Frits Bolkestein | |
|---|---|
 Bolkestein in 1999 | |
| European Commissioner[a] | |
| In office 16 September 1999 – 22 November 2004 | |
| President | Romano Prodi |
| Preceded by | Mario Monti as European Commissioner for Internal Market |
| Succeeded by | Charlie McCreevy as European Commissioner for Internal Market |
| President of the Liberal International | |
| In office 15 April 1996 – 18 April 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Sir David Steel |
| Succeeded by | Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck |
| Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | |
| In office 30 April 1990 – 30 July 1998 | |
| Deputy | See list
|
| Preceded by | Joris Voorhoeve |
| Succeeded by | Hans Dijkstal |
| Leader of thePeople's Party for Freedom and Democracy in theHouse of Representatives | |
| In office 30 April 1990 – 30 July 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Joris Voorhoeve |
| Succeeded by | Hans Dijkstal |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 24 September 1988 – 7 November 1989 | |
| Prime Minister | Ruud Lubbers |
| Preceded by | Piet Bukman (ad interim) |
| Succeeded by | Relus ter Beek |
| State Secretary for Economic Affairs | |
| In office 5 November 1982 – 14 July 1986 Serving with Piet van Zeil | |
| Prime Minister | Ruud Lubbers |
| Preceded by | Wim Dik |
| Succeeded by | Enneüs Heerma |
| Member of theHouse of Representatives | |
| In office 14 September 1989 – 21 September 1999 | |
| In office 3 June 1986 – 24 September 1988 | |
| In office 16 January 1978 – 5 November 1982 | |
| Parliamentary group | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Frederik Bolkestein (1933-04-04)4 April 1933 Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Died | 17 February 2025(2025-02-17) (aged 91) Laren, Netherlands |
| Political party | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (since 1975) |
| Relatives | Gerrit Bolkestein (grandfather) |
| Alma mater | University of Amsterdam (BSc,MA) London School of Economics (MSc) Leiden University (LLM) |
| Occupation |
|
Frederik "Frits"Bolkestein (Dutch:[ˈfreːdərɪkfrɪtsˈbɔlkəstɛin]ⓘ; 4 April 1933 – 17 February 2025) was a Dutch politician and energy executive who served asLeader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) from 1990 to 1998 andEuropean Commissioner forInternal Market from 1999 until 2004 underRomano Prodi.
Bolkestein worked as a corporate director forRoyal Dutch Shell from May 1960 until July 1976 and as a manager for an engineering company in Amsterdam from September 1976 until January 1978. Bolkestein became a member of theHouse of Representatives shortly afterelection of 1977 taking office on 16 January 1978 serving as afrontbencher and spokesman forEconomic Affairs. After theelection of 1982 Bolkestein was appointedState Secretary for Economic Affairs in theCabinet Lubbers I taking office on 5 November 1982. After theelection of 1986 Bolkestein was not offered a cabinet post in the newcabinet and returned to the House of Representatives on 3 June 1986 serving as a frontbencher and spokesman forForeign Affairs andInternational trade. Bolkestein was appointedMinister of Defence in theCabinet Lubbers II following acabinet reshuffle taking office on 24 September 1988. After theelection of 1989 Bolkestein again returned to the House of Representatives on 14 September 1989. Shortly after the election,party leader andparliamentary leaderJoris Voorhoeve announced he was stepping down and Bolkestein announced his candidacy to succeed and was selected as his successor on 30 April 1990.
For theelection of 1994, Bolkestein served aslijsttrekker (top candidate) and following a successfulcabinet formation withLabour LeaderWim Kok and fellowLiberal LeaderHans van Mierlo formed theCabinet Kok I with Bolkestein opting to remain as Parliamentary leader. Bolkestein also served asPresident of the Liberal International from 15 April 1996 until 18 April 2000. For theelection of 1998 Bolkestein again served aslijsttrekker (top candidate) but shortly thereafter announced that he was stepping down on 30 July 1998 but continued to serve in the House of Representatives as abackbencher. In August 1999 Bolkestein was nominated as the nextEuropean Commissioner in theProdi Commission, and was given the heavy portfolios ofInternal Market and Services andTaxation and Customs serving from 16 September 1999 until 22 November 2004.
