Jozias Johannes van Aartsen (; born 25 December 1947) is a retired Dutch politician who served as Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy from 2004 to 2006. A native of

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, he attended the Christelijk Gymnasium Sorghvliet from April 1960 until May 1968 and applied 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 ...

in June 1968 majoring in

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 obtaining a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree in July 1970. Van Aartsen served as Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Fisheries (1994–1998) and

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

(1998–2002) under Prime Minister

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.Mayor of The Hague from 2008 until 2017.

Early life

Jozias Johannes van Aartsen was born on 25 December 1947 in

, son of Jan van Aartsen, a politician of the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP). He served as Minister of Transport and Water Management, Minister of Housing and Construction and Queen's Commissioner of

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

. After completing the Gymnasium-a he studied

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 ...

at the

. At the age of 22 van Aartsen moved to

to work in politics.

Politics

When

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 ...

became

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 ...

, in 1971, Van Aartsen was asked to work for Wiegel as employee of the party in 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 ...

. In 1974 he became director-general of the Telders Foundation, the scientific institute 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 ...

. Van Aartsen worked as a political consultant for the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy from July 1970 until August 1974 and as the director of the Telders Foundation think tank from August 1974 until February 1979. Van Aartsen worked 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 February 1979 until August 1994 as Deputy Director-General of the department for Administrative Affairs from February 1979 until April 1981 and as Director-General of the department for Administrative Affairs from April 1981 until July 1983 and as Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of the Interior from July 1983 until January 1985 and as Secretary-General of the Ministry of the Interior from January 1985 until August 1994. In 1978 Van Aartsen became Chef de Bureau of the Secretary General of Interior. He did this under Ministers Rietkerk, Van Dijk, De Korte, De Koning, Dales and De Graaf. In 1985 he became Secretary General of Interior himself. After the election of 1994 he was made the Minister of Agriculture from 1994 to 1998 in the First Kok cabinet. After the election of 1998 in the Second Kok cabinet he was made the Minister of Foreign Affairs. When the cabinet fell as a direct result of the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies report about the fall of

Srebrenica Srebrenica ( sr-cyrl, Сребреница, ) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a small mountain town, with its main industry being salt mining and a nearby spa. During the Bosnian War in 1995, Srebr ...

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 ...

, he became parliamentary leader in the lower house of the States General. On 1 April 2004 an attempt was made to run over Van Aartsen by a car when he and a co-worker were doing a photo shoot in front of Hotel Des Indes in

. Van Aartsen was not hurt but the co-worker did sustain a shoulder injury. The assailant, a 41-year-old lawyer by the name of Frederiek de Jongh and an employee of ''Bureau Rechtshulp'' in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

confessed her action was politically motivated. Van Aartsen stepped down as VVD Leader in 2006; in a letter to the newly elected party leader

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 ...

, he however expressed his disappointment with the demise of the Second Balkenende cabinet which in his view was uncalled for. He also warned for VVD interparty warring between a populist fraction with a no-nonsense attitude and focus on tax cuts and law and order and a liberal fraction focused on personal freedoms, rule of law, international orientation and education. Jozias van Aartsen is a member of the

Bilderberg Group The Bilderberg Meeting (also known as the "Bilderberg Group", "Bilderberg Conference" or "Bilderberg Club") is an annual off-the-record forum established in 1954 to foster dialogue between Europe and North America. The group's agenda, originally ...

. He served as Mayor of The Hague from 2008 to 2017. He then took two acting positions: as King's Commissioner of the province of

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Jan ...

and as Mayor of the capital

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

.Van Aartsen waarnemend burgemeester in Amsterdam
nos.nl, 2 November 2017.

Personal life

Van Aartsen retired from national politics but has remained active in the public sector and continues to occupy numerous seats as a nonprofit director on several boards of directors and supervisory boards and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government. Van Aartsen is known for his abilities as a manager and debater. Van Aartsen continues to comment on political affairs as of and holds the distinction as the only person who served as both Mayor of The Hague and Mayor of Amsterdam. His father Jan van Aartsen was also a politician who served as Minister of Transport and Water Management and Minister of Housing and Construction.

Decorations

Notes

References

External links

J.J. (Jozias) van Aartsen
Parlement & Politiek {{DEFAULTSORT:Aartsen, Jozias van 1947 births Living people Dutch campaign managers Dutch expatriates in Belgium Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Dutch officials of the European Union Dutch political consultants Dutch speechwriters Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic King's and Queen's Commissioners of Drenthe Mayors of Amsterdam Mayors of The Hague Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Ministers of agriculture of the Netherlands Ministers of foreign affairs of the Netherlands Leaders of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Politicians from The Hague People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians Protestant Church Christians from the Netherlands Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch jurists 20th-century Dutch male writers 20th-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch civil servants 21st-century Dutch jurists 21st-century Dutch politicians First Kok cabinet members Second Kok cabinet members