Wouter Bos
Wouter Bos | |
|---|---|
Minister of Finance | |
| In office 22 February 2007 – 23 February 2010 | |
| Prime Minister | Jan Peter Balkenende |
| Preceded by | Gerrit Zalm |
| Succeeded by | Jan Kees de Jager |
| Leader of the Labour Party | |
| In office 19 November 2002 – 25 April 2010 | |
| Deputy | See list
|
| Preceded by | State Secretary for Finance |
| In office 24 March 2000 – 22 July 2002 | |
| Prime Minister | Wim Kok |
| Preceded by | Willem Vermeend |
| Succeeded by | Steven van Eijk |
| Member of the House of Representatives | |
| In office 23 May 2002 – 22 February 2007 | |
| In office 19 May 1998 – 24 March 2000 | |
| Parliamentary group | Labour Party |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Wouter Jacob Bos 14 July 1963 Vlaardingen, Netherlands |
| Political party | Labour Party (from 1981) |
| Residence(s) | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Alma mater | Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Bachelor of Social Science, Master of Social Science, Bachelor of Economics, Master of Economics) |
| Occupation | Politician · civil servant · Economist · Businessman · Corporate director · Nonprofit director · Management consultant · Lobbyist |
Wouter Jacob Bos (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋʌutər ˈbɔs]; (born 14 July 1963) is a retired Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and businessman.
Bos attended the
Bos was elected as a
Bos semi-retired from national politics and became active in the private sector and public sector, in October 2010 Bos was named as a management consultant for KPMG. After the election of 2012 Bos was appointed as co-Informateur for the cabinet formation of 2012. In August 2013 Bos was nominated as chairman of the board of directors of the VU University Medical Center. In September 2018 Bos was appointed as chairman of the board of directors of the Netherlands Investment Agency, taking office on 1 October 2018. Bos also serves as an lobbyist for several economic delegations on behalf of the government. As of 2022 he is the chairman of health insurance company Menzis.[1][2]
Life
Youth
Bos was raised in a
Life before politics
Bos became a member of the PvdA in 1981. In the same year he started studying
From 1988 till 1998 he worked for
Between 1988 and 1990 he worked at the
Political life
In 1998 he was elected into the lower house of parliament for the PvdA as finance specialist. He campaigned together with Rick van der Ploeg and Willem Vermeend as "the Polderboys" and gave lectures in economics at universities. In 2000, due to a cabinet reshuffle, he succeeded
After the fall of the
In the January
At that time Bos was the leader of the largest opposition party.[3] He spent considerable time reforming the PvdA's internal organisation and public image, together with the party's chairman Ruud Koole. He was criticized for his silence on important reforms and issues, and his moderacy which resulted in other parties claiming opposition leadership, among them most notably the Socialist Party. Although still enjoying large public support, criticism about his "style over substance" approach to politics was voiced in this period. At the December 2005 party congress, Bos announced that he aspired to become Prime Minister of the Netherlands, should the PvdA succeed in becoming the biggest party after the next parliament elections. And in the 2006 municipal elections, a few months later, the PvdA performed particularly well, becoming the largest party in local government.
However, in the election campaign for the Dutch general elections of 2006 the PvdA – for the second time campaigning under his leadership – didn't manage to maintain this position as biggest party. Some considered pension reforms proposed by him to embattle the consequences of an aging population as a reason for this decline in popularity.[4] Others emphasized a declining confidence in Bos among parts of the electorate that perceived him as "unreliable", as reason for this.[5] Bos lost nine seats in the elections, which saw large gains for the main rival of Labour on the left side of the political spectrum, the more radical Socialist Party. Nonetheless, after these elections (and this time successful coalition talks with Prime Minister Balkenende), Bos became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in the Fourth Balkenende cabinet, thereby breaking a campaign promise to only join a cabinet when he could hold the office of Prime Minister.[citation needed]
As part of the leadership of the PvdA he revoked his confidence in fellow party member
Other activities
- European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2007–2010)[7]
Personal life
In December 2002 Bos married Barbara Bos (the surname is a coincidence). The master of ceremonies of his marriage was Joop Wijn, the former State Secretary of finance for the CDA. Wouter and Barbara Bos have two daughters, Iris (5 February 2004) and Jula (3 January 2006) and a son Joppe (18 April 2009).
Decorations
| Honours | ||||
| Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 3 December 2010 | Elevated from Knight (10 December 2002) |
References
- ^ "Wouter Bos steps down as Dutch Labour leader"
- ^ (in Dutch)"PvdA-leider Wouter Bos verlaat politiek"
- ^ "Left-winger uses Fortuyn formula to lead Dutch election race"
- ^ "Balkenende wijst uitnodiging Bos af", De Telegraaf (1 October 2006) "Volgens Balkenende heeft Bos problemen omdat hij „vervelende" boodschappen als de beperking van de hypotheekrenteaftrek en de fiscalisering van de AOW aan de kiezer moet verkopen."
- ^ "Kiezer is links, stemt rechts", Trouw (11-11-2006) "Het verlies voor de PvdA zit vooral in de geringe waardering voor de persoon van lijsttrekker Wouter Bos. De PvdA-leider scoort laag op punten als betrouwbaarheid en bekwaamheid. Zijn grote concurrent Balkenende scoort op betrouwbaarheid stukken beter en op bekwaamheid heeft hij zijn eerdere achterstand goedgemaakt."
- Radio 1, called Bos a 'comeback kid' in politics and 'our national crisis manager', referring to Bos' measures as Finance Minister during the financial crisis.
- ^ 2009 Annual Report European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
External links
- Official
- (in Dutch) Drs. W.J. (Wouter) Bos Parlement & Politiek
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