Wilhelmus Adrianus Franciscus Gabriël "Willem" Vermeend (born 21 December 1948) is a retired

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

politician of the Labour Party (PvdA), academic, author and businessman. His academic career has varied between specialising in tax law, European law, and digital economy. As an author, he has published over a dozen books. Subjects include politics and economics.

Education and academic career

Vermeend attended a Gymnasium in

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 ...

from March 1961 until April 1972 and applied 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 ...

in May 1972

majoring An academic major is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits. A student who successfully completes all courses required for the major qualifies for an undergraduate degree. The word ''major'' (also called ''conce ...

Tax law Tax law or revenue law is an area of legal study in which public or sanctioned authorities, such as federal, state and municipal governments (as in the case of the US) use a body of rules and procedures (laws) to assess and collect taxes in a ...

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 June 1972 before graduating with a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

degree in July 1975. Vermeend worked as a researcher 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 ...

from July 1975 until April 1977 and as an associate professor of Tax law at the Leiden University from April 1977 until June 1984 and got a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

as a

Doctor of Law A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

in March 1983. Vermeend also returned as a visiting professor of Tax law at the University of Groningen from 1 January 1991 until 22 August 1994 and as a visiting professor of European Tax law at the

University of Limburg Maastricht University (abbreviated as UM; ) is a public research university in Maastricht, Netherlands. Founded in 1976, it is the second youngest of the thirteen Dutch universities. In 2023, 22,976 students studied at Maastricht University, 59% ...

from 1 April 1991 until 1 August 1993. After retiring from politics, Vermeend also served as a distinguished professor of Tax law at the Leiden University from 1 August 2002 until 1 May 2004 and a distinguished professor of

European law European Union law is a system of Supranational union, supranational Law, laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). It has grown over time since the 1952 founding of the European Coal and Steel Community, to promote ...

at the

Maastricht University Maastricht University (abbreviated as UM; ) is a public university, public research university in Maastricht, Netherlands. Founded in 1976, it is the second youngest of the thirteen List of universities in the Netherlands, Dutch universities. In ...

from 1 May 2004 until 1 September 2010 and a distinguished professor of Tax law at the Maastricht University from 1 January 2006 until 1 September 2010 and Vermeend has been a distinguished professor of

Digital economy The digital economy is a portmanteau of digital computing and economy, and is an umbrella term that describes how traditional Brick and mortar, brick-and-mortar economic activities (production, distribution, trade) are being transformed by the ...

at the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

Heerlen Heerlen (; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeast of the Netherlands. It is the third largest settlement proper in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Measured as municipality, it is the f ...

since 1 January 2014.

Political career

Vermeend became a Member of the House of Representatives after

Schelto Patijn Schelto Patijn �sxɛɫtoː pɑˈtɛin(13 August 1936 – 15 July 2007) was a Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and jurist. After serving as an elected member of the Dutch and subsequently European Parliament, he served as Queen's Co ...

was appointed as

Queen's Commissioner A King's commissioner (, ''CvdK'') is the head of government and legislature in a province of the Netherlands. When the reigning monarch is a woman, the title is Queen's commissioner (''Commissaris van de Koningin''). A commissioner is appointed ...

South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...

, taking office on 19 June 1984 serving as a

frontbencher In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then know ...

and

spokesperson A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

for

Social security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...

and Kingdom Relations. After the election of 1994 Vermeend was appointed as State Secretary for Finance in the Cabinet Kok I, taking office on 22 August 1994. After the election of 1998 Vermeend returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 19 May 1998. Following the cabinet formation 1998 Vermeend continued as State Secretary for Finance in the Cabinet Kok II, taking office on 3 August 1998. Vermeend was appointed as

Minister of Social Affairs and Employment The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (; SZW) is the Dutch ministry responsible for social affairs, relations between employers and employees, social security, trade unions and emancipation. It was established in 1918 as the Ministry ...

following the appointed of Klaas de Vries as Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, taking office on 24 March 2000. The Cabinet Kok II resigned on 16 April 2002 following the conclusions of the

NIOD The NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies (Dutch language, Dutch: ''NIOD Instituut voor Oorlogs-, Holocaust- en Genocidestudies'') is an organisation in the Netherlands which maintains archives and carries out history, historical ...

report into the

Srebrenica massacre The Srebrenica massacre, also known as the Srebrenica genocide, was the July 1995 genocidal killing of more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in and around the town of Srebrenica during the Bosnian War. It was mainly perpetrated by unit ...

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 ...

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. After the election of 2002 Vermeend again returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 23 May 2002. The Cabinet Kok II was replaced by the Cabinet Balkenende I following the cabinet formation of 2002 on 22 July 2002 and he continued to serve in the House of Representatives until his resignation on 26 July 2002.

Retirement from politics, private sector work

Vermeend 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 ( Mitsubishi Motors Europe,

Randstad NV Randstad NV, commonly known as Randstad and stylized as randstad, is a Dutch multinational human resource consulting firm headquartered in Diemen, Netherlands. Along with Adecco, the company is one of the two largest staffing firms worldwide. ...

, AFAB Company, Royal Imtech N.V., Rotra Company,

Free Record Shop Free Record Shop was a chain of home entertainment stores selling products such as CDs, DVDs and video games, founded by Hans Breukhoven. Its first store opened on 15 October 1971 in Schiedam, Netherlands. At its peak, the franchise had more than ...

, DSM Company, Maison van den Boer, Meeùs Group, Society for Statistics and Operations Research,

SEO Economic Research SEO Amsterdam Economics (SEO) is a Research institute, scientific institute for economic research commissioned by Ministry (government department), ministries or businesses. SEO was founded in 1949 from the Faculty of Economics of the University ...

and the Energy Research Centre) and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government (

Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis The Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (, CPB, literal translation: Central Planning Bureau) is a part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands. Its goal is to deliver economic analyses and forecasts. The CPB is an in ...

and 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 ...

). Vermeend also worked as a trade association executive for the Industry and Employers confederation serving as Vice Chairman of the Executive Board from January 2004 until September 2010.

Publications

Vermeend is also a prolific author, having written more than a dozen books since 2002 about business,

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

, tax law and

computer security Computer security (also cybersecurity, digital security, or information technology (IT) security) is a subdiscipline within the field of information security. It consists of the protection of computer software, systems and computer network, n ...

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
Prof.Mr.Dr. W.A.F.G. (Willem) Vermeend
Parlement & Politiek {{DEFAULTSORT:Vermeend, Willem 1948 births Living people Dutch business writers Dutch columnists Dutch corporate directors Dutch education writers Dutch essayists Dutch financial writers Dutch fiscal jurists Dutch legal scholars Dutch legal writers Dutch lobbyists Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Dutch political commentators Dutch political writers Dutch technology writers Dutch trade association executives Labour Party (Netherlands) politicians Leiden University alumni Academic staff of Leiden University Academic staff of Maastricht University Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the Social and Economic Council Ministers of social affairs of the Netherlands Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Politicians from Heerlen People from Maarssen Politicians from Utrecht (city) State secretaries for finance of the Netherlands University of Groningen alumni Academic staff of the University of Groningen 20th-century Dutch businesspeople 20th-century Dutch economists 20th-century Dutch educators 20th-century Dutch jurists 20th-century Dutch male writers 20th-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch businesspeople 21st-century Dutch economists 21st-century Dutch educators 21st-century Dutch male writers 21st-century Dutch politicians First Kok cabinet members Second Kok cabinet members