Bert Koenders
{{Short description|Dutch politician and diplomat}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Bert Koenders
| image = Bert Koenders 2015 (1).jpg
| office = Minister of Foreign Affairs
| primeminister = Mark Rutte
| term_start = 17 October 2014
| term_end = 26 October 2017
| predecessor = Frans Timmermans
| successor = Halbe Zijlstra
| office1 = Special Representative for the United Nations in Mali
| 1blankname1 = {{nowrap|Secretary-General}}
| 1namedata1 = Ban Ki-moon
| term_start1 = 1 July 2013
| term_end1 = 17 October 2014
| predecessor1 = Position established
| successor1 = Mongi Hamdi
| office2 = Special Representative for the United Nations in Côte d'Ivoire
| 1blankname2 = {{nowrap|Secretary-General}}
| 1namedata2 = Ban Ki-moon
| term_start2 = 1 August 2011
| term_end2 = 1 July 2013
| predecessor2 = Choi Young-jin
| successor2 = Aïchatou Mindaoudou
| office3 = Minister for Development Cooperation
| primeminister3 = Jan Peter Balkenende
| term_start3 = 22 February 2007
| term_end3 = 23 February 2010
| predecessor3 = Agnes van Ardenne
| successor3 = Maxime Verhagen
| office4 = President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly
| term_start4 = 17 November 2006
| term_end4 = 19 February 2007
| predecessor4 = Pierre Lellouche
| successor4 = José Lello
| office5 = Member of the House of Representatives
| term_start5 = 11 November 1997
| term_end5 = 22 February 2007
| birth_name = Albert Gerard Koenders
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1958|5|28}}
| birth_place = Arnhem, Netherlands
| nationality = Dutch
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = Labour Party
| education = Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam {{small|(BSS)}}
University of Amsterdam {{small|(MSS)}}
Johns Hopkins University {{small|(MA)}}
| caption = Koenders in 2015
}}
Albert Gerard Koenders ({{IPA|nl|ˈɑlbərt ˈxeːrɑrt (bɛrt) ˈkundərs}};{{efn|In isolation, Gerard is pronounced {{IPA|nl|ˈɣeːrɑrt|}}.}} born 28 May 1958) is a Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2014 to 2017. He is currently a professor at Leiden University and a special envoy of the World Bank. He is also chair of the Dutch [https://www.advisorycouncilinternationalaffairs.nl Advisory Council on International Affairs], a member of the board of trustees of the International Crisis Group and a commissioner of the International Commission on Missing Persons.
Koenders studied political science at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the University of Amsterdam, and completed a second master's in international relations at Johns Hopkins University. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1997 to 2007 and served as Minister for Development Cooperation from 2007 until 2010. He later was the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Operation in the Ivory Coast (2011–2013), and Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (2013–2014). Koenders founded the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank/International Monetary Fund and has served as President of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Parliamentary Assembly and leader of its Socialist Group.
Biography
=Early life=
Albert Gerard Koenders was born on 28 May 1958 in Arnhem in Gelderland,{{cite web | title = Drs. A.G. (Bert) Koenders | work = Parlement & Politiek | publisher = Leiden University | url = http://www.parlement.com/9291000/biof/02611 | access-date = 2014-10-14 |language=nl}} where he grew up in a Reformed environment.{{in lang|nl}} {{Aut|Theo Koelé}}, "[http://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/bevlogen-padvinder-die-bui-ziet-hangen~a930930/ Bevlogen padvinder die bui ziet hangen]", de Volkskrant, 2008. Retrieved on 16 October 2014. He was a boy scout. He attended the secondary school Carolus Clusius College in Zwolle, where he completed the pre-university program.
Koenders studied political science at the Free University Amsterdam (sitting his candidates examination in 1978) and political and social sciences (international relations and economics) at the University of Amsterdam (graduating in 1983).[http://unctad.org/sections/press/docs/press_bio_koenders_en.pdf Curriculum vitae Bert Koenders] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304075157/http://unctad.org/sections/press/docs/press_bio_koenders_en.pdf |date=2016-03-04 }}, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. He received his Master of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University, where he studied at the School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna and Washington from 1979 to 1981.{{cite web|title=Bert Koenders|work=pvda.nl|publisher=Labour Party|url=http://www.pvda.nl/renderer.do/menuId/37348/clearState/true/sf/37348/returnPage/37348/itemId/7802/realItemId/7802/pageId/37217/instanceId/37464/|access-date=2007-02-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070107000258/http://pvda.nl/renderer.do/menuId/37348/clearState/true/sf/37348/returnPage/37348/itemId/7802/realItemId/7802/pageId/37217/instanceId/37464/ |archive-date = 2007-01-07|language=nl}}
Koenders is not married.{{cite web|title=Curriculum Vitae: Bert Koenders|publisher=Government of the Netherlands|url=https://www.government.nl/government/contents/members-of-cabinet/bert-koenders/cv|access-date=8 February 2016}}
Politics
=Early career=
Koenders was adjunct professor at Webster University in Leiden from 1987 to 1993. In 2002 he was visiting professor at Johns Hopkins University in Bologna teaching about conflict prevention and management, and post-conflict reconstruction. Due to his past experience of being a professor, he occasionally participates in lectures about specific aspects of political science at various universities around the Netherlands.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}
From 1983 to 1993, Koenders worked as an aide for the Labour Party in the House of Representatives. He served as an adviser to the United Nations Operation in Mozambique in the early 1990s, his first job outside the Netherlands. Between 1995 and 1997, he worked in the private office of Hans van den Broek, who was then the Dutch European commissioner and had shared responsibility for foreign policy. During that time, one of his tasks was defining the EU’s competences on foreign policy.Cynthia Kroet (March 5, 2015), [http://www.politico.eu/article/bert-koenders-the-alternative/ Bert Koenders: The alternative] European Voice.
