 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Elco Brinkman" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Elco Brinkman | |
|---|---|
 Brinkman in 2008 | |
| Leader of theChristian Democratic Appeal in theSenate | |
| In office 7 June 2011 – 11 June 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Jos Werner |
| Succeeded by | Ben Knapen |
| Member of the Senate | |
| In office 7 June 2011 – 11 June 2019 | |
| Member of the Social and Economic Council | |
| In office 1 June 1995 – 1 July 2013 | |
| Chairman | See list
|
| Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal | |
| In office 29 January 1994 – 16 August 1994 | |
| Preceded by | Ruud Lubbers |
| Succeeded by | Enneüs Heerma |
| Leader of theChristian Democratic Appeal in theHouse of Representatives | |
| In office 7 November 1989 – 16 August 1994 | |
| Preceded by | Ruud Lubbers |
| Succeeded by | Enneüs Heerma |
| Member of theHouse of Representatives | |
| In office 14 September 1989 – 26 April 1995 | |
| In office 3 June 1986 – 14 July 1986 | |
| Minister of Welfare, Health and Culture | |
| In office 4 November 1982 – 7 November 1989 | |
| Prime Minister | Ruud Lubbers |
| Preceded by | Til Gardeniers-Berendsen Health and Environment |
| Succeeded by | Hedy d'Ancona |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Leendert Cornelis Brinkman (1948-02-05)5 February 1948 (age 77) Dirksland,Netherlands |
| Political party | Christian Democratic Appeal (from 1980) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 children |
| Parent |
|
| Residence | Leiden |
| Alma mater | Free University Amsterdam (Bachelor of Social Science,Bachelor of Laws,Master of Social Science,Master of Laws) |
| Occupation | Politician ·Civil servant ·Jurist ·Researcher ·Businessperson ·Corporate director ·Nonprofit director ·Trade association executive ·Lobbyist |
Leendert Cornelis "Elco" Brinkman (born 5 February 1948) is a retired Dutch politician and businessman who served asMinister of Welfare, Health and Culture from 1982 to 1989 andLeader of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) in 1994.[1]
Brinkman studiedpolitical science andlaw and at theFree University Amsterdam simultaneously obtaining aMaster of Social Science andLaws degree. Brinkman worked as a researcher at his alma mater from September 1970 until July 1974 and as a civil servant for theMinistry of the Interior from July 1974 until November 1982. After the1982 general election, Brinkman was appointedMinister of Welfare, Health and Culture in theFirst Lubbers cabinet taking office on 4 November 1982. After theelection of 1986 Brinkman continued his office in theSecond Lubbers cabinet. At theelection of 1989 Brinkman was reelected as a member of theHouse of Representatives and took office on 14 September. He declined to serve in the newcabinet and instead was selected asparliamentary leader on 7 November 1989. Shortly before anupcoming election,party leader and Prime MinisterRuud Lubbers announced his retirement and Brinkman was anonymously selected as his successor on 29 January 1994. For theelection of 1994 Brinkman served aslijsttrekker (top candidate) but shortly thereafter announced that he was stepping down following disappointing election results on 16 August 1994 but continued to serve in the House of Representatives as afrontbencher chairing the House Committee on Kingdom Relations andspokesperson forHealth. In April 1995 Brinkman unexpectedly announced his retirement and resigned from the House of Representatives on 26 April 1995.
Brinkman retired from active politics at just 47 and became active in theprivate andpublic sectors as a corporate and non-profit director and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government; he worked as a trade association executive serving as Chairman of the Construction Association from May 1995 until July 2013, Vice Chairman of theIndustry and Employers Confederation (VNO-NCW) from April 2002 until May 2008 and aMember of the Social and Economic Council for the VNO-NCW from June 1995 until July 2013. Brinkman returned to active in politics and after theSenate election of 2011 was elected as a member of theSenate and became parliamentary leader serving from 7 June 2011 until 11 June 2019. Brinkman retired from active politics a second time at 71 but following his retirement continues to be active as an advocate and lobbyist fortrade associations.
| Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Grand Officer of theLegion of Honour | France | 6 February 1984 | |
 | Grand Cross of theOrder of Leopold II | Belgium | 10 September 1988 | |
 | Commander of theOrder of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 20 November 1989 |
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Parliamentary leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal in theHouse of Representatives 1989–1994 | Succeeded by |
| Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal 1994 | ||
| Preceded by | Lijsttrekker of the Christian Democratic Appeal 1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Parliamentary leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal in theSenate 2011–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Til Gardeniers-Berendsen as Minister of Health and Environment | Minister of Welfare, Health and Culture 1982–1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Til Gardeniers-Berendsen as Minister of Culture, Recreation and Social Work Ad interim | ||
| Civic offices | ||
| Preceded by Unknown | Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of the Interior 1979–1980 | Succeeded by Unknown |
| Director-General of the Department for Public Administration of the Ministry of the Interior 1980–1982 | ||
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Supervisory board of Public Pension Funds APB 2001–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Business positions | ||
| Preceded by Office established | Chairman of the Executive Board of the Construction association 1995–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Vice Chairman of the Executive Board of the Industry and Employers confederation 2002–2008 | Succeeded by |
| Non-profit organization positions | ||
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Supervisory board of the International Architecture Biennal Rotterdam 2001–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Supervisory board of the Royal Library 2004–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Supervisory board of Staatsbosbeheer 2008–2010 | Succeeded by Inge Brakman |
 | ||
| ||
Senate 9 June 2015 – 11 June 2019 | ||
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD: 13) |  | |
| Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA: 12) | ||
| Democrats 66 (D66: 10) | ||
| Party for Freedom (PVV: 9) | ||
| Socialist Party (SP: 9) | ||
| Labour Party (PvdA: 8) | ||
| GreenLeft (GL: 4) | ||
| Christian Union (CU: 3) | ||
| Party for the Animals (PvdD: 2) | ||
| Reformed Political Party (SGP: 2) | ||
| 50PLUS (50+: 2) | ||
| Independent Senate Group (OSF: 1) | ||
Bold signifies theParliamentary leader (first mentioned) Bold also signifies thePresident | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
