Stephanus Abraham "Stef" Blok (born 10 December 1964) is a Dutch politician who served as Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy in the

Third Rutte cabinet The third Rutte cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 26 October 2017 until 10 January 2022 (since 15 January 2021 demissionary). It was formed by a coalition government of the political parties People's Party for Freedom and Democra ...

from 25 May 2021 till 10 January 2022. 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). An

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...

by occupation, Blok served as 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 ...

from 25 August 1998 until 23 May 2002 and from 3 September 2002 until 5 November 2012. After the election of 2010 the

Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is the most senior politician within the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) in the Netherlands. The post is currently held by Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, who succeeded Mark R ...

and

parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislature, legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. ...

in the

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 ...

became

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

in the

First Rutte cabinet The first Rutte cabinet, also called the Rutte–Verhagen cabinet was the Executive (government), executive branch of the Politics of the Netherlands, government of the Netherlands from 14 October 2010 until 5 November 2012. The Cabinet of the ...

with Blok chosen to succeed him as

in the

serving from 8 October 2010 until 20 September 2012. Following the election of 2012 Blok was asked to become Minister for Housing and the Central Government Sector in the

Second Rutte cabinet The second Rutte cabinet, also called the Rutte–Asscher cabinet, was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 5 November 2012 until 26 October 2017. The cabinet was formed by the conservative-liberal People's Party for F ...

taking office on 5 November 2012. Blok served as Acting Minister of Security and Justice from 10 March 2015 until 20 March 2015 following the resignation of

Ivo Opstelten Ivo Willem Opstelten (born 31 January 1944) is a retired Dutch politician and jurist. He is a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). Opstelten applied at Leiden University in May 1963 majoring in Law and obtaining a Bache ...

and ''ad interim'' Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations from 29 June 2016 until 16 September 2016 during a sick-leave of

Ronald Plasterk Ronald Hans Anton Plasterk (; born 12 April 1957) is a Dutch retired politician of the Labour Party (PvdA). He has a PhD degree in biology, specialising in molecular genetics. He is founder and CEO of Frame Cancer Therapeutics. He was appointed ...

. On 27 January 2017, Minister of Security and Justice Ard van der Steur resigned to avoid a vote of no confidence, Blok was appointed to serve out the remainder of his term and subsequently resigned as Minister for Housing and the Central Government Sector the same day. He did not stand for the election of 2017 and announced his retirement. Following the resignation of

Halbe Zijlstra Halbe Zijlstra (; born 21 January 1969) is a retired Dutch politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 26 October 2017 to 13 February 2018 in the Third Rutte cabinet. He is a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ...

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, ...

in the

on 13 February 2018, Blok was nominated to succeed him taking office on 7 March 2018.

Biography

Early life

Stephanus Abraham Blok was born on 10 December 1964 in

Emmeloord Emmeloord is the administrative centre of the municipality of Noordoostpolder, Flevoland, Netherlands. In 2019, it had a population of 26,055. Overview At the heart of the Noordoostpolder, where the three main drainage canals Lemstervaart, Urk ...

, now in the

Province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Flevoland Flevoland () is the twelfth and newest province of the Netherlands, established in 1986, when the southern and eastern Flevopolders, together with the Noordoostpolder, were merged into one provincial entity. It is in the centre of the countr ...

. After attending

Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden is a Gymnasium (school), gymnasium in the Netherlands. Located in Leiden, it is one of the oldest schools in the Netherlands. Its history dates back to the Middle Ages. The Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden is the biggest gymn ...

from 1977 until 1983, he studied

Business Administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

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 ...

from 1983 until 1989 and graduated with a

Bachelor of Business Administration A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is an undergraduate degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of four years and typically 120 credits of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of busine ...

and an

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

degree. Blok worked for ABN AMRO as a credit broker and later as a

branch manager A branch manager is an executive who oversees a division or office of a large business or organization, operating locally or with a particular function. Their responsibility is to ensure that payments to employees are correct, their vacation pay arr ...

from 1989 until 1998. He was a member of the municipal council of

Nieuwkoop Nieuwkoop () is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality was enlarged on 1 January 2007, through the amalgamation of Liemeer and Ter Aar. The municipality now covers an area of of whi ...

from 1994 to 1998. One of his ancestors was J.F.A. Dligoor, an engineer working in

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

(now

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

) in building Prijetan dam in

Lamongan Lamongan Regency () is a regency () of the East Java Province of Indonesia. It has a total land area of approximately or + 3.78% of the area of East Java Province. With a length of along the coastline (comprising Paciran and Brondong Distric ...