File:131128 Timmermans en Hennis bij Koenders en Kazura MINUSMA (12771438373).jpg, Rwandan general Jean Bosco Kazura, Special Representative Bert Koenders and Minister of Defence Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in Bamako on 28 November 2013.]]
File:Secretary Kerry Shakes Hands With Dutch Foreign Minister Koenders Before Bilateral Meeting at NATO Headquarters in Belgium (15930850185).jpg John Kerry at a NATO summit in Brussels on 2 December 2014.]]
=House of Representatives=
Koenders was a member of the House of Representatives from 1997 until 2007. In 1997, he filled the vacant seat after member of parliament Maarten van Traa died in a car accident.{{cite web|title=Bert Koenders|work=novatv.nl|publisher=NOVA (VARA/NPS)|date=2003-09-23|url=http://www.novatv.nl/index.cfm?ln=nl&fuseaction=artikelen.details&achtergrond_id=1184|access-date=2007-02-14|language=nl|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070705053524/http://www.novatv.nl/index.cfm?ln=nl&fuseaction=artikelen.details&achtergrond_id=1184|archive-date=2007-07-05}} He was member of the permanent parliamentary committees on foreign affairs and on defense. From 2002 until 2003 he was a member of the parliamentary hearing committee on the Srebrenica massacre. From 17 November 2006 to 19 February 2007 he was president of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
=Minister of Development Cooperation=
Koenders was minister without portfolio for Development Cooperation (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) in the Fourth Balkenende cabinet sworn in on 22 February 2007.{{cite web | title = Development Cooperation Minister Bert Koenders | work = minbuza.nl | publisher = Ministry of Foreign Affairs | url = http://www.minbuza.nl/en/ministry,ministers/Minister-Koenders.html | access-date = 2007-02-23 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070310225130/http://www.minbuza.nl/en/ministry%2Cministers/Minister-Koenders.html | archive-date = 2007-03-10 | url-status=dead }}
He came under political fire as minister in July 2007, after it became known that an event sponsored by the Ministry, Het akkoord van Schokland, was organized without a public procurement process stipulated under European Union law. Instead, the event was organized by an event bureau closely tied to the Labour Party itself. Koenders cited time shortage.{{cite news | url = http://www.nrc.nl/binnenland/article746165.ece/Koenders_overtrad_EU-regel_voor_aanbestedingen | title = Koenders overtrad EU-regel voor aanbestedingen | publisher = NRC Handelsblad | date = 2007-07-30 | language = nl | access-date = 2007-08-01 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929111903/http://www.nrc.nl/binnenland/article746165.ece/Koenders_overtrad_EU-regel_voor_aanbestedingen | archive-date = 2007-09-29 | url-status=dead }}{{cite news | url = http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?channel_id=1&story_id=42396 | title = Parliament upset with Koenders | publisher = Expatica | date = 2007-07-30 | access-date = 2007-08-01 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929111445/http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?channel_id=1&story_id=42396 | archive-date = 2007-09-29 | url-status = dead }}
Between 2008 and 2009, Koenders was part of a High-Level Taskforce on Innovative International Financing for Health Systems, which had been launched to help strengthen health systems in the 49 poorest countries in the world and was chaired by UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and World Bank president Robert Zoellick.[https://web.archive.org/web/20131029193834/http://www.who.int/tobacco/economics/en_tfi_economics_final_task_force_report.pdf More money for health, and more health for the money] World Health Organization, 2009. In 2009, he criticized Pope Benedict XVI for his assertion that distributing condoms is not the solution to AIDS and actually makes the problem worse.{{in lang|fr}} [http://www.la-croix.com/afp.static/pages/090318211050.r4dcd3kb.htm Article]{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, La Croix.
