Pieter Winsemius (born 7 March 1942) is a retired

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

politician of the

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party in ...

(VVD) and businessman. Winsemius worked as a researcher at the

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

from February 1966 until October 1970 and as a management consultant at the

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...

from October 1970 until November 1982. After the election of 1982 Winsemius was appointed as Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in the Cabinet Lubbers I, taking office on 4 November 1982. After the election of 1986 Winsemius was not giving a ministerial post in the new

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

. The Cabinet Lubbers I was replaced by the Cabinet Lubbers II on 14 July 1986. Winsemius semi-retired from active politics and returned to the

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

and the

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, infra ...

and occupied numerous seats as a corporate director and nonprofit director on several board of directors and supervisory boards (

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

Vereniging Natuurmonumenten Vereniging tot Behoud van Natuurmonumenten in Nederland ( en, Society for Preservation of Nature Monuments in the Netherlands), also known as Vereniging Natuurmonumenten, is a Dutch nature conservation organization founded in 1905 by Jacobus Piet ...

Stichting Max Havelaar Fairtrade Nederland formerly known as Max HavelaaStichtingis the Dutch member of Fairtrade International, which unites 23 Fairtrade certification producer and labelling initiatives across Europe, Asia, Latin America, North America, Africa, Austra ...

, European Centre for Nature Conservation,

Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP ("National Civil Pension Fund"), frequently referred to as ABP, is the pension fund for government and education employees in the Netherlands. For the quarter ended 31 December 2014, ABP had 2.8 million participants an ...

and the Energy Research Centre) and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government ( Organisation for Scientific Research, National Insurance Bank,

Staatsbosbeheer Staatsbosbeheer, founded in 1899, is a Dutch government organization for forestry and the management of nature reserves. Staatsbosbeheer currently oversees over 250,000 hectares of land in the Netherlands. Usually this land is open to the public ...

, Meteorological Institute and the

Scientific Council for Government Policy The Scientific Council for Government Policy (Dutch: Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het Regeringsbeleid, WRR) is an independent think tank of the Government of the Netherlands based in The Hague, whose members include prominent social scientists, ec ...

). Winsemius also returned as a senior management consultant of the McKinsey & Company from August 1986 until October 1992 and served as a distinguished professor of

Environmental management Environmental resource management is the management of the interaction and impact of human societies on the environment. It is not, as the phrase might suggest, the management of the environment itself. Environmental resources management aims ...

at the

Tilburg University Tilburg University is a public university, public research university specializing in the social and behavioral sciences, economics, law, business sciences, theology and humanities, located in Tilburg in the southern part of the Netherlands. Tilb ...

from 1 October 1999 until 1 September 2012. Winsemius was appointed again as Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in the

caretaker Caretaker may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Caretaker'' (film), a 1963 adaptation of the play ''The Caretaker'' * '' The Caretakers'', a 1963 American film set in a mental hospital * Caretaker, a character in the 1974 film '' ...

Cabinet Balkenende III following the resignation of

Sybilla Dekker Sybilla Maria Dekker (born 23 March 1942) is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businesswoman. She was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 22 June 2018. A member of the People's Pa ...

, taking office on 26 September 2006. The Cabinet Balkenende III was replaced by the Cabinet Balkenende IV on 22 February 2007. Following the end of his active political career, Winsemius again returned to the private sector and the public sector and resumed his previous positions (Vereniging Natuurmonumenten, Energy Research Centre, Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP and the Scientific Council for Government Policy) and as an advocate, lobbyist and activist for

Conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

Environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...

Sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...

and

Climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

issues.

Political career

Winsemius is the son of economist Albert Winsemius. Trained as a physics scientist, and active as partner in the business consultancy firm McKinsey, he was Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM) in the

First Lubbers cabinet The First Lubbers cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch Government from 4 November 1982 until 14 July 1986. The cabinet was formed by the christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the conservative-liberal People's Part ...

, on behalf of the

VVD The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party in ...

. As a young minister, he brought environmental laws to effect, including the rules for

environmental impact assessment Environmental Impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the term "environmental imp ...

s. After his ministerial period, he became chairman of the

. On 22 September 2006, he again became minister of VROM, temporarily succeeding Sybilla Dekker during the

Third Balkenende cabinet The third Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 7 July 2006 until 22 February 2007. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the conservative-liberal ...

, until a completely new government had been formed on 22 February 2007 and he was succeeded by

Jacqueline Cramer Jacqueline Marian Cramer (born 10 April 1951) is a retired Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and biologist. Cramer was Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in the Fourth Balkenende cabinet for the PvdA. Previou ...

. Since 2003 until 21 November 2012, he has been member of the

, for which he was awarded the grade of Commander of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

upon his retirement. Winsemius has written books about management and social issues, including ''Speel nooit een uitwedstrijd'' (lit. 'never play away games') (1988), in which he compared managing to professional soccer. During the 1980s, Winsemius was co-host of the television show ''Aktua in bedrijf''.

Academic career

Since October 1999, Winsemius holds a professorate for Management of Sustainable Development, at the

. On 7 March 2007, he was elected as most influential sustainable Dutchman in the ''De Duurzame 100'' investigation by the newspaper

Trouw ''Trouw'' (; ) is a Dutch daily newspaper appearing in compact size. It was founded in 1943 as an orthodox Protestant underground newspaper during World War II. Since 2009, it has been owned by DPG Media (known as De Persgroep until 2019). ''Tr ...

and broadcasting group ''LLink''.

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
Prof.Dr. P. (Pieter) Winsemius
Parlement & Politiek {{DEFAULTSORT:Winsemius, Pieter 1942 births Living people Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Climate activists Dutch academic administrators Dutch business writers Dutch conservationists Dutch corporate directors Dutch education writers Dutch natural scientists Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Dutch lobbyists Dutch management consultants Dutch science writers 20th-century Dutch physicists Dutch public administration scholars Dutch publishers (people) Environmental social scientists Environmental writers Hybrid electric vehicle advocates Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Leiden University alumni McKinsey & Company people Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the Scientific Council for Government Policy Ministers of Housing and Spatial Planning of the Netherlands People from Voorburg People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians Sustainability advocates Academic staff of Tilburg University 20th-century Dutch businesspeople 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch educators 20th-century Dutch male writers 20th-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch businesspeople 21st-century Dutch civil servants 21st-century Dutch educators 21st-century Dutch male writers 21st-century Dutch politicians