Ivo Opstelten | |
|---|---|
 Opstelten in 2011 | |
| Minister of Security and Justice | |
| In office 14 October 2010 – 10 March 2015 | |
| Prime Minister | Mark Rutte |
| Preceded by | Ernst Hirsch Ballin as Minister of Justice |
| Succeeded by | Stef Blok(Ad interim) |
| Chairman of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | |
| In office 23 May 2008 – 14 October 2010 | |
| Leader | Mark Rutte |
| Preceded by | Jan van Zanen |
| Succeeded by | Benk Korthals |
| Mayor of Tilburg | |
| In office 4 November 2009 – 16 July 2010 Ad interim | |
| Preceded by | Ruud Vreeman |
| Succeeded by | Peter Noordanus |
| Mayor of Rotterdam | |
| In office 16 February 1999 – 1 January 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Bram Peper |
| Succeeded by | Ahmed Aboutaleb |
| Mayor of Utrecht | |
| In office 1 November 1992 – 16 February 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Lien Vos-van Gortel |
| Succeeded by | Annie Brouwer-Korf |
| Mayor of Beerta | |
| In office 1 December 1983 – 1 March 1984 Ad interim | |
| Preceded by | Hanneke Jagersma |
| Succeeded by | Hanneke Jagersma |
| Mayor of Delfzijl | |
| In office 1 December 1980 – 1 September 1987 | |
| Preceded by | Paul Scholten |
| Succeeded by | Ed Haaksman |
| Mayor of Doorn | |
| In office 1 October 1977 – 1 December 1980 | |
| Preceded by | Anton van Harinxma thoe Slooten |
| Succeeded by | Henk Goudsmit |
| Mayor of Dalen | |
| In office 26 August 1972 – 1 October 1977 | |
| Preceded by | Frits Fontein |
| Succeeded by | Joost Hoffscholte |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ivo Willem Opstelten (1944-01-31)31 January 1944 (age 81) |
| Political party | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (since 1966) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 daughters |
| Residence(s) | Rotterdam,Netherlands |
| Alma mater | Leiden University (Bachelor of Laws,Master of Laws) |
| Occupation | Politician ·Civil servant ·Jurist ·Nonprofit director ·Television presenter |
Ivo Willem Opstelten (born 31 January 1944) is a retired Dutch politician and jurist. He is a member of thePeople's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).
Opstelten applied atLeiden University in May 1963majoring inLaw and obtaining aBachelor of Laws degree in June 1965 before graduating with aMaster of Laws degree in July 1969. Opstelten worked as a civil servant for the municipality ofVlaardingen from January 1970 until Augustus 1972. In Augustus 1972 Opstelten was nominated asMayor of Dalen, taking office on 26 August 1972. In September 1977 Opstelten was nominated asMayor of Doorn, he resigned as Mayor of Dalen the same day he was installed as Mayor of Doorn, taking office on 1 October 1977. In November 1980 Opstelten was nominated asMayor of Delfzijl, he resigned as Mayor of Doorn the same day he was installed as Mayor of Delfzijl, taking office on 1 December 1980. Opstelten served as actingMayor of Beerta from 1 December 1983 until 1 March 1984 during aparental leave ofHanneke Jagersma. In August 1987 Opstelten was appointment as Director-General of the department for Public Safety and Security of theMinistry of the Interior, he resigned as Mayor of Delfzijl of the same day he was installed as Director-General on 1 September 1987. In October 1992 Opstelten was nominated asMayor of Utrecht, he resigned as Director-General the same day he was installed as Mayor of Utrecht, taking office on 1 November 1992. In January 1999 Opstelten was nominated asMayor of Rotterdam, he resigned as Mayor of Utrecht the same day he was installed as Mayor of Rotterdam, serving from 16 February 1999 until 1 January 2009. Opstelten served asChairmen of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy from 23 May 2008 until 14 October 2010. Opstelten served as actingMayor of Tilburg from 4 November 2009 until 16 July 2010 following the resignation ofRuud Vreeman.
After theelection of 2010 Opstelten was appointed asInformateur for thecabinet formation of 2010. Following the cabinet formation Opstelten was appointed asMinister of Security and Justice in theCabinet Rutte I, taking office on 14 October 2010. The Cabinet Rutte I fell on 23 April 2012 after theParty for Freedom (PVV) withdrew theirconfidence and supply and continued to serve in ademissionary capacity. In May 2012 Opstelten announced that he wouldn't stand for theelection of 2012. Following thecabinet formation of 2012 Opstelten continued as Minister of Security and Justice in theCabinet Rutte II, taking office on 5 November 2012. On 10 March 2015 Opstelten andState Secretary for Security and JusticeFred Teeven resigned after he had misinformed theHouse of Representatives about theTeevendeal [nl] that was mishandled byTeeven during the time he had served as a prosecutor. Opstelten retired after spending 42 years in national politics and became active in thepublic sector and occupied numerous seats as a corporate director and nonprofit director on several boards of directors and supervisory boards.
