Eduardus Hermannus Theresia Maria Nijpels (born 1 April 1950) is a Dutch 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 nonprofit director.

Biography

Nijpels studied Civil law at the

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public university, public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of ...

obtaining a

Master of Studies in Law A Master of Studies in Law (MSL) is a master's degree offered by some law schools to students who wish to study the law but do not want to become lawyers. Master of Studies in Law programs typically last one academic year and put students through ...

degree. Nijpels served as chairman of the political youth organisation JOVD from February 1974 until November 1975. Nijpels worked as a civics teacher in

Roosendaal Roosendaal () is both a city and a municipality in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. Towns/villages of the municipality * Roosendaal (population: 66,760) * Wouw (4,920) * Heerle (1,900) * Nispen (1,440) * Wouwse ...

from August 1974 until June 1977. After the election of 1977 Nijpels was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives on 8 June 1977 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 know ...

chairing the House Committee on Law enforcement 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

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

and the

Ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

. After the

Party Leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a politica ...

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 legislature, legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. ...

Hans Wiegel Hans Wiegel (; 16 July 1941 – 19 May 2025) was a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businessman. Wiegel studied Law at the University of Amsterdam before switching to Political science obtaining a Bache ...

announced he was stepping down he endorsed Nijpels as his successor and he was anonymously selected as his successor on 20 April 1982. For the elections of 1982 Nijpels served as ''

Lijsttrekker In politics, a lead candidate (; , ) is the candidate placed first on a party list. In parliamentary systems, it is often the party's nominee for the position of head of government, and the party chair or party leader. Usage by country Net ...

'' (top candidate) and following a

cabinet formation 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 * Filin ...

with Christian-democratic Leader

Ruud Lubbers Rudolphus Franciscus Marie "Ruud" Lubbers (; 7 May 1939 – 14 February 2018) was a Dutch politician, diplomat and businessman who served as prime minister of the Netherlands from 1982 to 1994, and as United Nations High Commissioner for Refug ...

formed the Cabinet Lubbers I with Nijpels opting to remain as Parliamentary leader. For the election of 1986 Nijpels again served as ''Lijsttrekker'' but shortly thereafter announced that he was stepping down following disappointed election results on 9 July 1986. After a

the coalition continued and Nijpels was appointed Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in the Cabinet Lubbers II taking office on 14 July 1986. After the election of 1989 Nijpels returned to the House of Representatives on 14 September 1989 and served as a frontbencher and spokesperson for

Spatial Planning Spatial planning mediates between the respective claims on space of the state, market, and community. In so doing, three different mechanisms of involving stakeholders, integrating sectoral policies and promoting development projects mark the th ...

and the Environment. In March 1990 Nijpels was nominated as the Mayor of Breda serving from 1 April 1990 until 1 July 1995 when he was appointed director-general for the Arbodienst of the

Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (; SZW) is the Dutch ministry responsible for social affairs, relations between employers and employees, social security, trade unions and emancipation. It was established in 1918 as the Ministry ...

. In December 1998 Nijpels was nominated as the next Queen's Commissioner of Friesland serving from 1 January 1999 until 1 May 2008. Nijpels semi-retired from active politics and became active in the

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

and

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, pu ...

s as a corporate and non-profit director and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government, and works as a trade association executive serving as Chairman of the Koninklijke NLingenieurs from May 2008 until May 2015, the GeoBusiness association since September 2009 and for the Industry and Employers confederation (VNO-NCW) from July 2008 until March 2015 and became a Member of the Social and Economic Council in August 2014. Nijpels continues to be active an advocate, lobbyist and activist for

Environmentalism Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecolog ...

Sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

, Conservation and

Climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
Drs. E.H.Th.M. (Ed) Nijpels
Parlement & Politiek {{DEFAULTSORT:Nijpels, Ed 1950 births Living people Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Dutch climate activists Dutch conservationists Dutch corporate directors Dutch lobbyists Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Dutch public broadcasting administrators Dutch trade association executives Hybrid electric vehicle advocates King's and Queen's Commissioners of Friesland Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Leaders of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Mayors in North Brabant Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the Social and Economic Council Ministers of housing and spatial planning of the Netherlands Municipal councillors in North Brabant People from Bergen op Zoom Politicians from Breda People from Den Helder People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians Sustainability advocates Utrecht University alumni 20th-century Dutch businesspeople 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch educators 20th-century Dutch jurists 20th-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch businesspeople 21st-century Dutch civil servants 21st-century Dutch jurists 21st-century Dutch politicians