Paul Schnabel (born 17 July 1948) 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 sociologist who served on the

Social and Economic Council The Social and Economic Council (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Sociaal-Economische Raad'', SER) is a major economic advisory council to the cabinet of the Netherlands. Formally it heads a Publiekrechtelijke Bedrijfsorganisatie, system of sector-based ...

(SER) from 2013 to 2015 and in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on behalf of

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 ...

(D66) from 2015 until 2019. Schnabel, a professor at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public university, public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of ...

, previously served as director of

The Netherlands Institute for Social Research The Netherlands Institute for Social Research ( or SCP) is a Dutch interdepartmental scientific institute that carries out solicited and unsolicited social scientific research. The SCP reports to the government, the Senate and House of Representat ...

, an agency within the Government of the Netherlands, from 1998 to 2013, when he was appointed to the SER by the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

. In 2013, upon leading office as SCP director, he was made a Knight in the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (, ) is a Dutch honours system, Dutch order of chivalry founded by William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. The Order of the Netherlands Lion wa ...

Biography

A native of

Bergen op Zoom Bergen op Zoom (; called ''Berrege'' in the Brabantian dialect, local dialect) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in southwestern Netherlands. It is located in the Province ...

, Schnabel grew up in

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

. He studied

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 ...

and

Bielefeld University Bielefeld University () is a public university in Bielefeld, Germany. Founded in 1969, it is one of the country's newer universities, and considers itself a "reform" university, following a different style of organization and teaching than the e ...

. He received his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 1982 for his dissertation on

new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as a new religion, is a religious or Spirituality, spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin, or they can be part ...

s and

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

Paul Schnabel bij het D66 Utrecht Stadscongres

Apart from his work for the SCP he worked with several institutions in Dutch society such as the

Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: ), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center in the world. The center specializes in document ...

(RKD) and the

Scientific Council for Government Policy The Scientific Council for Government Policy ( Dutch: Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het Regeringsbeleid, WRR) is an independent think tank of the Government of the Netherlands based in The Hague, whose members include prominent social scientists, e ...

(WRR). He is a columnist to the Dutch newspapers '' NRC'' and ''

Het Financieele Dagblad ''Het Financieele Dagblad'' (; ) is a daily Dutch newspaper focused on business and financial matters. The paper was established in 1943. The company is headquartered in Amsterdam. It was among the newspapers participating in the Panama Papers ...

''. As of 2008, he is also the chairman of the committee that selected the 1,000 texts deemed as "key" of the Dutch and Flemish cultural history for the Digital library for Dutch literature.Somers, Maartje ''Van abel spel tot Achterhuis: De basisbibliotheek – het Nederlands erfgoed in duizend sleutelteksten'' in ''

NRC Handelsblad ''NRC'', previously called ' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by Mediahuis NRC. It is widely regarded as a newspaper of record in the country. History was first published on 1 October 1970 after a merger of the Amst ...

'' 4 April 2008 section 'Boeken', page 10. In

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, he was placed seventh on the

list for the

and elected. In addition to his role in Parliament, Schnabel served as a member of the Dutch delegation to the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up of ...

from 2015. As member of D66, he was part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group (ALDE). In Parliament, he was a member of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media; the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development; the Subcommittee on Public Health and Sustainable Development; and the Subcommittee on Culture, Diversity and Heritage. From 2006 ''

de Volkskrant ''De Volkskrant'' (; ), stylized as de Volkskrant, is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000. Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium- ...

'' listed him in its top ten of the most influential persons in the Netherlands for a few years.

References

*Delft, Dirk van ''Snelle generalist'' in the ''

'' edition of 29 July 2006 (Dutch language)

Selected bibliography

* ''Tussen stigma en charisma: nieuwe religieuze bewegingen en geestelijke volksgezondheid''/''Between stigma and charisma: new religious movements and mental health''

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

Rotterdam, Faculty of Medicine, Ph.D. thesis, (Deventer, Van Loghum Slaterus, 1982
available on the internet
* ''De weerbarstige geestesziekte: naar een nieuwe sociologie van de geestelijke gezondheidszorg'', 1995, SUN (with Derksen, Jan)

External links

*
Webpage on the website of the Social and Cultural Planning Bureau
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schnabel, Paul 1948 births Living people Democrats 66 politicians Dutch civil servants Dutch columnists Dutch sociologists Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Members of the Social and Economic Council People from Bergen op Zoom People from Breda Utrecht University alumni Academic staff of Utrecht University Bielefeld University alumni