Johannes Wijnandus "Johan" Remkes (born 15 June 1951) is a Dutch politician and nonprofit director who served 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 ...

from 2002 to 2003 under 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 ...

. He is a member 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). Remkes 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

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; , abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen, Netherlands. Founded in 1614, th ...

obtaining a

Bachelor of Economics A Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon)Bureau of Labor StatisticsHow to Become an Economist/ref> is an academic degree, awarded to students who have completed specialised undergraduate studies in economics. Variants include the "Bachelor of Econo ...

degree. Remkes served as chairman of the political youth organisation

JOVD The Youth Organisation Freedom and Democracy (, JOVD) is a Dutch political youth organisation. The JOVD cooperates with the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), but is politically independent. Having trained several well-known members o ...

from July 1975 until November 1977. Remkes worked as member of the

Provincial-Executive The provincial executive (, GS) is the executive branch of government of a province in the Netherlands. It is the equivalent of the municipal executive at the provincial level. The provincial executive consists of the King's Commissioner A Ki ...

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

from May 1982 until October 1993. Remkes became 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 ...

on 26 October 1993 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 ...

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

Housing Housing refers to a property containing one or more Shelter (building), shelter as a living space. Housing spaces are inhabited either by individuals or a collective group of people. Housing is also referred to as a human need and right to ...

. After the election of 1998 Remkes was appointed as State Secretary for Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment under the

Second Kok cabinet The second Kok cabinet, also called the second Purple (government), Purple cabinet, was the Executive (government), executive branch of the Cabinet of the Netherlands, Dutch government from 3 August 1998 until 22 July 2002. The cabinet was a c ...

taking office on 3 August 1998. After the election of 2002 Remkes was appointed as

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

and Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations in the

First Balkenende cabinet The first Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Netherlands government from 22 July 2002 until 27 May 2003. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the nationalistic Pim Fortuyn L ...

, which took office on 22 July 2002 but fell just 87 days into its term. After the election of 2003 Remkes continued as Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations in the

Second Balkenende cabinet The second Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 27 May 2003 until 7 July 2006. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the conservative-liberal Peo ...

. The cabinet fell on 30 June 2006 and was replaced with the

caretaker Caretaker may refer to: Occupations * Janitor (chiefly in the United States), a person who cleans and maintains buildings such as hospitals and schools * Property caretaker, a person who cares for a property * Caregiver or carer (UK), a person wh ...

Third Balkenende cabinet The third Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 7 July 2006 until 22 February 2007. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the conservative-libe ...

with Remkes retaining his position. After the election of 2006 Remkes returned to the House of Representatives on 30 November 2006 and served as a frontbencher and spokesperson for the Interior. In March 2010, Remkes announced that he would not stand for the election of 2010 and declined to serve in new cabinet. Remkes continued to be active in politics and in June 2010 was nominated as the next King's Commissioner of North Holland serving from 1 July 2010 until 1 January 2019. Remkes also 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 non-profit director and serves on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government. In September 2019, Remkes was appointed as Acting

Mayor of The Hague Below is a list of mayors of The Hague since it was decided in 1824 that only one mayor at a time would govern the city. List See also * Timeline of The Hague References {{Reflist The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of th ...

serving from 11 October 2019 until 1 July 2020. From 19 April 2021 until 1 December 2021 Remkes was Acting King's Commissioner of Limburg.Benoeming waarnemend commissaris van de Koning in Limburg
, Provincie Limburg, 16 April 2021

Early career

Remkes was born in

Zuidbroek, Groningen Zuidbroek (; ) is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen ...

. Remkes applied at the

in June 1970 majoring in

and obtaining a

degree in June 1972. Remkes served on the

Municipal Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

from April 1978 until May 1982 and served on the Provincial-Council of

from May 1978 until October 1993 and as a member of the

of Groningen from May 1982 until October 1993 and served again on the Municipal Council of Groningen from May 1994 until July 1996.

House of Representatives

Remkes became a Member of the House of Representatives after the resignation of Nell Ginjaar-Maas taking office on 26 October 1993 and served as a frontbencher and spokesperson for Housing and deputy spokesperson for the Interior, Economic Affairs, Tax and Customs and

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

Cabinets

After the election of 1998 Remkes was appointed as State Secretary for Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in the Cabinet Kok II taking office on 3 August 1998. The Cabinet Kok II resigned on 16 April 2002 following the conclusions of the

NIOD The NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies (Dutch language, Dutch: ''NIOD Instituut voor Oorlogs-, Holocaust- en Genocidestudies'') is an organisation in the Netherlands which maintains archives and carries out history, historical ...

