Elbert Dijkgraaf | |
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| Member of theHouse of Representatives | |
| In office 17 June 2010 – 10 April 2018 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1970-01-06)6 January 1970 (age 55) Almelo, Netherlands |
| Political party | Reformed Political Party |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
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Elbert Dijkgraaf (born 6 January 1970) is a Dutch economist and politician of theReformed Political Party (SGP). He is professor at theErasmus School of Economics where he holds the chair "Empirical economics of the public sector". He also is fellow of theTinbergen Institute.
Dijkgraaf studiedeconomics atErasmus University Rotterdam and is a member of theReformed Congregations. From 1999 to 2003, Dijkgraaf was chairperson of theReformed Political Party Youth, and he ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives in the2006 general election. He became a professor at his alma mater in 2009, and he researched the government's role in environmental matters such as climate and potable water.[1]
He held a seat in theHouse of Representatives from 17 June 2010 until 10 April 2018. He focused on matters offinancial,economic andsocial affairs,infrastructure,natural environment,education andculture. He expressedanti-abortion opinions, and he advocated for Sunday's significance as aday of rest.[2] Following several months of absence due to exhaustion, Dijkgraaf decided to step down as a member of parliament in 2018 citing tensions in his marriage.[2][3] After a divorce, he entered into a relationship withTamara van Ark, who is a politician and formerMinister for Medical Care for thePeople's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).[4] The couple later got married. Dijkgraaf also continued his academic career as an economics professor at Erasmus University, and he established his own consultancy practice. He served on government committees to research thenitrogen crisis in the Netherlands, the future of accountancy, and the effects of a shrinking population on secondary education. He was on thesupervisory board ofWageningen University & Research and on the board of the Noaber Foundation, thefamily office ofPaul Baan.[2]
On 20 March 2024 – as part of the2023–2024 cabinet formation – Dijkgraaf was selected byPVV leaderGeert Wilders to serve asinformateur alongsideRichard van Zwol. They were tasked with investigating agoverning coalition with a concise agreement between the PVV, VVD,NSC, andBBB as recommended by their predecessorKim Putters within eight weeks.[5][6] Dijkgraaf and Van Zwol managed to successfully facilitate the formation of a coalition, and they handed the agreement titled "Hope, Courage, and Pride" to the Speaker of theSpeaker of the House of Representatives in the night of 16 May – two hours after the expiration of their deadline.[7]
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