Eduardus Hermannus Theresia Maria Nijpels (born 1 April 1950) is a Dutch politician of thePeople's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and nonprofit director.[1][2]
Nijpels studiedCivil law at theUtrecht University obtaining aMaster of Studies in Law degree. Nijpels served as chairman of the political youth organisationJOVD from February 1974 until November 1975. Nijpels worked as a civics teacher inRoosendaal from August 1974 until June 1977. After theelection of 1977 Nijpels was elected as aMember of the House of Representatives on 8 June 1977 serving as afrontbencher chairing the House Committee on Law enforcement andspokesperson forJustice and theOmbudsman. After theParty Leader andParliamentary leaderHans Wiegel announced he was stepping down he endorsed Nijpels as his successor and he was anonymously selected as his successor on 20 April 1982.
For theelections of 1982 Nijpels served asLijsttrekker (top candidate) and following acabinet formation withChristian-democratic LeaderRuud Lubbers formed theCabinet Lubbers I with Nijpels opting to remain as Parliamentary leader. For theelection of 1986 Nijpels again served asLijsttrekker but shortly thereafter announced that he was stepping down following disappointed election results on 9 July 1986. After acabinet formation the coalition continued and Nijpels was appointed asMinister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in theCabinet Lubbers II taking office on 14 July 1986. After theelection of 1989 Nijpels returned to the House of Representatives on 14 September 1989 and served as a frontbencher and spokesperson forSpatial Planning and theEnvironment. In March 1990 Nijpels was nominated as theMayor of Breda serving from 1 April 1990 until 1 July 1995 when he was appointment as director-general for theArbodienst of theMinistry of Social Affairs and Employment. In December 1998 Nijpels was nominated as the nextQueen's Commissioner of Friesland serving from 1 January 1999 until 1 May 2008.
Nijpels semi-retired from active politics 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, and workes as a trade association executive serving as Chairman of theKoninklijke NLingenieurs from May 2008 until May 2015, the GeoBusiness association since September 2009 and for theIndustry and Employers confederation (VNO-NCW) from July 2008 until March 2015 and became aMember of the Social and Economic Council in August 2014. Nijpels continues to be active an advocate, lobbyist and activist forEnvironmentalism,Sustainable development,Conservation andClimate change.[3][4]
| Honours | ||||
| Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Knight of theOrder of the Netherlands Lion | Netherlands | 20 November 1989 | |
 | Commander of theOrder of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 20 May 2008 | |
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Lijsttrekker of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy 1982 •1986 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy 1982–1986 | Succeeded by |
| Parliamentary leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy in theHouse of Representatives 1982–1986 | Succeeded by | |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment 1986–1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Frans Feij | Mayor of Breda 1990–1995 | Succeeded by Chris Rutten |
| Preceded by | Queen's Commissioner of Friesland 1999–2008 | Succeeded by |
| Civic offices | ||
| Preceded by Unknown | Director-General of the Arbodienst of theMinistry of Social Affairs and Employment 1995–1999 | Succeeded by Unknown |
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Supervisory board of the Cadastre Agency 2001–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Supervisory board of the Probation Agency 2007–2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Supervisory board of Public Pension Funds APB 2009–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Supervisory board of the Environment Central Foundation 2015–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by Office established | Chairman of the Supervisory board of the Climate Council 2018–present | |
| Business positions | ||
| Preceded by Unknown | Vice Chairman of the Supervisory board of the DSB Bank 2004–2009 | Succeeded by Office discontinued |
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Supervisory board of the Bosschap association 2008–2014 | Succeeded by Alfred Veltman |
| Preceded by Office established | Chairman of the Engineering association 2008–2015 | Succeeded by Johan van den Elzen |
| Preceded by Office established | Chairman of the GeoBusiness association 2009–present | Incumbent |
| Non-profit organization positions | ||
| Preceded by Roy Lantain | Chairman of the Executive Board of the Youth Organisation Freedom and Democracy 1974–1975 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Supervisory board of the World Wide Fund for Nature Netherlands 1990–1999 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Supervisory board of Ronald McDonald House Charities Netherlands 1997–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Supervisory board of International Architecture Biennal Rotterdam 2011–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Supervisory board of ProDemos 2018–present | |
| Media offices | ||
| Preceded by Karel van Doodewaerd | Chairman of the Supervisory board of TROS 2008–2014 | Organisation merged |
| Preceded by Office established | Chairman of the Supervisory board of AVROTROS 2014–present | Incumbent |
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| Leaders | .svg){kind=logo} | |
|---|---|---|
| Chairs | ||
| Parliamentary leaders in theSenate | ||
| Parliamentary leaders in theHouse of Representatives | ||
| Party organisations | ||
| Leadership elections | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
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