Gerrit Zalm (; born 6 May 1952) 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 businessman. Zalm studied

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

at the

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

, obtaining a

Master of Economics The Master of Economics (MEcon or MEc) is a postgraduate master's degree in economics comprising training in economic theory, econometrics, and/or applied economics. The degree is also offered as an MS or MSc, MA or MCom in economics; var ...

degree, and worked as a civil servant for the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the

Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis The Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (, CPB, literal translation: Central Planning Bureau) is a part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands. Its goal is to deliver economic analyses and forecasts. The CPB is an in ...

from June 1975 until August 1994, and as a professor of

Political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

at his alma mater from January 1990 until August 1994. After the 1994 general election, Zalm was appointed

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

in the Kok I cabinet, taking office on 22 August 1994. After the 1998 general election, Zalm continued his position in the Kok II cabinet. In the 2002 general election, Zalm was elected to 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 ...

on 23 May 2002. Shortly after the 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

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 Dijkstal announced he was stepping down and Zalm was unanimously selected as his successor as leader on 16 May 2002, and became parliamentary leader on 23 May 2002. For the 2003 general election, Zalm served as

lead candidate 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 Neth ...

, and following a successful cabinet formation that formed the Balkenende II cabinet was appointed as

Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands The deputy prime minister of the Netherlands ( or ) is the official Deputy prime minister, deputy of the head of government of the Netherlands. In the absence of the prime minister of the Netherlands the deputy prime minister takes over his fun ...

and Minister of Finance, taking office on 27 May 2003. On 27 November 2004 Zalm announced he was stepping down as party leader in favor of and parliamentary leader Jozias van Aartsen. The Balkenende II cabinet fell on 30 June 2006 and was replaced by the caretaker Balkenende III cabinet, with Zalm continuing his offices. In August 2006, Zalm announced his retirement, stating he would not stand for the 2006 general election. Zalm retired from active politics at 54 and became active in the private sector as a corporate director, and worked as a banker for the

DSB Bank DSB Bank (''DSB: Dirk Scheringa Beheer'') was a Dutch bank and insurer that failed in 2009. Its loans were managed under ''Quion'' from June 2013 until June 2016 when ''Finqus'' began operating as the former DSB Bank. In 2018 ''Finqus BV'' took o ...

Fortis Bank BNP Paribas Fortis is an international bank based in Belgium and a subsidiary of French banking group BNP Paribas. The bank was created in May 2009 after BNP Paribas acquired 75% of the Belgian Fortis Bank from the Federal Participation and Inve ...

and ABN AMRO from July 2007 until February 2017. Following his retirement Zalm 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, pu ...

as a non-profit director and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government, and worked as a occasional mediator for coalition agreements. Zalm is known for his abilities as a skilful manager and effective debater and as of continues to comment on political affairs. He holds the distinction as the longest-serving Minister of Finance, with 11 years and 240 days, in Dutch history.

Biography

Early life

Gerrit Zalm was born on 6 May 1952 in

Enkhuizen Enkhuizen () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. History Enkhuizen, like Hoorn and Amsterdam, was one of the harbour-towns of the VOC, from where overseas trade ...

, Netherlands. Following his graduation from high school ("HBS-A" level) in Enkhuizen, Zalm began a study in economics at the

Vrije Universiteit 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 ...

in Amsterdam, from which he graduated in 1975. In the same year he joined the

. From 1983 he worked for the Ministry of Economic Affairs, where he eventually became a director. In 1988 he was appointed deputy director of the Centraal Planbureau, a state institution that, among other things, calculates the financial effects of government plans. In 1989 he became director of this institute. In that capacity Zalm had, although not formally a politician, a significant influence on politics. From 1990 he also gave lectures at the

Politics

Between 22 August 1994 and 22 July 2002, Zalm, member of the

, was Minister of Finance in the first and second

Wim Kok Willem Kok (; 29 September 1938 – 20 October 2018) was a Dutch politician and trade union leader who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 August 1994 until 22 July 2002.Balkenende administration, Zalm was the acting leader of the

group in parliament. On 27 May 2003 he started his third term as

, in the second Balkenende administration, also serving as Deputy Prime Minister. On 30 June 2006, he succeeded

Laurens Jan Brinkhorst Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (born 18 March 1937) is a retired Netherlands, Dutch politician and diplomat of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. Early life and education Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst was born in the city of Zwolle. His parents were ...

as Minister of Economic Affairs, ad interim, with most tasks delegated to Undersecretary Karien van Gennip. On 7 July 2006 Joop Wijn was appointed as the new Minister of Economic Affairs.

Banking

On 26 November 2006, Zalm announced in the Sunday morning talk show ''Buitenhof'' that he would step down from politics and would probably seek employment in the private sector. Three months after his 2007 retirement from politics, Zalm went to work for

, a company that he had criticized in his earlier role as finance minister for what he considered misleading advertising for consumer credit. He initially held the position of chief economist, but quickly became CFO of the faltering bank after the Dutch central bank DNB had threatened to curtail DSB's financial autonomy. On 21 November 2008 it was announced by Prime minister

Jan Peter Balkenende Jan Pieter Balkenende Jr. ( ; born 7 May 1956), commonly known as Jan Peter Balkenende, is a Dutch jurist and politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 to 14 October 20 ...

that Zalm will be the new CEO of the bank resulting from the merger of ABN and Fortis Netherlands, two recently nationalized banks. This new position came under scrutiny after Zalm's previous employer DSB went bankrupt in 2009. The

Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets () is the financial services regulatory authority for the Netherlands. Its role is comparable to the role of the SEC in the United States. History The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Ma ...

(AFM) and the central bank both investigated Zalm's role in DSB's final years, with AFM concluding that he was "not competent" and should be dismissed from ABN AMRO's board, while DNB decided to keep Zalm in his position.

Personal

Zalm is a fan of the game of

pinball Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...

and during his second term as

he had a pinball machine in his department. He is an honorary member of the Dutch Pinball Association. In 2004 he had a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

in the movie '' Cool!'' by Theo van Gogh. In January 2019, in an episode of the Dutch version of '' Who Do You Think You Are?'', it became known that Zalm is related to rebel leader and pirate

Pier Gerlofs Donia Pier Gerlofs Donia ( – 28 October 1520) was a Frisian farmer, rebel leader, and pirate. He is best known by his West Frisian nickname ''Grutte Pier'' ('Big Pier'; in the pre-1980 West Frisian spelling written as ''Greate Pier''), or by the D ...

, through his mother's family.

Decorations

Honorary degrees

References

External links

;Official
Dr. G. (Gerrit) Zalm
Parlement & Politiek , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Zalm, Gerrit 1952 births Living people Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Danske Bank people Deputy prime ministers of the Netherlands Directors of the Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis Directors of Shell plc Dutch agnostics Dutch autobiographers Dutch bankers Dutch chief executives in the finance industry Dutch corporate directors Dutch financial advisors Dutch financial analysts Dutch MPs 1998–2002 Dutch MPs 2002–2003 Dutch MPs 2003–2006 Dutch people of Scottish descent Financial economists Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Grand Officers of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Leaders of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Members of the Social and Economic Council Ministers of economic affairs of the Netherlands Ministers of finance of the Netherlands People from Enkhuizen Politicians from The Hague People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians Pinball players Political economists Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni Academic staff of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam ABN AMRO people 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch economists 20th-century Dutch educators 20th-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch businesspeople 21st-century Dutch economists 21st-century Dutch educators 21st-century Dutch male writers 21st-century Dutch politicians First Kok cabinet members Second Kok cabinet members