Opstelten studied law atLeiden University, where he specialised in constitutional and public law. He graduated in 1969 and worked from 1970 to 1972 at the municipality ofVlaardingen before starting a long-term career as mayor.
In 1972 Opstelten began as Mayor of Dalen, at the age of 28 the youngest Mayor of the Netherlands. In 1977 he became Mayor of Doorn. In 1980 he became the Mayor of Delfzijl. In 1983 he became Acting Mayor of Beerta for four months because of the pregnancy of Mayor Hanneke Jagersma. In 1992 he made the switch to the fourth largestMunicipality of theNetherlands, Utrecht. In 1999 he was nominated as Mayor of Rotterdam, the second biggest city of the Netherlands. In 2002 he was praised for his handling of the aftermath of theassassination of politicianPim Fortuyn. He served as Mayor of Rotterdam for ten years. He resigned on 1 January 2009. He was succeeded byAhmed Aboutaleb. On 31 March 2008 he was elected as the new Party chair of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy. On 6 November 2009 it was announced byWim van de Donk, theQueen's Commissioner ofNorth Brabant, that Opstelten had accepted the position as Acting Mayor of Tilburg after MayorRuud Vreeman's resignation was sought by theCity council of Tilburg.
On 4 August 2010Queen Beatrix nominated Opstelten as fifthinformateur in the2010 Dutch cabinet formation.[1] On September 4, the Queen replaced Opstelten withHerman Tjeenk Willink, theVice President of the Council of State as the new informateur.[2] On 13 September 2010 he becameinformateur a second time[3] and on September 28 the negotiations were finished. A coalition agreement was reached between People's Party for Freedom and Democracy andChristian Democratic Appeal to form a minority coalition, supported by theParty for Freedom to obtain a majority.FormateurMark Rutte asked Opstelten as theMinister of Security and Justice in the newcabinet. Because a Party chair can not serve in thecabinet, he resigned as a Party chair of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy on 14 October 2010, the day he took office as the new Minister of Security and Justice.[4]
During his tenure as Minister of Security and Justice, Opstelten was the driving force behind the closure of the majority of The Netherlands' coffeeshops and growshops effectively ending the successful 1970's instituted experiment where soft drugs were tolerated and separated from the hard drugs market. Affiliated with the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party, Opstelten also imposed many restrictions on the legal and regulated prostitution business in the Netherlands also driving a portion of that business underground.[5]
In the week after his resignation from office, he was interviewed about the increased use of heavy firearms by criminals. He said that maybe in the past firearms didn't have the attention of the authorities, but now they rose to the challenge and he was on it. In reality he had quietly disbanded the task force on heavy weapons two months earlier.[6]
On 10 March 2015 Opstelten, along with State SecretaryFred Teeven resigned after it was discovered that Teeven, then chief public prosecutor authorized the return of 4.7 million guilders to convicted drugs dealer Cees H. in 2000, without the knowledge of his superior or the tax office.
Throughout 2014, questions had been asked about this drugs deal. Opstelten consistently told parliament that the deal was for 2 million guilders and that they should trust him on that. On 4 March news show Nieuwsuur uncovered evidence that it was actually 4.7 million guilders. Cees H. confirmed this and stated that he did not do the justice department any favor in return, such as testifying. During a press conference on 9 March, Opstelten admitted that convicted drugs baron Cees H. had been paid 4.7 million guilders, not the two million guilders he had consistently told parliament.[7] The next day he resigned. Other politicians were disappointed that he left many questions unanswered by resigning, such as how he could not know the amount despite the deal being orchestrated by his own deputy minister and why the tax service was not involved in the deal.[8]
Preceding the affair which resulted in his resignation, Opstelten was already often accused of not knowing the facts during debates and having difficulty finding words in other cases.[9]
Ivo Opstelten is married to Mariette Dutilh (born 1945) and they have four children.
| Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Officer of theOrder of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 29 April 2004 |
| Ribbon bar | Awards | Organization | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
.svg){kind=logo} | Honorary Member | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | 29 May 2015 |
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Liesbeth Tuijnman | Vice Chairman of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy 1986–1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy 2008–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Frits Fontein | Mayor of Dalen 1972–1977 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Anton van Harinxma thoe Slooten | Mayor of Doorn 1977–1980 | Succeeded by Henk Goudsmit |
| Preceded by Paul Scholten | Mayor of Delfzijl 1980–1987 | Succeeded by Ed Haaksman |
| Preceded by | Mayor of Beerta Ad interim 1983–1984 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Lien Vos-van Gortel | Mayor of Utrecht 1992–1999 | Succeeded by Annie Brouwer-Korf |
| Preceded by | Mayor of Rotterdam 1999–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Mayor of Tilburg Ad interim 2009–2010 | Succeeded by Peter Noordanus |
| Preceded by Ernst Hirsch Ballin as Minister of Justice | Minister of Security and Justice 2010–2015 | Succeeded by Stef Blok Ad interim |
| Civic offices | ||
| Unknown | Director-General of the Department for Public Safety and Security of the Ministry of the Interior 1987–1992 | Unknown |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