Frederik Bolkestein was born on 4 April 1933 inAmsterdam in theNetherlands.[1] His father was president of the Court in Amsterdam.[2] His grandfather,Gerrit Bolkestein, was Minister of Education, Arts, and Sciences to theDutch government-in-exile of 1939 to 1945.[3] Bolkestein's mother was born in theDutch East Indies to Dutch parents.[4]
Bolkestein attended theBarlaeus Gymnasium in Amsterdam from 1945 to 1951, where he majored in both arts and sciences. Upon completing hisgymnasium education, he was anundergraduate in mathematics atOregon State College from 1951 to 1953. Subsequently, he went to theUniversity of Amsterdam, where he received aBSc degree in mathematics and physics in 1955.[1] In 1959, he received aMA degree in philosophy and Greek from the same university.[1] Bolkestein went on to earn aBSc degree fromThe London School of Economics in 1963, and anLLM degree fromLeiden University in 1965.[1]
During his studies in Amsterdam, Bolkestein was editor for the satirical student magazinePropria Cures. He was also a member of the board of thestudent unionASVA.[1]
Before entering Dutch politics, Bolkestein worked for the oil companyRoyal Dutch Shell from 1960 to 1975. During this period he was assigned to postings in East Africa, Honduras andEl Salvador, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, and France. In Paris, he served on the board of the Shell Chimie from 1973 to 1975. During his tenure with Shell, he completed the first part of the economics program at theLondon School of Economics in 1964 and he also completed a law degree atLeiden University, graduating in 1965.[1]
In 1976, Bolkestein wrote an English language play namedFloris, Count of Holland, under theanagrammatic pseudonym of Niels Kobet.[5]
Bolkestein left Shell in 1976 and became a member of parliament for the VVD. From 1982 to 1986, he served as Minister of International Trade. After joining the parliament again, he was Minister of Defence from 1988 to 1989. In 1990, he was electedLeader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy of the VVD, a position he held until 1998. Between 1978 and 1999, when he became European Commissioner, he was member of parliament for 17 years.[6]
During the 1990s, he was very successful as the political frontman of the VVD. As an opinion leader, he was known for his daring and controversial positions on such issues as multicultural problems in Dutch society, political dualism between government and parliament, and the structure and expansion of the European Union. From 1990 to 1994 he was the parliamentary opposition leader and continued his outspoken and independent style when his party was part of the government from 1994. During the provincial elections of 1995, his criticism of Dutch immigration policies made his party the largest of the country.[7]
In 1996, his political integrity came under heavy criticism, because it was revealed he had written a letter to Health MinisterEls Borst, in which he asked her to help a pharmaceutical company, on whose board of commissioners Bolkestein sat. The incident was known as the "Dear Els"-incident, because the letter was addressed to Borst personally.[8]
He was president of theLiberal International, the world federation of liberal political parties. As of Autumn 2004, he was a professor at the Dutch universities ofLeiden andDelft. Former Irishfinance ministerCharlie McCreevy succeeded him as Commissioner for the Internal Market.[9]
He authored a number of books on politics and related subjects. Frits Bolkestein was until his death married to Femke Boersma, a retired Dutch actress. In 2005, his house in northern France had its electricity cut briefly by the local energy company after he criticized French protectionist measures against incoming electricians from Eastern Europe.[10]
In 2010 he was awarded thePrize for Liberty by the Flemish classical-liberal think tankLibera!. Also, he was on the advisory board of OMFIF where he was regularly involved in meetings regarding the financial and monetary system.[11]
Bolkestein died in Laren on 17 February 2025, at the age of 91.[12]
Named after Frits Bolkestein, theDirective on services in the internal market aims at enabling a company from a given member-state to recruit workers in other European Union countries using the law of its home country. It triggered huge protests in Europe.[13] This directive was voted in the European Parliament in March 2006 and the MEPs proposed amendments to the provisional text. The "principle of origin", which stipulates that workers are employed under the legal arrangements of their own state of residence, was replaced by a new "freedom" principle – freedom to provide services, meaning that administrative obstacles should be removed. The compromise allowed the draft Directive to continue to exist. However, there was a great deal of concern about its effect on social standards and welfare, triggering competition between various parts of Europe. This led to significant protests across Europe against the directive including a notable protest at the European Parliament inStrasbourg by port workers which led to damage to the building. MEPs eventually reached a compromise on the text and the Parliament adopted it on 12 December 2006; 2 years after Bolkestein left office, under theBarroso Commission.[14]
