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Tof Thissen | |
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| GreenLeftchair of the parliamentary party in theSenate | |
| In office 2007–2015 | |
| Preceded by | Diana de Wolff |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Christoffel Paul Thissen (1957-05-19)19 May 1957 (age 67) Roermond,Netherlands |
| Political party | GreenLeft |
| Residence | Roermond |
Christoffel Paul (Tof) Thissen (born 19 May 1957 inRoermond) is a Dutch politician. Between 2004 and 2015 he was member of theSenate forGreenLeft.
Thissen attended aRoman Catholic primary school in Roermond. Between 1969 and 1976 he attended thegymnasium at the Episcopal college in the same city. He graduated specializing inarts. Between 1976 and 1977 he was a member of the centre-leftLabour Party. In 1977 however he switched to the more leftwingPacifist Socialist Party. Betwedeen 1977 and 1982 he studiedtheology at the Higher School for Theology and Pastoral Studies inHeerlen. He reached hiskandidaats examen (roughly equivalent to aBachelor of Arts). Between and after his study he worked at the Limburg Centre for Development Cooperation. Between 1979 and 1985 he also was the Limburg provincial coordinator forpeace activities and member of the national working group for local peace groups of theoecumenicalChristianpacifistInterkerkelijk Vredesberaad. After his study Thissen worked as an RE teacher at a secondary school. In this period he was chair of the Roermond PSP between 1982 and 1986.
Between 1986 and 2002 Thissen was a member of the Roermondcity council. First for Roermond Left, an alliance the PSP and the progressive ChristianPolitical Party of Radicals and later forGreenLeft, formed by a merger of the two parties merged. Between 1987 and 1990 he returned to studying theology, now at theCatholic University Nijmegen. Thissen specialized in the ethics of the economy. He did however not finish he studies. In addition to his study Thissen also taughtcivics at a high school. Thissen was very active in the Roermondsocial movements andcivil society. He served as a member of the board of Roermond branch of Stichting Vluchtelingenwerk, a foundation that helpsrefugees between 1987 and 1991. He also chaired the Roermond Anti-Discriminationbureau in 1988. In addition he was treasurer of the foundation Roermond Festival, between 1989 and 1994 and he chaired the board of the Roermond Cultural Youth Centre "De Azijnfabriek". He was also active in GreenLeft. Between 1989 and 1994 as member of the Limburg provincial board and between 1989 and 1992 as a member of the GreenLeft national party council.
In 1992 worked as coordinator of a Roermond labour market reintegrationprogram for young people and after that was the director of the Roermond Recycling Centre. In 1994 he becamealderman in Roermond, where managed the portfolios welfare, social security, education, culture and youth. As alderman he had a range of secondary functions in regional social affairs. Since 1998 he was a member of the delegationAssociation of Netherlands Municipalities with theministry of Social Affairs and Employment. He also had some national secondary functions in the social sphere. He for instance chaired the national council for the project Heel de Buurt, which worked onurban renewal. He also became chairman of the board ofDivosa, the national association of managers in the sphere of labour, income and care. Since 2001 he was suppleant of the Council for Work and Income. In1998,2002 and2003 he was a member of the GreenLeft selection committee for the national elections.
In 2003 Thissen was candidate for theSenate he received a sixth place on the list. In theelections the party only received five seats. In 2004Mirjam de Rijk left the Senate to become general director of the environmental organizationStichting Natuur en Milieu. Thissen replaced her. In the Senate, Thissen was active on the portfolios education, finance and health care. In 2007 the GreenLeft Congress made Thissenlijsttrekker for the Senate elections. He beatYolan Koster-Dreese by a wide margin. His term in the Senate ended on 9 June 2015.[1]