Jan Schaefer

{{short description|Dutch politician}}

{{Infobox officeholder

|honorific-prefix =

|name = Jan Schaefer

|image = Amsterdamse Gemeenteraad debatteerde over aankoop kraakpand De Grote Keyser door, Bestanddeelnr 931-1001.jpg

|imagesize = 240px

|caption = Schaefer in 1980

|office = State Secretary for Housing
and Spatial Planning

|term_start = 11 May 1973

|term_end = 8 September 1977

|alongside = Marcel van Dam

|primeminister = Joop den Uyl

|predecessor = Werner Buck

|successor = Gerrit Brokx

|office1 = Member of the House of Representatives

|term_start1 = 3 June 1986

|term_end1 = 23 February 1990

|term_start2 = 8 June 1977

|term_end2 = 6 September 1978

|term_start3 = 11 May 1971

|term_end3 = 11 May 1973

|birthname = Johannes Lodewijk Nicolaas Schaefer

|birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1940|03|16}}

|birth_place = Amsterdam, Netherlands

|death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|1994|01|30|1940|03|16}}

|death_place = Amsterdam, Netherlands

|death_cause = Diabetes mellitus

|nationality = Dutch

|party = Labour Party (from 1969)

|otherparty = Communist Party of
the Netherlands (1960–1965)

|spouse = {{marriage|Alberdina Grootes|6 May 1964}}

|children = 1 son and 1 daughter

|residence =

|alma_mater =

|occupation = Politician · Pastry chef · Community organiser · Activist

|signature =

|website =

}}

Johannes Lodewijk Nicolaas "Jan" Schaefer (16 March 1940 – 30 January 1994) was a Dutch politician and community organiser who served as State Secretary for Housing and Spatial Planning from 1973 to 1977 under Joop den Uyl's cabinet.{{cite web|url=http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/bwn1880-2000/lemmata/bwn6/schaefer|title=Schaefer, Johannes Lodewijk Nicolaas (1940-1994)|publisher=Huygens ING|date=12 November 2013|accessdate=18 January 2019|language=nl}} He was a member of the Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN) until 1965, before he joined the Labour Party (PvdA) in 1969. Schaefer was first elected to the House of Representatives in the 1971 general election, where held a seat with interruptions until 1990. He also served as an alderman in the municipal executive of Amsterdam from 1978 to 1986, in charge of housing. His utterances on these issues "In gelul kan je niet wonen" ("You can't live in bullshit" and "Is dit beleid of is hierover nagedacht?" ("Is this policy or has this been thought through?") became catchphrases.