Gerrit Zalm (born 6 May 1952) 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. Zalm studied

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

at the Free University Amsterdam obtaining a

Master of Economics The Master of Economics (MEcon or MEc) is a postgraduate master's degree in economics comprising training in economic theory, econometrics, and/or applied economics. The degree is also offered as an MS or MSc, MA or MCom in economics; varia ...

degree and worked as a civil servant for the Ministries of Finance,

Economic Affairs An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

and the

Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis The Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis ( nl, Centraal Planbureau, CPB, literal translation: Central Planning Bureau) is a part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy of the Netherlands. Its goal is to deliver economic analysis an ...

from June 1975 until August 1994 and worked as a professor of

Political economy Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour ...

at his alma mater from January 1990 until August 1994. After the election of 1994 Zalm was appointed as

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

in the Cabinet Kok I taking office on 22 August 1994. After the election of 1998 Zalm continued his position in the Cabinet Kok II. After the election of 2002 Zalm was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives on 23 May 2002. Shortly after the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

Party Leader and

Parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are their ...

Hans Dijkstal announced he was stepping down and Zalm was anonymously selected as his successor as Leader on 16 May 2002 and became Parliamentary leader on 23 May 2002. For the election of 2003 Zalm served as ''

Lijsttrekker In politics, a lead candidate (; , ) is the leader of a political party in an election to a legislative body. In parliamentary systems, it is often the party's nominee for the position of head of government. In open list electoral systems, it is ...

'' (top candidate) and following a successful cabinet formation that formed the Cabinet Balkenende II was appointed as

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...

and Minister of Finance taking office on 27 May 2003. On 27 November 2004 Zalm announced he was stepping down as Leader in favor of and Parliamentary leader Jozias van Aartsen. The Cabinet Balkenende II fell on 30 June 2006 and was replaced by 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 with Zalm continuing his offices. In August 2006 Zalm announced his retirement and that he wouldn't stand for the election of 2006. Zalm retired from active politics at 54 and became active in 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 ...

as a corporate director, and worked as a

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becaus ...

for the

DSB Bank DSB Bank (''DSB: Dirk Scheringa Beheer'') was a Dutch bank and insurer that failed in 2009. Its loans were managed under ''Quion'' from June 2013 until June 2016 when ''Finqus'' began operating as the former DSB Bank. In 2018 ''Finqus BV'' took ov ...

, Fortis Bank and

ABN AMRO ABN or abn may refer to: Companies * ABN AMRO Group, a Dutch bank group * ABN AMRO, sometimes referred to as "ABN" in shorthand, is a Dutch state-owned bank * Algemene Bank Nederland, a now-defunct Dutch bank Radio, news and television organizat ...

from July 2007 until February 2017. Following his retirement Zalm became active in 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, inf ...

as a non-profit director and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government, and worked as a occasional mediator for coalition agreements. Zalm is known for his abilities as a skillful

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

and effective debater and as of continues to comment on political affairs. He holds the distinction as the longest-serving Minister of Finance with 11 years, 240 days in Dutch history.

Biography

Early life

Gerrit Zalm was born on 6 May 1952 in

Enkhuizen Enkhuizen () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. History Enkhuizen, like Hoorn and Amsterdam, was one of the harbor-towns of the VOC, from where overseas trade w ...

in the Province of North Holland. Following his graduation from high school ("HBS-A" level) in Enkhuizen, Zalm began a study in economics at the

Vrije Universiteit The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, being founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research ...

in Amsterdam, from which he graduated in 1975. In the same year he joined the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Ec ...

