Geertje Lycklama à Nijeholt (2 April 1938 – 18 November 2014) was a Dutch politician and women and development studies scholar. She served 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 ...

of the Netherlands between 1995 and 2003 for the Labour Party. She was group leader in the Senate between 1999 and 2003. As a scientist she spend 16 years at the

International Institute of Social Studies The International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam is an independent international graduate school of policy-oriented social science. ISS was established in 1952 by Dutch universities and the Netherlands Mini ...

, of which five as rector.

Career

Lycklama à Nijeholt was born on 2 April 1938 in

Lollum Lollum is a village in Súdwest-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 360 in January 2017. There is a restored windmill, ''Meerswal'' in the village. History The village was first mentioned in th ...

, a rural village in

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

, as member of the prominent family. Her father was an agrarian and municipal council member of

Wûnseradiel Wûnseradiel () is a former Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Friesland province of the northern Netherlands, at the eastern end of the ''Afsluitdijk''. The official (legal) name of the municipality is in the West Frisian lang ...

. She received her primary education in Lollum and later went to school in

Bolsward Bolsward (, West Frisian: ''Boalsert'') is a city in Súdwest-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. Bolsward has a population of just under 10,200. It is located 10 km W.N.W. of Sneek. History The town is founded on th ...

and

Sneek Sneek (; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city southwest of Leeuwarden and the seat of the former municipality of Sneek in the province of Friesland, Netherlands. As of 2011 it is the seat of the municipality of Súdw ...

. In 1956 she went to Amsterdam to study Western sociology at the

VU 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 ...

, earning her degree in 1963. In 1962 she travelled to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

to study

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and the respective history of the countries. In October 1970, she took up a position as research assistant at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

Ithaca, New York Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...

, United States. One year later she was promoted to project director. Between 1973 and 1976 she worked on her thesis titled ''Migratory and Nonmigratory Farm Workers on the East Coast of the United States'' at both Cornell University as the VU University. She earned the title of

doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

in 1976 at the VU University. Lycklama à Nijeholt returned to the Netherlands and between 1977 and 1983 she coordinator of international women's affairs at the Dutch Foreign Ministry. Between 1979 and 1984 she was also guest professor at

Wageningen University and Research Centre Wageningen University & Research (also known as WUR) is a public research university in Wageningen, Netherlands, specializing in life sciences with a focus on agriculture, technical and engineering subjects. It is a globally important center fo ...

. She was professor of women and development studies at the

(ISS) between August 1983 and June 1990. At that point she became the rector of the Institute, which she stayed until June 1995. When her position as rector ended she became member of the

of the Netherlands for the Labour Party. She served between 1995 and 2003, and was group leader from 1999. During her first term (1995–1999) in the Senate she was part-time professor at the ISS. She was member of the

Koninklijke Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen The ''Koninklijke Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen'' (Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities), located on the east side of the Spaarne in downtown Haarlem, Netherlands, was established in 1752 and is the oldest society for the ...

. Lycklama à Nijeholt received the on 8 April 1992. She was made Knight in the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (, ) is a Dutch honours system, Dutch order of chivalry founded by William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. The Order of the Netherlands Lion wa ...

on 31 May 1995. She died on 18 November 2014 after having been ill for several months. Dutch Prime Minister

Mark Rutte Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as the 14th Secretary General of NATO, secretary general of NATO since October 2024. He previously served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands, prime minister of the Neth ...

spoke some words of remembrance on 2 December 2014 in the Senate, noting her role of putting forward women's rights in the Dutch foreign policy.

References

External links

*
Parlement.com biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lycklama a Nijeholt, Geertje 1938 births 2014 deaths People from Wûnseradiel Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni Cornell University faculty Academic staff of Wageningen University and Research Academic staff of the International Institute of Social Studies Labour Party (Netherlands) politicians Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Members of the Koninklijke Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Dutch senators 1995–1999