Job Cohen
Job Cohen | |
---|---|
Member of the House of Representatives | |
In office 17 June 2010 – 29 February 2012 | |
Leader of the Labour Party in the House of Representatives | |
In office 17 June 2010 – 20 February 2012 | |
Preceded by | Mariëtte Hamer |
Succeeded by | Jeroen Dijsselbloem |
Leader of the Labour Party | |
In office 25 April 2010 – 20 February 2012 | |
Deputy | |
Preceded by | State Secretary for Education and Sciences |
In office 2 July 1993 – 22 August 1994 | |
Prime Minister | Ruud Lubbers |
Preceded by | Roel in 't Veld |
Succeeded by | Tineke Netelenbos Aad Nuis (Education, Culture and Science) |
Personal details | |
Born | Marius Job Cohen 18 October 1947 Haarlem, Netherlands |
Political party | Labour Party (since 1967) |
Spouses | Lidie Lodeweges
(m. 1972; died 2015)Anjes van der Linden
(m. 2016) |
Children | Jaap Cohen (born 1980) Lotje Cohen (born 1983) |
Parent |
|
Relatives | Hendrik Cohen (grand-father) Floris Cohen (brother) |
Alma mater | University of Groningen (LL.B., LL.M.) Leiden University (PhD) |
Occupation | Politician · Jurist · Researcher · Nonprofit director · Author · Professor |
Marius Job Cohen[a] (born 18 October 1947) is a retired Dutch politician and jurist who served as Mayor of Amsterdam from 2001 to 2010 and Leader of the Labour Party (PvdA) from 2010 to 2012.[1][2][3]
Cohen studied
After the
Cohen retired from active politics at 64 and became active in the public sector as a non-profit director and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government, and worked as a distinguished professor of Constitutional law and Governmental studies at his alma mater in Leiden from April 2014 until January 2019.[6][7]
Biography
Family and education
His parents both studied history and became high school teachers of history.
Cohen attended public primary school in Heemstede. He attended the secondary school Stedelijk Gymnasium in Haarlem from 1960 to 1966. He studied Dutch public law at the University of Groningen from 1966 and obtained his Master of Laws degree in 1971. During his student years, he was a member of the student association Vindicat atque Polit.[citation needed]
Cohen married Lidie Lodeweges on 2 July 1972 in Groningen. She studied Dutch language in Groningen and was a high school teacher. She had multiple sclerosis and needed a wheelchair. Cohen and his wife had two children, son Jaap (born 1980) and daughter Lotje (born 1983).[15] Lidie Cohen died on 4 August 2015.[16]
Academic career
Between 1 September 1971 and 1 September 1981, Job Cohen held a scientific position at the Bureau Research of Education at Leiden University. He obtained a doctorate (PhD) from this university in June 1981, with a dissertation on the rights of university students.[17]
On 1 September 1981 he joined the
In 1995 he returned to his position in Maastricht as professor and rector magnificus at
Cohen has received two honorary degrees for his contributions to law and society, one in 2007 from the University of Windsor[18] and one in 2008 from the Radboud University Nijmegen.[19]
Political career
State Secretary for Education and Sciences
On 2 July 1993, Cohen became
Member of the Senate
From 13 June 1995, Cohen was a member of the
During his period in the Senate, he also worked for the Maastricht University, where he began a sabbatical year on 1 January 1998. In February 1998 however, he took on the function of interim-director of the broadcasting organization VPRO, lasting until 15 August.
State Secretary for Justice
On 3 August 1998, he resigned from the Senate to take up the position of State Secretary for Justice in the
Mayor of Amsterdam
He resigned his position as State Secretary on 31 December 2000 in order to take up the position of
At midnight on 1 April 2001, Cohen became the first public official to wed same-sex couples, following the passing of legislation opening up marriage to people of the same gender (see same-sex marriage in the Netherlands).[21]
On 2 February 2002, Job Cohen performed the civil marriage of
In November 2004, controversial film maker Theo van Gogh was killed in Amsterdam by a Muslim extremist. Time awarded Cohen the title "European Hero" in 2005, for his inclusive approach towards the Muslim community after the murder, defusing tension in the city.[23]
Cohen found himself thrown into the role of mediator between the city's Muslims, the original Dutch population and other groups in the cultural and racial mix. Almost half Amsterdam's residents are of non-Western descent, a majority of them Muslims."Islam is here to stay, in this country, in this city (...) We have to deal with Islam as a fact, not whether we like it. So the real question is how to get on with each other." Cohen took pride in the fact that in Amsterdam no violence or arson occurred in response to the killing.[24] By his visiting ethnic groups, organizing debates among religious leaders and his listening and promoting dialogue, he received from opponents the mocking nickname of "tea drinker" – an image that would be exploited by them when he returned in the Dutch national politics in 2010.[25]
On 27 January 2006 Cohen announced he would be willing to serve a second term as mayor of Amsterdam. On 12 July 2006 the municipality of Amsterdam almost unanimously (Democrats 66 opposed, being in favour of an elected mayor) supported Cohen to prolong his career as a mayor after 15 January 2007 when his first term ended.
