Hans Dijkstal

His Excellency Hans Dijkstal
Hans Dijkstal in 1988
Parliamentary leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy in the House of Representatives of the Netherlands
In office 30 July 1998 – 16 May 2002
Preceded by	Frits Bolkestein
Succeeded by	Gerrit Zalm
Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
In office 30 July 1998 – 16 May 2002
Preceded by	Frits Bolkestein
Succeeded by	Gerrit Zalm
Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
In office 22 August 1994 – 3 August 1998 Serving with Hans van Mierlo
Prime Minister	Wim Kok
Preceded by	Wim Kok
Succeeded by	Els Borst Annemarie Jorritsma
Minister of the Interior of the Netherlands
In office 22 August 1994 – 3 August 1998
Prime Minister	Wim Kok
Preceded by	Dieuwke de Graaff-Nauta
Succeeded by	Bram Peper
Member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands
In office 19 May 1998 – 1 September 2002
In office 30 July 1986 – 22 August 1994
In office 11 November 1982 – 3 June 1986
Personal details
Born	Henri Frans Dijkstal (1943-02-28)28 February 1943 Port Said, Egypt
Died	Wassenaar, Netherlands
Nationality	Dutch
Political party	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
Spouse(s)	Anneke Dijkstal (m. 1966–2010; his death)
Children	2 daughters
Alma mater	University of Amsterdam (Bachelor of Law)
Occupation	Politician Corporate director Nonprofit director Financial adviser Teacher

Henri Frans "Hans" Dijkstal (28 February 1943 – 9 May 2010) was a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).

Dijkstal a financial adviser by occupation, was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives on 11 November 1982 after the Dutch general election of 1982, serving until 3 June 1986 and from 30 July 1986 until 22 August 1994. After the Dutch general election of 1994 he became Minister of the Interior and Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands in the Cabinet Kok I. After the Dutch general election of 1998 incumbent Party leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Frits Bolkestein announced his retirement and Dijkstal was elected his successor. He returned to the House of Representatives on 19 May 1998 and became the Parliamentary leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy in the House of Representatives and the Party leaders of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy on 30 July 1998. For the Dutch general election of 2002 he was the lijsttrekker (top candidate), Dijkstal and Ad Melkert the Party leader of the Labour Party were the front runners to become the next Prime Minister, but the unexpected arrival of Pim Fortuyn of Livable Netherlands (LN) and later the Pim Fortuyn List (LPF), turned the polls. Fortuyn blamed the problems in the country on the Purple cabinets (in which both Dijkstal and Melkert served as ministers). Fortuyn depicted Dijkstal and Melkert as two bureaucrats who didn't understand the feelings and problems among the population. After a heated campaign a mere days before the election, Fortuyn was assassinated in Hilversum. The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy suffered a big defeat in the election losing fourteen seats, Dijkstal accepted responsibility for the defeat and sequentially left national politics. He resigned as Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and Parliamentary leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy in the House of Representatives on 16 May 2002 and gave up his seat in the House of Representatives on 1 September 2002.

Biography

Early life

Dijkstal was born in Port Said, Egypt, where his father and grandfather worked in shipping. He was able to speak fluent Arabic before moving to the Netherlands at age five. He made a career as financial advisor, taught management courses, and was council member for the city of Wassenaar and an alderman.

Politics

In 1982 he was first elected to the House of Representatives. He took over the leadership of the VVD faction from Frits Bolkestein in 1998. Dijkstal was the lijsttrekker for the VVD party in the 2002 parliamentary elections, that turned out disastrous for the party. Afterwards, he retired from active politics. But when his former party started taking a heavy stance on 'allochtonen' (immigrants and their children) he teamed up with former politicians from a wide range of other parties in protest, to strive for a more tolerant society, under the name "Een Land Een Samenleving" ('One Country One Society').

Family

On 29 July 1966 he married Anneke Dijkstal and became the father of two daughters.

Personal

Dijkstal loved jazz and played the saxophone, he liked the sports softball and tennis and loved to watch plays. Furthermore he was a fan and admirer of Star Trek. Hans Dijkstal died on 9 May 2010 after a long fight against bone cancer, he was 67.

Decorations

Honours
	Officer of the Order of Oranje-Nassau	Netherlands	30 October 1998

External links

Official

• (Dutch) H.F. (Hans) Dijkstal Parlement & Politiek

Party political offices
Preceded by Frits Bolkestein	Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy 1998–2002	Succeeded by Gerrit Zalm
	Parliamentary leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy in the House of Representatives of the Netherlands 1998–2002
Government offices
Preceded by Dieuwke de Graaff-Nauta	Minister of the Interior of the Netherlands 1994–1998	Succeeded by Bram Peper
Political offices
Preceded by Wim Kok	Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands 1994–1998 Served alongside: Hans van Mierlo	Succeeded by Annemarie Jorritsma Els Borst
Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by Unknown	Chairman of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center 2004–2010	Succeeded by Elco Brinkman