Melanie Henriëtte Maas Geesteranus (born 28 June 1970) is a retired Dutch politician and businesswoman. 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), she served as Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment from 2010 to 2017.

Biography

Maas Geesteranus attended a Gymnasium in

Lisse Lisse () is a town and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland in the Western Netherlands. The municipality, which lies within the Duin- en Bollenstreek, covers an area of of ...

from May 1982 until June 1988 and applied at the

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

in June 1988 majoring in

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

, obtaining her

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in July 1990 before transferring to the

Erasmus University Rotterdam Erasmus University Rotterdam ( ; abbreviated as EUR) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century Christian humanist and theologian. Erasmus M ...

and graduating with a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

degree in July 1994. Maas Geesteranus 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 ...

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

from May 1994 until June 1999 and served as an

Alderperson An alderman is a member of a 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, denoting a high-ranking membe ...

in Leiden from June 1999 until July 2002. Maas Geesteranus worked as a management consultant for ''B&A Group'' in

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 ...

from January 1995 until April 1997 and as a civil servant for the department of Budgetary Affairs of 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 ...

from April 1997 until June 1999. After the election of 2002 Maas Geesteranus was appointed as State Secretary for Transport and Water Management in the Cabinet Balkenende I, taking office on 22 July 2002. The Cabinet Balkenende I fell just four months later on 16 October 2002, 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. Maas Geesteranus was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the election of 2003, taking office on 30 January 2003. Following the cabinet formation of 2003 Maas Geesteranus continued as State Secretary for Transport and Water Management in the Cabinet Balkenende II, taking office on 27 May 2003. The Cabinet Balkenende II fell on 30 June 2006, and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until the first cabinet formation of 2006 when it was replaced by 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 ...

Cabinet Balkenende III with Schultz van Haegen remaining as State Secretary for Transport and Water Management, taking office on 7 July 2006. On 9 August 2006, Schultz van Haegen announced her retirement from national politics and that she would not stand for the election of 2006. The Cabinet Balkenende III was replaced by the Cabinet Balkenende IV following the second cabinet formation of 2006 on 22 February 2007. Schultz van Haegen retired from national politics and became active in the

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The private sector employs most of the workfo ...

and

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 ...

and occupied numerous seats as a corporate director and nonprofit director on several boards of directors and supervisory boards ( Achmea, Institute for Sound and Vision and the World Population Foundation). After the election of 2010 Schultz van Haegen was appointed as Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment in the Cabinet Rutte I, taking office 14 October 2010. The Cabinet Rutte I fell on 23 April 2012, and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity. In April 2012, Schultz van Haegen announced that she would not stand for the election of 2012. Following the cabinet formation of 2012 Schultz van Haegen remained as Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment in the Cabinet Rutte II, taking office on 5 November 2012. On 6 May 2016, Schultz van Haegen announced her retirement from national politics for a second time and that she would not stand for the election of 2017. Following the cabinet formation of 2017, Schultz van Haegen per his own request, asked not to be considered for a cabinet post in the new

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

, the Cabinet Rutte II was replaced by the Cabinet Rutte III on 26 October 2017.De bewindspersonen van het tweede kabinet-Rutte
NOS, 29 October 2012. Schultz van Haegen retired from national politics and returned to the private sector and public sector, in March 2018, Schultz van Haegen was named as

Chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

(CEO) and Chairwoman of the Board of directors of the Porticus Foundation, serving since 1 April 2018.

Decorations

References

External links

Drs. M.H. (Melanie) Schultz van Haegen-Maas Geesteranus
Parlement & Politiek {{DEFAULTSORT:Schultz van Haegen, Melanie 1970 births Living people Aldermen of Leiden Dutch corporate directors Dutch expatriates in Belgium Dutch management consultants Dutch MPs 2003–2006 Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Erasmus University Rotterdam alumni Leiden University alumni Ministers of infrastructure of the Netherlands Municipal councillors of Leiden Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Politicians from Leiden Businesspeople from Leiden People from Rheden People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians State secretaries for transport of the Netherlands Women government ministers of the Netherlands 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch women politicians 20th-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch businesswomen 21st-century Dutch businesspeople 21st-century Dutch women politicians 21st-century Dutch politicians