Wim Kok
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Wim Kok dr.h.c.mult.
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office April 11, 2003 |
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| Monarch | Queen Beatrix |
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| In office August 22, 1994 – July 22, 2002 |
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| Monarch | Queen Beatrix |
| Preceded by | Ruud Lubbers |
| Succeeded by | Jan Peter Balkenende |
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| In office November 7, 1989 – August 22, 1994 |
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| Prime Minister | Ruud Lubbers |
| Preceded by | Onno Ruding |
| Succeeded by | Gerrit Zalm |
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| In office November 7, 1989 – August 22, 1994 |
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| Prime Minister | Ruud Lubbers |
| Preceded by | Rudolf de Korte |
| Succeeded by | Hans Dijkstal Hans van Mierlo |
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| Born | 29 September 1938 Bergambacht, Netherlands |
| Birth name | Willem Kok |
| Political party | PvdA |
| Spouse | Rita Kok |
| Residence | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Alma mater | Nyenrode Business Universiteit |
| Occupation | Trade Union Leader |
| Website | Ministry of General Affairs |
Willem "Wim" Kok (
Wim Kok (help·info)) (* Bergambacht, September 29 1938 - ) is a Dutch politician. He was Prime Minister of The Netherlands from 1994 until 2002.
[edit] Life and career
Wim Kok was born in Bergambacht, The Netherlands. After completing his studies at the Nyenrode business school in the Netherlands, he started his career in 1961 at the socialist trade union NVV, where he was chairman from 1973 until 1982. Between 1976 and 1986 he was chair of the FNV a federation of the NVV and the Catholic NKV, which he had overseen.
In 1986, he succeeded Joop den Uyl as leader of the social democratic Dutch Labour Party. From 1989 until 1994 he was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in a cabinet with the Christian democratic CDA.
In 1999, he became Prime Minister in a cabinet with the liberal VVD and the progressive liberal D'66. This cabinet goes under the name of Kok I. This "Purple" coalition was the first in decades to form a government without the CDA. After the elections in 1998 he led a second government with the same partners, Kok II.
During most of Kok's time as Prime Minister, the Netherlands was booming economically and Kok was credited internationally for the Dutch "Polder Model". This same "polder model" went out of fashion early 2002, which saw the rise of Pim Fortuyn, the right-wing populist political newcomer.
His cabinet fell just weeks before the May 2002 elections when Kok and all his ministers stepped down because of the discussion about the possible Dutch responsibility in the Srebrenica massacre.
He left Dutch politics after the election, as he had already announced the year before, but that does not mean his political life has ended. Like many whose official political careers have ended, he continues to influence politics.
He was succeeded as leader of the Dutch Labour Party by Ad Melkert, who went on to lose the 2002 election.
At present, Wim Kok holds the following positions:
- President of the Board of Governors of The Netherlands Cancer Institute
- Member of the Supervisory Board of ING Group (international financial services)
- Member of the Supervisory Board of Royal Dutch Shell (oil company)
- Member of the Supervisory Board of TNT (international postal company with Dutch origin)
- Member of the Supervisory Board of KLM (airline)
- Member of the Strategic Advisory Panel of The European Business Awards
- Member of the Club of Madrid
- Member of the Bilderberg Group
- Special member of Supervisory Board of Stork (industrial group)
- Commissioner of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).
Between April and November 2004, Mr. Kok headed up a review of the Lisbon Agenda and presented a report containing suggestions on how to give new impetus to the Lisbon process. The Commission used this report to declare that the social and environmental parts are no longer a priority and declared a return to the Lisbon Agenda under economic terms only.
The group comprises twelve figures representing different Stakeholder groups. Among these are Anne-Marie Idrac, chair of RATP, the Paris public transport system, and a former Transport Minister; Will Hutton, governor of the London School of Economics and chief executive of the Works Foundation; and Niall Fitzgerald, chair of Unilever and co-chair of the Transatlantic Business Dialogue, a Lobby organisation known to promote US-American interests in Europe.
Kok now lobbies for the Lisbon Strategy of the European Commission [1]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Photos of Wim Kok
- President Prodi and Mr Wim Kok announce the establishment of the High-level Group on the Lisbon Strategy
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Joop den Uyl |
Chair of the Labour Party in Parliament 1986–1989 |
Succeeded by Thijs Wöltgens |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by Onno Ruding |
Minister of Finance 1989–1994 |
Succeeded by Gerrit Zalm |
| Preceded by Ruud Lubbers |
Prime Minister of the Netherlands 1994–2002 |
Succeeded by Jan Peter Balkenende |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Heinz Oskar Vetter |
President of the ETUC 1979–1982 |
Succeeded by Georges Debunne |
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