Cohen's politics towards ethnic minorities in Amsterdam was characterized by the slogan "keeping things together" (de boel bij elkaar houden). On 2 May 2006 Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk of the centre-right VVD accused Amsterdam of becoming a "banana republic" with a lax safety policy; she cited the criminal liquidations and the disturbance caused by young people as examples of this. However, in the yearly crime meter of the Algemeen Dagblad Amsterdam did not perform particularly badly in safety policy and crime fighting. One of the reasons for this was Cohen's targeted approach towards those who commit multiple crimes (veelplegers). Cohen stated that his policy which combines soft and hard approaches, fighting crime and fighting the causes of crime, was the key to his successful safety policy.
In 2006 Cohen was the runner-up in the award for
In late 2007, Cohen moved to reduce prostitution in Amsterdam, following allegations that Hells Angels and other organized criminals had taken over the prostitution industry. The city council bought 18 buildings in the red light district De Wallen from Charlie Geerts in order to convert them into upscale establishments and revoked the license of the luxury brothel Yab Yum.[28][29]
Leader of the Labour Party
On 12 March 2010, Wouter Bos resigned as leader of the Labour Party. Bos named Cohen as candidate for the position, which he accepted. At the subsequent elections, Cohen was a candidate for Prime Minister. He was expected to be a strong opponent to Geert Wilders and was described in the press as "authoritarian but enlightened."[30] Exit polls showed the Labour Party as the second largest with 30 seats and 19.6% of the total vote.[31] Eventually his opponent Mark Rutte of the VVD became the Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
He has been chair of the Labour Party in the
On 20 February 2012, he resigned as leader of the Labour Party, he also left the House of Representatives over criticisms that he had been too moderate towards the center-right Dutch government's planned economic austerity measures and the Dutch government's support for the EU Commission's plan to bail out Greece, which had been passed with the support of the Dutch Labour Party. At the time of his resignation, the Dutch Socialist Party, politically to the left of the Dutch Labour Party, had overtaken the Dutch Labour Party in a number of opinion polls.
Later life
Cohen and his wife moved to Maarssen around 2016. In his retirement, he served as chair of the supervisory board of NVVE, a Dutch right to die association, and he has been a guest speaker about World War II at schools.[32]
Honors and awards
- European Hero (2005), Time Magazine[33]
- Best Mayor of the Last 25 Years (2005), Binnenlands Bestuur[34]
- Citizenship Award (2005), P&V Foundation[35]
- Honorary degree (2007), University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada[36]
- Advertising Man of the Year (2007), Marketing Tribune[37]
- Honorary degree (2008), Radboud University Nijmegen[38][39]
- Martin Luther King Award (2008), DutchVersity[40]
- Gold Medal (2010), city council of Amsterdam[41]
Works
- Books (as author)
- Studierechten in het wetenschappelijk onderwijs (1981), dissertation[42]
- Wandeling door een historisch besluit (2003)[43]
- Binden (2009), collection of speeches and lectures[44]
- Audio books (as narrator)
- Het grijze kind (2007), novel written by Theo Thijssen[45]
- De Uitvreter (2008), novella written by Nescio[45]
- Lijmen/Het Been (2009), two novellas written by Willem Elsschot[45]
- Kaas (2009), novella written by Willem Elsschot[45]
- Titaantjes (2010), novella written by Nescio[45]
- Max Havelaar (2010), novel written by Multatuli[45]
- Reizen zonder John (2012), non-fiction written by Geert Mak[46]
- Het dwaallicht (2013), novella written by Willem Elsschot[47]
- De eeuw van mijn vader (2013), non-fiction written by Geert Mak[48]
- De levens van Jan Six (2016), non-fiction written by Geert Mak[49]
Decorations
Honours | ||||
Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion | Netherlands | 8 October 1994 | ||
Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 30 April 2003 | ||
Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour | France | 21 March 2006 | ||
Recipient Second Class of the Cross of Recognition | Latvia | 23 October 2008 | [50][51] |
Notes
- ^ The phrase Marius Job Cohen is pronounced [ˈmaːrijʏˈʃɔp koːˈɦɛn]. Job Cohen in isolation is pronounced [ˈjɔp koːˈɦɛn].
References
- ^ (in Dutch) Job Cohen: echte held of slapjanus?, Algemeen Dagblad, 4 October 2005.
- ^ (in Dutch) Cohen stopt bemiddeling Westermoskee, Algemeen Dagblad, 12 April 2007.
- ^ (in Dutch) Job Cohen wil liever thee drinken dan azijn pissen, Limburger.nl, 20 February 2016.
- ^ (in Dutch) Job Cohen: 'Mensen vonden mij veel te soft', Het Parool, 26 October 2014.
- ^ (in Dutch) Job Cohen over de complexiteit van de vluchtelingenopvang, Sleutelstad.nl, 15 January 2016.
