Albert Hendrik "Benk" Korthals (born 5 October 1944) is a retired

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

politician of the

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( , VVD) is a Conservative liberalism, conservative-liberal List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. The VVD, whose forerunner was the Freedom Party (Netherl ...

(VVD) and jurist.

Biography

Korthals attended the Gymnasium Leiden from June 1957 until June 1963 and applied at the

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

in June 1967

majoring An academic major is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits. A student who successfully completes all courses required for the major qualifies for an undergraduate degree. The word ''major'' (also called ''conce ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

and obtaining a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree before graduating with a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

degree in July 1973. Korthals worked as a lawyer and prosecutor in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

from January 1974 until August 1998. Korthals was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the election of 1982, taking office on 16 September 1982. After the election of 1998 Korthals was appointed as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

in the Cabinet Kok II, taking office on 3 August 1998. After the election of 2002 Korthals returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 23 May 2002. Following the cabinet formation of 2002 Korthals was appointment as

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

in the Cabinet Balkenende I, taking office on 22 July 2002. On 12 December 2002 Korthals resigned following the conclusions of a parliamentary inquiry report into a construction fraud investigation that was mishandled by him while serving as Minister of Justice. Korthals also served as Chairman of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy from 22 May 2011 until 14 June 2014.Benk Korthals nieuwe voorzitter VVD
, Telegraaf, 22 April 2011

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
Mr. A.H. (Benk) Korthals
Parlement & Politiek 1944 births Living people Dutch prosecutors Chairmen of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Leiden University alumni Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Ministers of defence of the Netherlands Ministers of justice of the Netherlands Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Politicians from Rotterdam People from Voorschoten People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians Royal Netherlands Navy officers 20th-century Dutch lawyers 20th-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch lawyers 21st-century Dutch politicians Second Kok cabinet members {{Netherlands-VVD-politician-stub