Jan Peter Balkenende has been the Christian democrat Prime Minister and Minister of General Affairs of the Netherlands since 22 July 2002. His first government, a coalition between the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the List Pim Fortuyn (LPF), lasted only 87 days, making it the shortest-lived Dutch government since 1945. It collapsed because of conflicts between ministers from the LPF. Since 27 May 2003 Balkenende has been head of his second government which is a coalition between the CDA, the VVD and Democrats 66.
Balkenende was a member of the Eerste Kamer of the Dutch parliament for just one term, in 1998–2002, and leader of the CDA parliamentary party from 1 October 2001. Though young and relatively inexperienced in national politics, Balkenende has been credited for reversing the fortunes of the CDA. The massive swing towards the CDA in the 2002 elections was the expression of the electorate’s dissatisfaction with the centre-left coalition. This had been particularly incited by the right-wing politician Pim Fortuyn, who was murdered nine days before the elections. In the campaign for the May 2002 general election, Balkenende promised to tighten immigration policies and to oblige foreigners to integrate more into Dutch society. He has also expressed his opposition to euthanasia, gay marriage and the use of marijuana.
Born on 7 May 1956 in Kapelle, Balkenende graduated in history and law at the Free University of Amsterdam. In 1992 he obtained a doctorate in law with a thesis on government regulation and civil-society organizations. He was legal affairs policy officer at the Netherlands Universities Council in 1982–84 and then worked for the policy institute of the CDA until 1998 and part-time, in 1993–2002, as professor of Christian social thought at the Free University. Balkenende was a member of Amstelveen municipal council in 1982–98 and leader of its CDA group from 1994. Jan Peter Balkenende is married and has one daughter.
Address: Ministry of General Affairs, Binnenhof 19, POB 20001, 2500 EA The Hague, Netherlands
