Johannes Wijnandus "Johan" Remkes (born 15 June 1951) is a Dutch politician and nonprofit director who served as

Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands The deputy prime minister of the Netherlands ( nl, Viceminister-president van Nederland) is the official deputy of the head of government of the Netherlands. In the absence of the prime minister of the Netherlands the deputy prime minister take ...

from 2002 to 2003 under 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 ...

. He is a member 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 i ...

(VVD). Remkes 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 anal ...

at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. Founded in 1614, the university is th ...

obtaining a

Bachelor of Economics The Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon), or the "Bachelor of Applied Economics", is a bachelor's degree awarded by many universities and colleges for completion of an undergraduate program in economics, econometrics, or applied economics; th ...

degree. Remkes served as chairman of the political youth organisation JOVD from July 1975 until November 1977. Remkes worked as member of the

Provincial-Executive The provincial executive (, GS) is the executive branch of government of a province in the Netherlands. It is the equivalent of the municipal executive at the provincial level. The provincial executive consists of the King's Commissioner (chair) ...

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of t ...

from May 1982 until October 1993. Remkes became a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

on 26 October 1993 serving as a

frontbencher In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then kn ...

and

spokesperson A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman, is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

for

Housing Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether ...

. After the election of 1998 Remkes was appointed as State Secretary for Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment under the

Second Kok cabinet The second Kok cabinet, also called the second Purple cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch government from 3 August 1998 until 22 July 2002. The cabinet was a continuation of the previous first Kok cabinet and was formed by the social ...

taking office on 3 August 1998. After the election of 2002 Remkes 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 the Interior and Kingdom Relations in the

First Balkenende cabinet The first Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Netherlands government from 22 July 2002 until 27 May 2003. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the nationalistic Pim Fortuyn List ...

, which took office on 22 July 2002 but fell just 87 days into its term. After the election of 2003 Remkes continued as Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations in the

Second Balkenende cabinet The second Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 27 May 2003 until 7 July 2006. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the conservative-liberal Peo ...

. The cabinet fell on 30 June 2006 and was replaced with the caretaker Third Balkenende cabinet with Remkes retaining his position. After the election of 2006 Remkes returned to the House of Representatives on 30 November 2006 and served as a frontbencher and spokesperson for the Interior. In March 2010, Remkes announced that he would not stand for the election of 2010 and declined to serve in new cabinet. Remkes continued to be active in politics and in June 2010 was nominated as the next King's Commissioner of North Holland serving from 1 July 2010 until 1 January 2019. Remkes also 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 non-profit director and serves on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government. In September 2019, Remkes was appointed as Acting Mayor of The Hague serving from 11 October 2019 until 1 July 2020. From 19 April 2021 until 1 December 2021 Remkes was Acting King's Commissionner of Limburg.Benoeming waarnemend commissaris van de Koning in Limburg
Provincie Limburg, 16 April 2021

Early career

Remkes was born in

Zuidbroek, Groningen Zuidbroek (; Gronings: ''Zuudbrouk'') is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Midden-Groningen, about 6 km north of Veendam. History Zuidbroek was a separate municipality until 1965, when it b ...

. Remkes applied at the

in June 1970 majoring in

and obtaining a

degree in June 1972. Remkes served on the

Municipal Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

from April 1978 until May 1982 and served on the Provincial-Council of

from May 1978 until October 1993 and as a member of the

of Groningen from May 1982 until October 1993 and served again on the Municipal Council of Groningen from May 1994 until July 1996.

House of Representatives

Remkes became a Member of the House of Representatives after the resignation of

Nell Ginjaar-Maas Nelly Jeanne "Nell" Ginjaar-Maas (7 May 1931 – 24 April 2012) was a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and teacher. Ginjaar-Maas was born in Rotterdam, and was for 9 years a member of the House of Representa ...

taking office on 26 October 1993 and served as a frontbencher and spokesperson for Housing and deputy spokesperson for the Interior,

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 ...

