Thom de Graaf

Thomas Carolus "Thom" de Graaf (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtoːmɑz də ˈɣraːf];[1] born 11 June 1957) is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. He is the Vice-President of the Council of State since 1 November 2018.


Thom de Graaf
Thom de Graaf in 2018
Vice-President of the Council of State
Assumed office
1 November 2018
MonarchWillem-Alexander
Preceded byPiet Hein Donner
Parliamentary leader in the Senate
In office
9 June 2015  26 June 2018
Preceded byRoger van Boxtel
Succeeded byHans Engels
Parliamentary groupDemocrats 66
Member of the Senate
In office
7 June 2011  20 September 2018
Parliamentary groupDemocrats 66
Mayor of Nijmegen
In office
8 January 2007  1 February 2012
Preceded byGuusje ter Horst
Succeeded byWim Dijkstra (Ad interim)
Deputy Prime Minister
In office
27 May 2003  23 March 2005
Serving with Gerrit Zalm
Prime MinisterJan Peter Balkenende
Preceded byJohan Remkes
Roelf de Boer
Succeeded byLaurens Jan Brinkhorst
Minister for Governmental Reform
and Kingdom Relations
In office
27 May 2003  23 March 2005
Prime MinisterJan Peter Balkenende
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byAlexander Pechtold
Leader of the Democrats 66
In office
30 May 1998  22 January 2003
Preceded byEls Borst
Succeeded byBoris Dittrich
Parliamentary leader in the
House of Representatives
In office
30 May 1998  22 January 2003
Preceded byEls Borst
Succeeded byBoris Dittrich
In office
21 November 1997  19 May 1998
Preceded byGerrit Jan Wolffensperger
Succeeded byEls Borst
Parliamentary groupDemocrats 66
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
17 May 1994  27 May 2003
Parliamentary groupDemocrats 66
Personal details
Born
Thomas Carolus de Graaf

(1957-06-11) 11 June 1957
Amsterdam, Netherlands
NationalityDutch
Political partyDemocrats 66 (from 1977)
Children2 children
FatherTheo de Graaf (1912–1983)
ResidenceNijmegen, Netherlands
Alma materRadboud University Nijmegen
(Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws)
OccupationPolitician · Civil servant · Jurist · Researcher · Management consultant · Nonprofit director · Trade association executive · Education administrator · Sport administrator · Professor
Website(in Dutch) Vice-President of the Council of State

De Graaf attended the City Gymnasium Nijmegen from April 1969 until May 1975 and applied at the Radboud University Nijmegen in June 1975 majoring in Law obtaining an Bachelor of Laws degree in June 1977 and worked as a student researcher before graduating with an Master of Laws degree in July 1981. De Graaf served on the Municipal Council of Nijmegen from May 1978 until April 1979. De Graaf worked as a researcher at the Radboud University Nijmegen and the Centre for Parliamentary History from July 1981 until September 1985. De Graaf worked as a civil servant for the Ministry of the Interior from September 1985 until May 1994 for the department for Law Enforcement from September 1985 until February 1986 and as Deputy Director-General of the department for Legislative Affairs from February 1986 until August 1988 and as Deputy Director-General of the department for Legal Affairs from August 1988 until September 1991 and as Deputy Director-General of the department for Law Enforcement from September 1991 until May 1994. De Graaf served on the Municipal Council of Leiden from April 1990 until May 1994.

De Graaf was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after election of 1994, taking office on 17 May 1994 serving as a frontbencher and spokesperson for the Interior, Kingdom Relations, and Law enforcement and deputy spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and European Affairs. After the Parliamentary leader of the Democrats 66 in the House of Representatives Gerrit Jan Wolffensperger announced that he was stepping down as Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives following increasing criticism on his leadership, the Democrats 66 leadership approached De Graaf as his successor, De Graaf accepted and became the Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives, taking office on 21 November 1997. After the election of 1998 the new Leader of the Democrats 66 Els Borst was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives and became the Parliamentary leader, taking office on 19 May 1998. Following the cabinet formation of 1998 Borst opted to remain Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport in the Cabinet Kok II and unexpectedly announced that she was stepping down as Leader. De Graaf announced his candidacy to succeed her. De Graaf won the leadership election defeating fellow frontbencher Roger van Boxtel and was elected as Leader and Parliamentary leader, taking office on 30 May 1998. For the election of 2002 De Graaf served as the Lijsttrekker (top candidate). The Democrats 66 suffered a big loss, losing 7 seats and fell back as the seventh largest party and now had 7 seats in the House of Representatives. For the election of 2003 De Graaf served for a second time as Lijsttrekker. The Democrats 66 suffered another loss, losing 1 seat and now had 6 seats in the House of Representatives. On 22 January 2003 De Graaf announced he was stepping down as Leader and Parliamentary leader taking responsibility for the defeat but continued to serve in the House of Representatives as a frontbencher chairing the parliamentary committee for Kingdom Relations. Following the cabinet formation of 2003 De Graaf was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Governmental Reform and Kingdom Relations in the Cabinet Balkenende II, taking office on 27 May 2003. On 23 March 2005 De Graaf resigned after a proposed constitutional reform on elected-mayors was rejected by the Senate.

