Margrietus Johannes "Max" van den Berg (born 22 March 1946) is a Dutch

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and member of the Dutch Labour Party. From 1979 to 1986 he was the chairman of that party and from 1999 to 2007 he was a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

. From 2007 to 2016, he was the

King's Commissioner A King's commissioner (, ''CvdK'') is the head of government and legislature in a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands. When the List of monarchs of the Netherlands, reigning monarch is a woman, the title is Queen's commission ...

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 ...

, until 2013 as Queen's Commissioner.

Early life

Margrietus Johannes van den Berg was born on 22 March 1946 in Ammerstol in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

.Drs. M.J. van den Berg
''Parlement & Politiek''. Retrieved on 16 November 2007. His high school was the ''Carmelieten Paters'' in

Oldenzaal Oldenzaal (; Tweants: ''Oldnzel'') is a municipality and a city in the eastern province of Overijssel in the Netherlands. It is part of the region of Twente and is close to the German border. It received city rights in 1249. Historically, the ...

. In 1969 he received his degree in

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

, where he specialized in urban planning and political science. From 1969 to 1970 he was an academic staff member and lecturer at the sociology faculty of 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 ...

Political career

From 1 September 1970 to 5 September 1978, Max van den Berg was an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

; the last six years of which he was also the

deputy mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor and assistant mayor) is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many local governments. Duties and functions Many elected deputy mayors are members of the loca ...

of Groningen. From 26 April 1979 to 25 April 1986, he was the chairman of the Labour Party. From 1986 to 1999 he was the secretary-general of the

non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

Novib. From 20 July 1999 to 1 September 2007, he was a

. He was the leader of the PvdA delegation in the European Parliament, and from 1999 to 2004 he was also vice-chairman of the Committee on Development and Cooperation. He is also a substitute for the Committee on International Trade and the Subcommittee on Human Rights, vice-chair of the delegation for relations with the countries of the

Andean Community The Andean Community (, CAN) is a free trade area with the objective of creating a customs union comprising the South American countries (Andean states) of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The trade bloc was called the Andean Pact until 1 ...

, a substitute for the delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, and a member of the temporary committee on policy challenges and budgetary means of the enlarged Union 2007–2013.

Organisations

Max van den Berg is or was a member of several organisations: * Member of Eurostep (1990–1999) * Member of Oxfam International (1995–1999) * Member of the board of governors of the African Studies Centre, Leiden * Member of the management board of the Jan Vrijman Foundation * Chairman of the management board, Theater Zeebelt, The Hague * Member of the management board of Wereldomroep (Radio Netherlands International), Zeist * Member of the management board of the Design Academy, Eindhoven

Electoral history

Honour

* Officer in the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

(2016)Koninklijke onderscheiding voor ereburger Max van den Berg
, '' NU.nl'', 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2016. * Honorary citizen of

(2016)

Notes

References

External links

*
Max van den Berg
(official website) {{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Max Van Den 1946 births Living people Aldermen of Groningen Chairmen of the Labour Party (Netherlands) Dutch civil servants King's and Queen's Commissioners of Groningen Labour Party (Netherlands) MEPs Labour Party (Netherlands) politicians MEPs for the Netherlands 1999–2004 MEPs for the Netherlands 2004–2009 Municipal councillors of Groningen (city) Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau People from Bergambacht