=United Nations=
Between 2011 and 2013, he served as the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Operation in the Ivory Coast.
Between 2013 and 2014, he was the Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.{{Cite web |url=http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/library/2013/10/T1381945137.html |title= Albert Gerard Koenders, Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), on Mali |work= UN Audio Library |publisher=UN News&Media |date= 16 October 2013|access-date=2013-10-25 |last1= Library |first1= UN Audio }}
=Minister of Foreign Affairs=
On 17 October 2014, Koenders succeeded Frans Timmermans as Minister of Foreign Affairs.{{in lang|nl}} "[http://www.volkskrant.nl/politiek/koenders-internationale-conflicten-prioriteit~a3770986/ Koenders: internationale conflicten prioriteit]", de Volkskrant, 2014. Retrieved on 17 October 2014.
At the 2016 United Nations Security Council election, Koenders and his Italian counterpart Paolo Gentiloni agreed on splitting a two-year term on the United Nations Security Council after the United Nations General Assembly was deadlocked on whether to choose Italy or the Netherlands following five rounds of voting for the last remaining 2017/18 seat.Michelle Nichols (June 28, 2016), [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-un-securitycouncil-election-idUSKCN0ZE23O Italy, Netherlands propose split U.N. Security Council seat for 2017-18] Reuters.
In December 2016, Koenders summoned Sadık Arslan, Turkey's ambassador in the Netherlands, after the De Telegraaf newspaper reported that the Turkish embassy had sent home a list of Dutch Turks who might have sympathized with the failed coup.Toby Sterling (December 14, 2016), [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-netherlands-idUSKBN1431BS Netherlands says it wary of 'long arm' of Turkish state] Reuters.
Other activities
- International Crisis Group (ICG), Board of Trustees (since 2018)[https://www.crisisgroup.org/crisis-group-welcomes-three-new-trustees-its-board Crisis Group Welcomes Three New Trustees to its Board] International Crisis Group (ICG), press release of September 21, 2018.
- African Development Bank (AfDB), Ex-Officio Alternate Member of the Board of Governors (2007-2010)[https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Publications/30726073-EN-ENGLISH-ANNUAL-REPORT-2007-WITH-COVER.PDF 2007 Annual Report] African Development Bank (AfDB).
Decorations
| class="wikitable" style="width:60%;" | ||||
| style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;"
| colspan=5 |Honours | ||||
| style="width:80px;"| Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80px
| Chevalier of the Legion of Honour | France | 2006 | ||||
| 80px
| Companion of the Order of the Volta | Ghana | 2008 | ||||
| 80px
| Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 23 November 2010 | | ||||
| 80px
| Grand Cordon 1st Class of the Order of the Rising Sun | Japan | |
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
;Official
- {{in lang|nl}} [https://www.parlement.com/id/vg09llmaheyj/a_g_bert_koenders Drs. A.G. (Bert) Koenders] Parlement & Politiek
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=Agnes van Ardenne}}
{{s-ttl|title=Minister for Development Cooperation|years=2007–2010}}
{{s-aft|after=Maxime Verhagen}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=Frans Timmermans}}
{{s-ttl|title=Minister of Foreign Affairs|years=2014–2017}}
{{s-aft|after=Halbe Zijlstra}}
|-
{{s-dip}}
{{s-bef|before=Pierre Lellouche}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly|years=2006–2007}}
{{s-aft|after=José Lello}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=Choi Young-jin}}
{{s-ttl|title=Special Representative for the United Nations in Côte d'Ivoire|years=2011–2013}}
{{s-aft|after=Aïchatou Mindaoudou}}
|-
{{s-new}}
{{s-ttl|title=Special Representative for the United Nations in Mali|years=2013–2014}}
{{s-aft|after=Mongi Hamdi}}
{{s-end}}
{{Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands}}
{{Ministers for Development Cooperation of the Netherlands}}
{{Members of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, 2006–10}}
{{Leaders of the Socialist Group in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly}}
{{Second Rutte cabinet}}
{{Fourth Balkenende cabinet}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koenders, Bert}}
Category:Knights of the Legion of Honour
Category:Academic staff of Leiden University
Category:Dutch nonprofit directors
Category:Dutch political consultants
Category:Dutch officials of the United Nations
Category:Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun
Category:Johns Hopkins University faculty
Category:Labour Party (Netherlands) MPs
Category:Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands)
Category:Ministers for development cooperation of the Netherlands
Category:Ministers of foreign affairs of the Netherlands
Category:Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau
Category:Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni
Category:Politicians from Amsterdam
Category:Politicians from Arnhem
Category:Recipients of the Order of the Volta
Category:Reformed Churches Christians from the Netherlands
Category:Special Representatives of the Secretary-General of the United Nations
Category:University of Amsterdam alumni
Category:Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni
Category:Webster University faculty
Category:20th-century Dutch diplomats