In 2001, Bolkestein responded to the question raised byMembers of the European Parliament (MEPs)Harlem Désir,Glyn Ford andFrancis Wurtz, who asked the Commission to investigate the accusations brought forward byRévélation$, a book written by investigative journalistDenis Robert and former Clearstream memberErnest Backes, as well as to ensure that the10 June 1990 directive (91/308 CE) on control of financial establishment be applied in all member states in an effective way. Commissioner Bolkestein replied that "the Commission has no reason to date to believe that the Luxembourg authorities do not apply it vigorously" [sic]. The three MEPs henceforth published a press statement asking the opening of an investigation by the European Union about the correct application of 10 June 1990 directive.[15][16]
On 26 April 2006, French daily20 minutes revealed that "in May 2005, MEPPaul van Buitenen was shocked by Frits Bolkestein's presence inBank Menatep's international consultative council (owned by Russian magnateMikhail Khodorkovsky), a sulfurous Russian banking establishment, and by his work forShell, British-Dutch petrol company. Two firms 'detaining secret accounts inClearstream' ... Van Buitenen, also Dutch, then asked for 'clarification' to the European Commission and the opening of a parliamentary investigation. The Commission's president,José Manuel Barroso, answered that these facts "don't bring up any new question" and that it is not known "if Menatep took contact with Bolkestein while he was in his functions". No investigation thereby took place." The free daily underlines that "in 2001, it was Bolkestein himself that announced the Commission's refusal to open up a parliamentary investigation on Clearstream", following MEPHarlem Désir's requests and accusations that Menatep had an "undeclared account" at Clearstream. Bolkestein refused to answer any questions by the newspaper.[17]
On 18 May 2010, Bolkestein advocated for the legalization of all drugs in an article called; "Red het land, sta drugs toe" which translates to; "save the nation, allow drugs" in theNRC Handelsblad, a Dutch newspaper. The article was endorsed by many professionals ranging fromEls Borst, former Dutch minister of public health, to many jurists, professors and drug experts.[18]
InHet Verval ("The Decline"), a book about Jews in the Netherlands written byManfred Gerstenfeld, aHolocaust survivor and senior researcher at theJerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Bolkestein is quoted as having said that practicing Jews had no future in the Netherlands, due toantisemitism amongTurkish and particularly Moroccan immigrants, and that they should emigrate to the United States or Israel. Bolkestein's remarks, after having been published in a Dutch newspaper,[19] raised a storm of criticism in December 2010. According toRonny Naftaniel, head of the Jewish organisation CIDI, this was not the first time Bolkestein had expressed this view.[20]
Netherlands: Knight of theOrder of the Netherlands Lion (26 August 1986)[21]Netherlands: Commander of theOrder of Orange-Nassau (20 November 1989)[21]
Portugal: Grand Cross of theOrder of Merit (14 May 1991)[22]Netherlands: Commander of theOrder of the Netherlands Lion (18 October 2004)[24]
Germany: Grand Cross of theOrder of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany[25]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy 1990–1998 | Succeeded by |
| Parliamentary leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy in theHouse of Representatives 1990–1998 | ||
| Preceded by Joris Voorhoeve 1989 | Lijsttrekker of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy 1994 • 1998 | Succeeded by Hans Dijkstal 2002 |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | State Secretary for Economic Affairs 1982–1986 With:Piet van Zeil | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Piet Bukman Ad interim | Minister of Defence 1988–1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Liberal International 1996–2000 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | European Commissioner from the Netherlands 1999–2004 | Succeeded by |
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