Bert Koenders

Bert Koenders

Albert Gerard (Bert) Koenders (born May 28, 1958 in Arnhem ) is a Dutch politician of the PvdA . From October 17, 2014 to October 26, 2017 he was Foreign Minister of the Netherlands in the Rutte II cabinet .

Education

Bert Koenders studied until 1983. Political and Social Sciences (International Relations and Economics) at the Free University of Amsterdam and the University of Amsterdam where he Johns Hopkins University (School of Advanced International Studies) to Bologna and Washington with the Master of Arts finished .

career

Second chamber

After completing his studies, Koenders worked for the PvdA parliamentary group in the Second Chamber , European Director of the Parlementarians for Global Action, political advisor to the United Nations in southern Africa and an employee of the European Commission . In 1997 he came back to the Second Chamber as the successor to Maarten van Traa who had died in the accident. There he worked as a spokesman for foreign relations and dealt with international finance and trade policy, among others. a. in debates on military missions in Iraq and Afghanistan . He was also a member of the Srebrenica Enquete Commission and from 2006 to 2007 President of the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO . He repeatedly called for a parliamentary investigation into the Dutch involvement in the internationally highly controversial invasion of Iraq. In 2007 he left the Chamber to become Minister for Development Cooperation.

Minister for Development Cooperation

In February 2007, Koenders became Minister in the fourth Balkenende cabinet . In the same year he came under fire for awarding a contract to the organization office BKB, which was headed by his party colleagues Lennart Booij and Erik van Bruggen. The two had previously sought party leadership and were active in their party's 2006 election campaign for the elections to the Second Chamber. BKB was allowed to organize the event on the Akkoord van Schokland for around € 750,000 . The contract was carried out without a public hearing, which is mandatory for government contracts over € 137,000.

United Nations

In August 2011, Koenders became Ban Ki-Moons ' Special Representative , United Nations Secretary General, in Ivory Coast . On May 17, 2013, he was named chairman of the UN peace power in Mali (MINUSMA) , which this year succeeded the international troops stationed in Mali due to the civil war.

Foreign minister

On October 14, 2014 it was announced that Koenders was the intended successor to Frans Timmermans as Foreign Minister in the Rutte II cabinet. Timmermans had left the cabinet due to his appointment as deputy Jean-Claude Juncker . Koenders was sworn in by King Willem-Alexander on October 17, 2014 .

Web links

• Page about Koenders at the United Nations (English)
• Page about Koenders at the government of the Netherlands (Dutch)

Individual evidence

1. http://nos.nl/artikel/709771-koenders-opvolger-timmermans.html , Koenders as Timmermans' successor, NOS , October 14, 2014 (Dutch)

2. http://www.nu.nl/politiek/3905696/koenders-beedigd-als-minister-van-buitenlandse-zaken.html , Swearing in Koenders', NU magazine, October 17, 2014 (Dutch)