report into the

Srebrenica massacre The Srebrenica massacre, also known as the Srebrenica genocide, was the July 1995 genocidal killing of more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in and around the town of Srebrenica during the Bosnian War. It was mainly perpetrated by unit ...

during the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

and continued to serve in a

demissionary A demissionary cabinet () is a type of caretaker government, caretaker cabinet of the Netherlands, cabinet or provisional government in the politics of the Netherlands, Netherlands. Overview The Dutch demissionary cabinet continues the current g ...

capacity. After the election of 2002 Remkes returned as a Member of the House of Representatives on 23 May 2002. Following the cabinet formation of 2002 Remkes was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations in the Cabinet Balkenende I taking office on 22 July 2002. The Cabinet Balkenende I fell just 87 days into its term following a major leadership crisis in the

Pim Fortuyn List The Pim Fortuyn List (, LPF) was a political party in the Netherlands that existed from 2002 to 2008 at a national level and was named after its eponymous founder Pim Fortuyn, a former university professor and political columnist. The party was ...

(LPF) party and resigned on 16 October 2002 and the cabinet continued to serve in a demissionary capacity. election of 2003 Remkes again returned as a Member of the House of Representatives on 30 January 2003. Following the cabinet formation of 2003 Remkes continued as Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations but the position of Deputy Prime Minister was taken over by Minister of Finance

Gerrit Zalm Gerrit Zalm (; born 6 May 1952) is a retired Dutch people, Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businessman. Zalm studied Economics at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, obtaining a Master of Economics degree ...

in the Cabinet Balkenende II taking office on 27 May 2003. On 29 June 2006 the

Democrats 66 Democrats 66 (; D66) is a social liberal and progressive political party in the Netherlands, which is positioned on the centre to centre-left of the political spectrum. It is a member of the Liberal International (LI) and the Alliance of Li ...

retracted their support for the cabinet Balkenende II after criticizing the way Minister for Integration and Immigration

Rita Verdonk Maria Cornelia Frederika "Rita" Verdonk (born 18 October 1955) is a Dutch politician and businesswoman formerly affiliated with the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and later Proud of the Netherlands (TON), which she founded in 2 ...

(VVD) had handled the crisis around the naturalization of her party fellow elected to the House of Representatives

Ayaan Hirsi Ali Ayaan Hirsi Ali (; born 13 November 1969) is a Dutch and American writer, activist, conservative thinker and former politician. She is a critic of Islam and an advocate for the rights and self-determination of Muslim women, opposing forced mar ...

. On 7 July 2006 a rump cabinet

. He returned as a member of the

after the inauguration of the

Fourth Balkenende cabinet The fourth Balkenende cabinet was the Executive (government), executive branch of the Politics of the Netherlands, Government of the Netherlands from 22 February 2007 until 14 October 2010. The Cabinet of the Netherlands, cabinet was formed by ...

, serving from 30 November 2006 to 17 June 2010.

King's Commissioner North Holland

Remkes remained in active politics, in June 2010 he was nominated as the next Kings's Commissioner of North Holland serving from 1 July 2010 until 1 January 2019. He also served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government (''Staatscommissie parlementair stelsel'' (Parliamentary Reform Commission), ''Raad voor het Openbaar Bestuur'' (Council for Public Administration), Advisory Council for Spatial Planning and the Van Thijn Commission). After his retirement Remkes occupies numerous seats as a corporate director and nonprofit director for supervisory boards in the business and industry world and several international non-governmental organizations and research institutes. In 2018, he made known he would step down from the position in January 2019 to definitely retire from politics. He has been succeeded by former

Haarlemmermeer Haarlemmermeer () is a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Haarlemmermeer is a polder, consisting of land reclaimed from water. The ...

alderman and also VVD politician Arthur van Dijk.

Decorations

References

External links

;Official
J.W. (Johan) Remkes
Parlement.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Remkes, Johan 1951 births Living people 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch businesspeople 21st-century Dutch civil servants Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Commanders of the Legion of Honour Deputy prime ministers of the Netherlands Dutch agnostics Dutch corporate directors Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Grand Officers of the Order of Leopold II King's and Queen's Commissioners of Limburg King's and Queen's Commissioners of North Holland Mayors of The Hague Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Dutch MPs 2006–2010 Members of the Provincial Council of Groningen Members of the Provincial-Executive of Groningen Ministers of kingdom relations of the Netherlands Ministers of the interior of the Netherlands Municipal councillors of Groningen (city) Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau People from Menterwolde People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians State secretaries for housing and spatial planning of the Netherlands University of Groningen alumni Second Kok cabinet members