Abraham "Bram" Peper (13 February 1940 – 20 August 2022) was a Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA).

Early life

After finishing the

Hogere Burgerschool The ''Hogere Burgerschool'' (''HBS'') (Dutch: Higher Civic School) was a secondary school type that existed between 1863 and 1974 in the Netherlands and the Dutch Empire. These schools, with a five- or sometimes six-year program, continued in 1 ...

, Peper studied

social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

s at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

until 1965, and economy and sociology at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

(1963–1964) and got his PhD at the ''Nederlandse Economische Hogeschool'' (Currently

Erasmus University Rotterdam Erasmus University Rotterdam ( ; abbreviated as EUR) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century Christian humanist and theologian. Erasmus M ...

) in 1972.

Career

Peper became a researcher, and fulfilled several academic functions, including professor at the Erasmus University until he became Mayor of Rotterdam in 1982 at the age of 42. Rotterdam is the second largest city of the Netherlands, and Peper was one of the youngest mayors of a large city at the time. In 1984, an interview with Peper and his wife with

Ischa Meijer Israël Chaim "Ischa" Meijer (14 February 1943 – 14 February 1995) was a Dutch journalist, television presenter, radio presenter, critic and author. Youth Ischa Meijer was born as the oldest child of historian Jaap Meijer and Liesbeth Voe ...

was published in ''

Vrij Nederland ''Vrij Nederland'' (Free Netherlands) is a Dutch magazine, established during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II as an underground newspaper. It has since grown into a magazine. The originally weekly turned monthly magazin ...

'', a Dutch magazine, in which Peper was critical of citizens and rulers. The interview was perceived as arrogant, and seemed to be made while Peper was in a drunk condition. Peper made his apologies, and soon after he and his wife divorced. While Peper was mayor, the city completed its process of rebuilding after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, which resulted in a new

skyline A skyline is the wikt:outline, outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city's overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural area, rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the ...

for Rotterdam. In the second half of his mayorship, Peper had a tough time with for instance his defeat on the formation of a city province (90% of the voters in a referendum were against). Peper was mayor until 1998, when he joined the government as Minister of the Interior of the Netherlands in the

second Kok cabinet The second Kok cabinet, also called the second Purple (government), Purple cabinet, was the Executive (government), executive branch of the Cabinet of the Netherlands, Dutch government from 3 August 1998 until 22 July 2002. The cabinet was a c ...

. Starting in 1999, rumours were spreading that Peper had made incorrect declarations while he was mayor of Rotterdam. On 13 March 2000 Peper resigned as minister, according to himself to no longer bring problems to the public government, and to be better able to defend himself. Although a report on 17 March suggested that Peper did not act properly regarding the declarations, Peper won the legal procedures finally two years later.

Later life and death

From 2002 to 2004, Peper was professor at the

Nyenrode Business University Nyenrode Business Universiteit (abbreviated as ''NBU''; ) is a Dutch business university and the only private higher education institution that has the university status in the Netherlands. Founded in 1946, it is located on a large estate in the ...

, a private university, from which he resigned due to a disagreement regarding a study trip to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. Peper died on 20 August 2022, at the age of 82.

Decorations

Notes

References

External links

*
Dr. A. (Bram) Peper
Parlement & Politiek {{DEFAULTSORT:Peper, Bram 1940 births 2022 deaths Dutch sociologists Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch expatriates in Norway Erasmus University Rotterdam alumni Academic staff of Erasmus University Rotterdam Labour Party (Netherlands) politicians Mayors of Rotterdam Ministers of the interior of the Netherlands Ministers of kingdom relations of the Netherlands Academic staff of Nyenrode Business University Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Politicians from Haarlem University of Amsterdam alumni 20th-century Dutch educators 20th-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch politicians Second Kok cabinet members