De Graaf semi-retired from active politics and became active in the public sector and occupied numerous seats as a nonprofit director on several supervisory boards (Centre for Parliamentary History, Consumers' League and the Anne Vondeling prize) and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government (Public Pension Funds APB, De Koning Commission, Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei, Netherlands Film Fund and the Advisory Council for Spatial Planning). De Graaf also worked as a sport administrator for the Royal Dutch Football Association. De Graaf also served as a professor of Ethics for the Royal Marechaussee at the Royal Military Academy from July 2005 until September 2010. In December 2006 De Graaf was nominated as Mayor of Nijmegen, taking office on 8 January 2007. In January 2012 De Graaf was nominated as Chairman of the Executive Board of the Universities of Applied Sciences association, he resigned as Mayor the same day he was installed Chairman from serving from 1 February 2012 until 1 November 2018. De Graaf was elected as a Member of the Senate after the Senate election of 2011, taking office on 7 June 2011 serving as a frontbencher chairing the parliamentary committee for Kingdom Relations and spokesperson for the Interior, Kingdom Relations, European Affairs, Defence and Immigration and Asylum Affairs. After the Senate election of 2015 De Graaf was selected as Parliamentary leader of the Democrats 66 in the Senate, taking office on 9 June 2015. In June 2018 De Graaf was nominated as Vice-President of the Council of State, he resigned as Parliamentary leader on 26 June 2018 and as a Member of the Senate on 20 September 2018 and was installed as Vice-President of the Council of State, taking office on 1 November 2018.

Early life and education

De Graaf was born in Amsterdam and studied law at the Catholic University Nijmegen where he obtained his LL.M. in 1981. He was a member of the House of Representatives in the period 1994-2003, where he also held the post of party leader and faction chairperson for D66 from 1997 onward. He sat as vice-chairman in the parliamentary inquiry commission that looked into the investigative methods used by the Dutch inter-regional police force, leading to the resignation in 1994 of the Minister for Internal Affairs, Ed van Thijn.

Political career

De Graaf served in the second Balkenende cabinet as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Government Reform and Kingdom Relations from 23 May 2003 until 23 March 2005. In 2005, de Graaf resigned, after the introduction of democratically elected mayors had been rejected in the Senate, with a deciding vote cast by the Labour Party faction under guidance by Ed van Thijn. The proposal was especially important as it had become a symbol of the government reform that D66 had wanted since its creation. Alexander Pechtold took his place in the cabinet.

From 8 January 2007 until 1 February 2012, De Graaf was mayor of Nijmegen, as successor of Guusje ter Horst. De Graaf's father, Theo de Graaf, was a Catholic People's Party member of parliament and from 1968 until 1977 mayor of Nijmegen. Since 1 February 2012 Thom de Graaf is President of the HBO-raad.

Decorations

Honours
Ribbon barHonourCountryDateComment
Knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Holy See 4 April 2004
Officer of the Order of Oranje-Nassau Netherlands 23 May 2005

References

  1. Thomas in isolation: [ˈtoːmɑs].
Official
Party political offices
Preceded by
Gerrit Jan Wolffensperger
Parliamentary leader of the
Democrats 66 in the
House of Representatives

1997–1998
1998–2003
Succeeded by
Els Borst
Preceded by
Els Borst
Succeeded by
Boris Dittrich
Leader of the Democrats 66
1998–2003
Preceded by
Els Borst
1998
Lijsttrekker of the
Democrats 66

20022003
Succeeded by
Alexander Pechtold
2006
Preceded by
Roger van Boxtel
Parliamentary leader of the
Democrats 66 in the Senate

2015–2018
Succeeded by
Hans Engels
Political offices
Preceded by
Johan Remkes
Deputy Prime Minister
2003–2005
Served alongside: Gerrit Zalm
Succeeded by
Laurens Jan Brinkhorst
Preceded by
Roelf de Boer
Preceded by
Office established
Minister for Governmental Reform
and Kingdom Relations

2003–2005
Succeeded by
Alexander Pechtold
Preceded by
Guusje ter Horst
Mayor of Nijmegen
2007–2012
Succeeded by
Wim Dijkstra
Ad interim
Preceded by
Piet Hein Donner
Vice-President of the
Council of State

2018–present
Incumbent
Civic offices
Preceded by
Gerlach Cerfontaine
Chairman of the
Supervisory board of the
Netherlands Film Fund

2017–2018
Succeeded by
Laetitia Griffith
Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by
Jos van Kemenade
Chairman of the
Supervisory board of the
Centre for Parliamentary History

2007–present
Incumbent
Preceded by
Guusje ter Horst
Chairman of the
Executive Board of the
Universities of Applied
Sciences association

2012–2018
Succeeded by
Maurice Limmen
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