- ^ (in Dutch) Job Cohen in bestuur Bibliotheek Amsterdam, Nu.nl, 9 January 2013
- ^ (in Dutch) Job Cohen benoemd tot bijzonder hoogleraar Universiteit Leiden, NRC Handelsblad, 26 March 2014.
- ^ a b c d (in Dutch) Joodsch Lyceum en huwelijk Archived 19 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Leiden University. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- ^ (in Dutch) Heemsteedse herinneringen aan Job Cohen (deel 1). De Heemsteder. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- ^ (in Dutch) Studie geschiedenis te Leiden Archived 19 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Leiden University. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- ^ (in Dutch) Jeugdjaren in Rotterdam Archived 19 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Leiden University. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- ^ (in Dutch) Altijd en nooit echt geweest . Leiden University. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
- ^ (in Dutch) Hoogleraar middeleeuwse geschiedenis te Leiden Archived 19 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Leiden University. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- ^ (in Dutch) Rector magnificus I: het waarnemen van de verandering Archived 19 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Leiden University. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- ^ (in Dutch) Goos gaat... (Lidie Cohen) Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Esta. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- ^ (in Dutch) Mirjam Remie, "Lidie Cohen op 67-jarige leeftijd overleden", NRC Handelsblad, 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
- ^ (in Dutch) M.J. Cohen, Studierechten in het wetenschappelijk onderwijs Archived 18 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine (review of the dissertation). Jan Tom Bos & Marc Groenhuijsen. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
- ^ 87th Convocation Webcast Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. University of Windsor. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
- ^ (in Dutch) Eredoctoraat voor dr. M.J. Cohen. Radboud University Nijmegen. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
- ^ Profile: Mayor Job Cohen Archived 19 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Going Dutch". The Guardian. 2 April 2001. Retrieved 21 December 2007.
- ^ Marriage and family Archived 12 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine. The Dutch Royal House. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
- ^ Abi Daruvalla (8 October 2005). "Job Cohen – Key to the city". Time. Archived from the original on 10 December 2005. Retrieved 12 December 2006.
- ^ "In Amsterdam, mayor is a job for a mediator"
- ^ "New Labour leader Cohen: hard man, soft touch"
- ^ "Amsterdam closes a window on its red-light tourist trade" by Anushka Asthana, The Observer, 23 September 2007.
- ^ "John So, Lord Mayor of Melbourne wins the 2006 World Mayor Award". worldmayor.com. 5 December 2006.
- ^ Amsterdam mayor to clean up red light district Archived 23 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Pink News, 8 January 2008
- ^ "Pimping ban in Amsterdam?" Archived 26 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine by Eric Hesen, Radio Netherlands Worldwide (website), 21 September 2007.
- ^ "Cohen: authoritarian but enlightened"
- ^ (in Dutch) Bijna alle stemmen geteld, NOS, 10 June 2010
- ^ Cohen, Job (19 April 2024). "Job Cohen: Vrijheid is als zuurstof, je merkt pas hoe bijzonder het is als het verdwijnt" [Job Cohen: Freedom is like oxygen, you only notice how special it is once it disappears]. Trouw (Interview) (in Dutch). Interviewed by Tim van der Pal and Bart Zuidervaart. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- Time Magazine. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ^ (in Dutch) "Beste burgemeester van de afgelopen 25 jaar: Job Cohen". Trouw. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ^ Citizenship Award Archived 23 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Foundation P&V. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ^ Job Cohen to Receive Honorary Degree at Law Convocation. University of Windsor. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
- ^ (in Dutch) Job Cohen is de 25ste Reclameman van het Jaar Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- Radboud University. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
- Radboud University. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
- ^ (in Dutch) "Cohen wint eerste Martin Luther King Award". Trouw. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
- ^ (in Dutch) "Cohen ontvangt medaille bij afscheid van Amsterdam". Trouw. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
- ^ Studierechten in het wetenschappelijk onderwijs Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine (in Dutch), Leiden University. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
- National Library of the Netherlands. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- ^ Binden (in Dutch), Uitgeverij Prometheus. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f Luisterboeken voorgelezen door Job Cohen Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine (in Dutch), Uitgeverij Rubinstein. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
- ^ Reizen zonder John (in Dutch), Uitgeverij Rubinstein. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- ^ Het dwaallicht (in Dutch), Uitgeverij Rubinstein. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- ^ De eeuw van mijn vader (in Dutch), Uitgeverij Rubinstein. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- ^ De levens van Jan Six (in Dutch), Uitgeverij Rubinstein. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- ^ (in Dutch) "Cohen krijgt onderscheiding van Letland". de Volkskrant. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
- ^ (in Latvian) Ordenu kapituls pieškiris 151 valsts apbalvojumu par godu Latvijas Republikas 90. gadskartai. Latvijas Reitingi. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
External links
- Official
- (in Dutch) Prof.Mr.Dr. M.J. (Job) Cohen Parlement & Politiek
- (in Dutch) Prof.Mr.Dr. M.J. Cohen (PvdA) Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal