Leendert Cornelis "Elco" Brinkman (born 5 February 1948) is a retired Dutch politician and businessman who served as Minister of Welfare, Health and Culture from 1982 to 1989 and

Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal The Party leader, Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal is the most senior politician within the Christian Democratic Appeal (, CDA) in the Netherlands.The current leader has been Henri Bontenbal since 14 August 2023. History The leaders o ...

(CDA) in 1994.

Career

Brinkman studied

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and

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 at the

Free University Amsterdam The (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the othe ...

simultaneously obtaining a

Master of Social Science A Master of Social Science (MSocSc, MSSc or MSS) is a master's degree which has a number of different meanings dependent upon the education system in question. Europe In Finland and Sweden, where the university degree nomenclatura is simply bas ...

and

Laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, 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 Socia ...

degree. Brinkman worked as a researcher at his alma mater from September 1970 until July 1974 and as a civil servant for the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

from July 1974 until November 1982. After the 1982 general election, Brinkman was appointed Minister of Welfare, Health and Culture in the First Lubbers cabinet taking office on 4 November 1982. After the election of 1986 Brinkman continued his office in the

Second Lubbers cabinet The second Lubbers cabinet of the Netherlands, cabinet was the Executive (government), executive branch of the Politics of the Netherlands, Dutch Government from 14 July 1986 until 7 November 1989. The cabinet was a continuation of the previous ...

. At the election of 1989 Brinkman was reelected as a member of the

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

and took office on 14 September. He declined to serve 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 * Filin ...

and instead was selected as

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. ...

on 7 November 1989. Shortly before an upcoming election,

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 Prime Minister

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 ...

announced his retirement and Brinkman was anonymously selected as his successor on 29 January 1994. For the election of 1994 Brinkman 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) but shortly thereafter announced that he was stepping down following disappointing election results on 16 August 1994 but continued to serve in the House of Representatives 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 Kingdom Relations 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

Health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

. In April 1995 Brinkman unexpectedly announced his retirement and resigned from the House of Representatives on 26 April 1995. Brinkman retired from active politics at just 47 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 sectors as a corporate and non-profit director and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government; he worked as a trade association executive serving as Chairman of the Construction Association from May 1995 until July 2013, Vice Chairman of the Industry and Employers Confederation (VNO-NCW) from April 2002 until May 2008 and a Member of the Social and Economic Council for the VNO-NCW from June 1995 until July 2013. Brinkman returned to active in politics and after the Senate election of 2011 was elected as a member of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and became parliamentary leader serving from 7 June 2011 until 11 June 2019. Brinkman retired from active politics a second time at 71 but following his retirement continues to be active as an advocate and lobbyist for

trade associations A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. Through collaboration between compani ...

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
Mr.Drs. L.C. (Elco) Brinkman
Parlement & Politiek *
Mr.Drs. L.C. Brinkman (CDA)
Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal {{DEFAULTSORT:Brinkman, Elco 1948 births Living people Christian Democratic Appeal politicians Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Dutch chief executives in the finance industry Dutch chief executives in the manufacturing industry Dutch corporate directors Dutch lobbyists Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Dutch trade association executives Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Leaders of the Christian Democratic Appeal Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Members of the Social and Economic Council Ministers of health of the Netherlands Ministers of sport of the Netherlands People from Dirksland Politicians from Leiden Protestant Church Christians from the Netherlands Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II Reformed Churches Christians from the Netherlands Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni Academic staff of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam 20th-century Dutch businesspeople 20th-century Dutch civil servants 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 Christian Democratic Appeal MPs