Eimert van Middelkoop
Eimert van Middelkoop (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɛimərt fɑˈmɪdəlkoːp];[1] born 14 February 1949) is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Union (CU) party and teacher. He is the chairman of the Institute for Multiparty Democracy since 20 January 2018.
Early life
[edit]After high school, van Middelkoop attended what is now Erasmus University, earning a B.A. in Sociology in 1971. In 1971 and 1972, he was a teacher at the Reformed Social Academy in Zwolle. He was exempt from military draft for being indispensable as staff member of the Reformed Political League in the House of Representatives.[2]
Politics
[edit]Van Middelkoop became a member of the House of Representatives in 1989, while affiliated with the Reformed Political League. Since 2000, he has been aligned with the ChristianUnion (ChristenUnie), which was the product of a fusion of the Reformatory Political Federation (RPF) and the Reformatory Political Federation (GPV). He specialised in foreign and military affairs, prepared the inquiry by the House of Representatives into the role of the Netherlands in the fall of Srebrenica. He lost his seat in the House of Representatives in the 2002 elections.
From 2003 until 2007, van Middelkoop was a member of the Senate of the Netherlands. In the 2006 elections, the ChristianUnion party doubled its seats and joined the fourth Balkenende cabinet. Van Middelkoop became Minister of Defence in 2007.
In September 2008, he told the Dutch opinion magazine, Vrij Nederland, that he would have been very unhappy to have joined the army. Because of this and other remarks, he received criticism from military labour unions, who said that Van Middelkoop had lost his credibility.[3][4]
Decorations
[edit]| Honours | ||||
| Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ghazi Mir Bacha Khan Medal | Afghanistan | 2010 | |
|
Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 3 December 2010 | Elevated from Knight (23 May 2002) |
References
[edit]- ^ In isolation, van is pronounced [vɑn].
- ^ Van Middelkoop biography, House of Representatives (in Dutch)
- ^ "Van Middelkoop was blij dat hij niet in dienst hoefde" (in Dutch). NRC Handelsblad. 23 September 2008. Archived from the original on 23 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
- ^ "Van Middelkoop moet praten met militaire vakbonden" (in Dutch). NRC Handelsblad. 25 September 2009. Archived from the original on 23 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
External links
[edit]
- Official
- (in Dutch) E. (Eimert) van Middelkoop Parlement & Politiek
- (in Dutch) E. van Middelkoop (ChristenUnie) Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1949 births
- Living people
- Christian Union (Netherlands) politicians
- Dutch nonprofit directors
- Dutch nonprofit executives
- Dutch political consultants
- Erasmus University Rotterdam alumni
- Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands)
- Members of the Senate (Netherlands)
- Ministers of defence of the Netherlands
- Ministers without portfolio of the Netherlands
- Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau
- People from Lansingerland
- Reformed Churches (Liberated) Christians from the Netherlands
- Reformed Political League politicians
- 20th-century Dutch civil servants
- 20th-century Dutch educators
- 20th-century Dutch politicians
- 21st-century Dutch civil servants
- 21st-century Dutch educators
- 21st-century Dutch politicians
- Recipients of the Ghazi Mir Bacha Khan Medal