East Java East Java (, , ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost third of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean border its northern ...

and who was buried in the country. Secretary Pompeo Participates in a Joint Press Availability With Dutch Foreign Minister Blok - 47993539698

Politics

Blok served as Acting Minister of Security and Justice after the resignation of

from 10 March until 20 March 2015 while retaining his other cabinet position. He resigned as Minister for Housing and the Central Government Sector on 27 January 2017 to hold the title of Minister of Security and Justice in a full position until 26 October 2017, following the resignation of Ard van der Steur. Blok also served as Acting Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations from 29 June to 16 September 2016 while

underwent surgery. After his term as justice minister, Blok announced his plans to leave politics. Following the resignation of

on 13 February 2018, Blok was selected to succeed him.

Controversy

In July 2018, Blok expressed

criticism of multiculturalism Criticism of multiculturalism questions the ideal of the hegemonic maintenance of distinct ethnic cultures within a country. Multiculturalism is a particular subject of debate in certain European nations that are associated with the idea of a n ...

and argued that black African migrants could not be resettled in Eastern Europe because they would be beaten up, during a meeting that was later telecast on Zembla: :"Give me an example, of a multiethnic or multicultural society, where the original population are still living as well. ..And where there are peaceful community relations. I am not aware of any." An audience member suggested

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

. :"Suriname peaceful? A functioning rule of law and democracy? Courageous, this remark. So the parties in Suriname are not divided by their ethnicity? ..I admire your optimism. Suriname is a failed state and that is very much linked to its ethnic composition.” One audience member suggested

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

was a successful multi-ethnic society and Blok responded that Singapore is a “small mini-country,” which is “extremely selective in its migration” and does not allow poor immigrants except "maybe for cleaning." His remarks led to the Government of Suriname to demand an apology and the island-government of Curaçao, part of the Dutch Kingdom, to distance itself from the minister's remarks. The latter responded to the minister's remarks by stating: : "Minister Blok's expressions are not representative of the reality in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. On the contrary. In our view the Curacao multicultural society reflects a better picture of norms and values, such as justice, tolerance and freedom, which we share within the Kingdom." In Suriname, both the government and the opposition opposed the idea that Suriname is a failed state due to its ethnic diversity. It prompted

Chan Santokhi Chandrikapersad "Chan" Santokhi (; , ; born 3 February 1959) is a Surinamese politician and former police officer who is the 9th president of Suriname, since 2020. After winning the 2020 elections, Santokhi was the sole nominee for president o ...

of the opposition Progressive Reform Party to respond: : "That Suriname under this government has become a country that some refer to as a ‘failed state’ is not due to its multicultural composition. Suriname is faced with a lack of good governance and unrestrained corruption."

Honours

Blok received the following honours: *: Officer of 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 ...

*: Grand Cross of the

Order of Leopold II The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgiu ...

*: Member 1st Class of the

Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (, also the Order of the Cross of St. Mary's Land) was instituted by the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri, on 16 May 1995 to honour the independence of the Estonian state. (The Latin name ''Terra Mariana'' ...

(5 June 2018)
- website of the

President of Estonia The president of the Republic of Estonia () is the head of state of the Estonia, Republic of Estonia. The current president is Alar Karis, elected by Parliament on 31 August 2021, replacing Kersti Kaljulaid. Estonia is one of the few parliam ...

*: Grand Officer (2nd class) of the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...

*: Grand Cross of the Order for Merits to Lithuania *: Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg The Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (French: ''Ordre de Mérite du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg'') is an order of merit of Luxembourg, instituted on 23 January 1961 by Grand Duchess Charlotte. Grand Master (order), Grand Master of the ...

References

External links

;Official
Drs. S.A. (Stef) Blok
Parlement & Politiek , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Blok, Stef 1964 births Living people Dutch MPs 2012–2017 Municipal councillors in South Holland Ministers of economic affairs of the Netherlands Ministers of foreign affairs of the Netherlands Ministers of justice of the Netherlands Ministers of kingdom relations of the Netherlands Ministers of the interior of the Netherlands Ministers without portfolio of the Netherlands Dutch accountants Dutch bankers People from Emmeloord People from Nieuwkoop People from Enkhuizen People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians University of Groningen alumni Dutch MPs 2006–2010 Dutch MPs 2010–2012