. From 1983 he worked for the Ministry of Economic Affairs, where he eventually became a director. In 1988 he was appointed deputy director of the Centraal Planbureau, a state institution that, among other things, calculates the financial effects of government plans. In 1989 he became director of this institute. In that capacity Zalm had, although not formally a politician, a significant influence on politics. From 1990 he also gave lectures at the

Directeuren, commissies, Bestanddeelnr 934-4592

Politics

Between 22 August 1994 and 22 July 2002, Zalm, member of the

, was Minister of Finance in the first and second

Wim Kok Willem "Wim" Kok (; 29 September 1938 – 20 October 2018) was a Dutch politician and trade union leader who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 August 1994 until 22 July 2002.Balkenende administration, Zalm was the acting leader of the

group in parliament. On 27 May 2003 he started his third term as

, in the second Balkenende administration, also serving as Deputy Prime Minister. On 30 June 2006, he succeeded

Laurens Jan Brinkhorst Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (born 18 March 1937) is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. Early life and education Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst was born in the city of Zwolle. His parents were Marius Jacobus ...

as Minister of Economic Affairs, ad interim, with most tasks delegated to Undersecretary

Karien van Gennip Catharina Elisabeth Godefrida "Karien" van Gennip (born 3 October 1968) is a Dutch businesswoman and politician who has served as Minister of Social Affairs and Employment in the Fourth Rutte cabinet since 10 January 2022. She is a member of ...

. On 7 July 2006 Joop Wijn was appointed as the new Minister of Economic Affairs.

Banking

On 26 November 2006, Zalm announced in the Sunday morning talk show ''Buitenhof'' that he would step down from politics and would probably seek employment in the private sector. Three months after his 2007 retirement from politics, Zalm went to work for

, a company that he had criticized in his earlier role as finance minister for what he considered misleading advertising for consumer credit. He initially held the position of chief economist, but quickly became CFO of the faltering bank after the Dutch central bank

DNB Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

had threatened to curtail DSB's financial autonomy. On 21 November 2008 it was announced by Prime minister

Jan Peter Balkenende Jan Pieter "Jan Peter" Balkenende Jr. (; born 7 May 1956) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 to 14 October 2010. Balkenende studied H ...

that Zalm will be the new CEO of the bank resulting from the merger of ABN and Fortis Netherlands, two recently nationalized banks. This new position came under scrutiny after Zalm's previous employer DSB went bankrupt in 2009. The

Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets ( nl, Autoriteit Financiële Markten) is the financial services regulatory authority for the Netherlands. Its role is comparable to the role of the SEC in the United States. History The Netherl ...

(AFM) and the central bank both investigated Zalm's role in DSB's final years, with AFM concluding that he was "not competent" and should be dismissed from ABN AMRO's board, while DNB decided to keep Zalm in his position.

Personal

Zalm is a fan of the game of

pinball Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...

and during his second term as

he had a pinball machine in his department. He is an honorary member of the Dutch Pinball Association. In 2004 he had a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

in the movie '' Cool!'' by Theo van Gogh. In January 2019, in an episode of the Dutch version of '' Who Do You Think You Are?'', it became known that Zalm is related to rebel leader and pirate

Pier Gerlofs Donia Pier Gerlofs Donia ( 1480 – 28 October 1520) was a Frisian rebel leader and pirate. He is best known by his West Frisian nickname ''Grutte Pier'' ("Big Pier"; in the pre-1980 West Frisian spelling written as ''Greate Pier''), or by the Dutch ...

, through his mother's family.

Decorations

Honorary degrees

References

External links

;Official *
Dr. G. (Gerrit) Zalm
Parlement & Politiek {{DEFAULTSORT:Zalm, Gerrit 1952 births Living people Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Danske Bank people Deputy Prime Ministers of the Netherlands Directors of the Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis Directors of Shell plc Dutch agnostics Dutch autobiographers Dutch bankers Dutch chief executives in the finance industry Dutch corporate directors Dutch financial advisors Dutch financial analysts Dutch people of Scottish descent Financial economists Dutch conservative liberals Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Grand Officers of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Leaders of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the Social and Economic Council Ministers of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands Ministers of Finance of the Netherlands People from Enkhuizen Politicians from The Hague People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians Pinball players Political economists Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam faculty 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch economists 20th-century Dutch educators 20th-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch businesspeople 21st-century Dutch economists 21st-century Dutch educators 21st-century Dutch male writers 21st-century Dutch politicians