, Tax and Customs and

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

Cabinets

After the election of 1998 Remkes was appointed as State Secretary for Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in the Cabinet Kok II taking office on 3 August 1998. The Cabinet Kok II resigned on 16 April 2002 following the conclusions of the

NIOD The NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies (Dutch: ''NIOD Instituut voor Oorlogs-, Holocaust- en Genocidestudies'') is an organisation in the Netherlands which maintains archives and carries out historical studies into the Second Wo ...

report into the

Srebrenica massacre The Srebrenica massacre ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Masakr u Srebrenici, Масакр у Сребреници), also known as the Srebrenica genocide ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Genocid u Srebrenici, Геноцид у Сребрен ...

during the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity. After the election of 2002 Remkes returned as a Member of the House of Representatives on 23 May 2002. Following the cabinet formation of 2002 Remkes was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations in the Cabinet Balkenende I taking office on 22 July 2002. The Cabinet Balkenende I fell just 87 days into its term following a major leadership crisis in the

Pim Fortuyn List The Pim Fortuyn List ( nl, Lijst Pim Fortuyn, LPF) was a political party in the Netherlands named after its eponymous founder Pim Fortuyn, a former university professor and political columnist. The party was considered populist, right-wing pop ...

(LPF) party and resigned on 16 October 2002 and the cabinet continued to serve in a demissionary capacity. election of 2003 Remkes again returned as a Member of the House of Representatives on 30 January 2003. Following the cabinet formation of 2003 Remkes continued as Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations but the position of Deputy Prime Minister was taken over by Minister of Finance Gerrit Zalm in the Cabinet Balkenende II taking office on 27 May 2003. On 29 June 2006 the

Democrats 66 Democrats 66 (; abbreviated D66, ) is a social liberal political party in the Netherlands, which positions itself in the centre of the political spectrum. It is a member of the Liberal International (LI) and the Alliance of Liberals and Demo ...

retracted their support for the cabinet Balkenende II after criticizing the way Minister for Integration and Immigration

Rita Verdonk Maria Cornelia Frederika "Rita" Verdonk (born 18 October 1955) is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and later founder of the Proud of the Netherlands (Trots) party and businesswoman. Verdonk attend ...

(VVD) had handled the crisis around the naturalization of her party fellow elected to the House of Representatives

Ayaan Hirsi Ali Ayaan Hirsi Ali (; ; Somali: ''Ayaan Xirsi Cali'':'' Ayān Ḥirsī 'Alī;'' born Ayaan Hirsi Magan, ar, أيان حرسي علي / ALA-LC: ''Ayān Ḥirsī 'Alī'' 13 November 1969) is a Somali-born Dutch-American activist and former politicia ...

. On 7 July 2006 a rump cabinet Third Balkenende cabinet. He returned as a member of the

after the inauguration of the

Fourth Balkenende cabinet The fourth Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 22 February 2007 until 14 October 2010. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and Christian Unio ...

, serving from 30 November 2006 to 17 June 2010.

King's Commissioner North Holland

Remkes remained in active politics, in June 2010 he was nominated as the next Kings's Commissioner of North Holland serving from 1 July 2010 until 1 January 2019. He also served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government ( Parliamentary Reform Commission, Council for Public Administration, Advisory Council for Spatial Planning and the Van Thijn Commission). After his retirement Remkes occupies numerous seats as a corporate director and nonprofit director for supervisory boards in the business and industry world and several international non-governmental organizations and research institutes. In 2018, he made known he would step down from the position in January 2019 to definitely retire from politics. He has been succeeded by former

Haarlemmermeer Haarlemmermeer () is a municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Haarlemmermeer is a polder, consisting of land reclaimed from water. The name Haarlemmermeer means 'Haarlem's lake', referring to the body of wate ...

alderman and also VVD politician Arthur van Dijk.

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
J.W. (Johan) Remkes
Parlement.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Remkes, Johan 1951 births Living people 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch businesspeople 21st-century Dutch civil servants 21st-century Dutch politicians Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Deputy Prime Ministers of the Netherlands Dutch agnostics Dutch corporate directors Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Grand Officers of the Order of Leopold II King's and Queen's Commissioners of Limburg King's and Queen's Commissioners of North Holland Mayors of The Hague Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the Provincial Council of Groningen Members of the Provincial-Executive of Groningen Ministers of Kingdom Relations of the Netherlands Ministers of the Interior of the Netherlands Municipal councillors of Groningen (city) Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau People from Menterwolde People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians State Secretaries for Housing and Spatial Planning of the Netherlands University of Groningen alumni