Half Zijlstra

Half Zijlstra

Halbe Zijlstra (born January 21, 1969 in Oosterwolde, municipality of Ooststellingwerf , province of Friesland ) is a Dutch politician of the VVD . He was Prime Minister Rutte after the general election in 2017 as foreign minister in the Cabinet Rutte III appointed. He resigned on February 13, 2018.

Life

Zijlstra was born in 1969 in Oosterwolde as the son of a police commissioner. His grandfather was a restaurateur in Warfstermolen. At a young age he was active in the racing pigeon sport and was secretary of a racing pigeon association for three years. His studies in sociology at the University of Groningen were followed by a master’s degree in that subject in 1996. He also studied marketing at the Hanzehogeschool, also located in Groningen . After completing his PhD, Zijlstra moved to Utrecht , where he still lives. Zijlstra is married. In his private life he says that he likes cycling and that he likes to listen to Metallica after debates in parliament .

Political career

Zijlstra became a member of VVD in 1994, under the influence of Frits Bolkestein at the time . After moving to Utrecht in 1996, he ran for the city council in 1998 and was elected. He resigned his mandate in 2001 because of a professional activity abroad, but returned to the Council in 2003, before being forced to resign again shortly after being re-elected in 2006 due to professional obligations.

In autumn 2006 Zijlstra was elected 19th on the VVD's list in the Second Chamber of the States General . In that legislative period, he introduced a law to curb violence at football games ( hooliganism ). In the 2010 election , Zijlstra was re-elected to the Tweede Kamer.

From October 2010 to November 2012 he was State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science in the Rutte I cabinet . As State Secretary, Zijlstra developed plans for savings on subsidized cultural projects in the course of 2011, which earned him a lot of criticism from cultural workers. Among other things, several thousand people demonstrated in Amsterdam. From the 900 million euro budget, 200 million euros should be cut. Zijlstra also advocated charging long-term students an extra fee.

From October 2017 to February 2018 he was Foreign Minister in the Rutte III cabinet .

Resignation from the office of Foreign Minister

In a speech at the VVD party congress in May 2016, Zijlstra claimed to have heard in 2006 in the dacha of Russian President Vladimir Putin how he had responded to the question of what he meant by the Greater Russia he was striving for: "These are Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and the Baltic states". Kazakhstan would also be “nice to have”.

However, public doubts arose as to whether Zijlstra had actually heard this remark. In an interview with de Volkskrant on February 12, 2018, he then admitted that he had not been to Putin's holiday home himself. He had received his comment on Greater Russia from an acquaintance who had heard it personally, but whom he did not want to expose. Putin's remark seemed so important to him that he wanted to communicate it to the public. Therefore, he resorted to a white lie. After some speculation as to who Zijlstra's source had been, it turned out that it was the then Shell CEO Jeroen van der Veer , who also confirmed that he had told Zijlstra about Putin's comment on Greater Russia. Zijlstra had "misinterpreted" this. Putin did not mean present Russia, but historical Russia, which actually comprised these countries. Nor could he remember that Kazakhstan was mentioned.

On February 13, 2018, Halbe Zijlstra resigned from the post of Foreign Minister.

Individual evidence

1. ^ NRC Handelsblad: Even geen Metallica voor Halbe Zijlstra , accessed on April 16, 2012. (Dutch)
2. ↑ Het Parool: PvdA en VVD maken zelf voetbalwet ( Memento of March 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), December 6, 2006. (Dutch)
3. ↑ De Volkskrant : Duizenden mensen protesteren tegen cultuurplannen op Malieveld , June 27, 2011, accessed on April 16, 2012. (Dutch)
4. ↑ Portfolio enhancement cabinet VVD / CDA / D66 / CU en agenda formateur Rutte. Retrieved October 26, 2017 (Dutch). 
5. ↑ Natalie Righton: Zijlstra knowlegde woorden poet verkeerd uit. de Volkskrant, February 12, 2018, accessed February 13, 2018 (Dutch).