiliations | Pacifist Socialist Party (1969–1970) |
Residence(s) | Maastricht, Netherlands |
Alma mater | Delft Institute of Technology (Bachelor of Engineering, Master of Engineering, Master of Science in Engineering) Erasmus University Rotterdam (Bachelor of Economics, Master of Economics, Doctor of Philosophy) |
Occupation | Politician · Economist · Civil engineer · Researcher · Financial adviser · Political consultant · Management consultant · Nonprofit director · Academic administrator · Author · Professor |
Jozef Marie Mathias "Jo" Ritzen (born 3 October 1945) is a retired Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and economist.
Ritzen worked as researcher at the
Biography
Education and academic career
Ritzen started in 1963 at
Before entering politics, Ritzen worked in a variety of jobs: as a project consultant in former East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), as a lecturer in the economics of education at the
Politics
In 1989 he became
As a minister he introduced the OV-studentenkaart in 1990, a card giving free
Ritzen contributed greatly to the reformation of the governance of Higher Education. Institutes of higher education would be governed by a governing board selected from the leading people of the major directions of life (business, justice, culture), excluding politicians. This board appoints the managing board of the university which has full authority and responsibility. This reform is sometimes recognized as the basis for the success of Dutch universities in international rankings in the early decades of the 21st century.
During his period in office, many parts of the Dutch education system were reformed: secondary education, through a law which made transitions from different streams easier (“basisvorming”), the second stage of secondary education with more emphasis on self-learning of students and vocational education (a law abbreviated as “WEB”).
Also, the science system was substantially modified amongst others by including public private programs, between industry and public research institutes.
Ritzen was the longest-serving Minister of Education in the EU and one of longest serving in the world.
In 1998, after his term as a Minister he became an adviser to the President of the World bank, Jim Wolfenson and later a
He left the World Bank to become president of Maastricht University in February 2003 until February 2011. During that period, Maastricht University grew to become one of the leading international teaching and research universities, with almost half of its students coming from abroad and problem-based learning as the primary educational method. In 2013, the university was ranked number 6 worldwide in the Times Higher Education Ranking of young (“under 50”) universities (established after 1963).
During his career he has made significant contributions to agencies such as UNESCO and OECD, especially in the field of education and social cohesion. He also served on the Supervisory Board of Educational Testing Service (Princeton) from 2002 to 2014 and to several Dutch firms from 1981 to 1989 (before becoming a Minister).
He is now honorary professor of Maastricht University, senior advisor to the International Institute of Labor Studies IZA in Bonn, member of the International Advisory Board of RANEPA (Moskou) and KAU (Jeddah), adviser to several ministers of education, Chair and Founder of Empower European Universities and Initiator of the Vibrant Europe Forum, whose goal is to contribute to the European Parliamentary Elections in the areas of innovation, higher education, research, labour market, greening and income equality policy. He is also the President of the Conflict and Education Learning Laboratory, a non-profit foundation, registered in the Netherlands, which is dedicated to working for an international agreement to reduce divisive stereotypes in school textbooks.[1]
Since 2015 he has been active as the chairman of the International Museum for Family History's Friends Foundation.
Decorations
Honours | ||||
Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion | Netherlands | 30 April 1986 | ||
Knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre | Holy See | 8 June 1992 | ||
Commander of the Order of the Crown | Belgium | 12 September 1996 | ||
Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 10 December 1998 |
References
External links
- Official
- (in Dutch) Dr.Ir. J.M.M. (Jo) Ritzen Parlement & Politiek