Elco Brinkman
Leendert Cornelis "Elco" Brinkman (born 5 February 1948) is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and businessperson.[1]
Brinkman studied Political science and Law and at the Free University Amsterdam simultaneously obtaining a Master of Social Science and Laws degree. Brinkman worked as a researcher at his alma mater from September 1970 until July 1974 and as a civil servant for the Ministry of the Interior from July 1974 until November 1982. After the election of 1982 Brinkman was appointed Minister of Welfare, Health and Culture in the Cabinet Lubbers I taking office on 4 November 1982. After the election of 1986 Brinkman continued his office in the Cabinet Lubbers II. After the election of 1989 Brinkman was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives on 14 September 1989 and declined to serve in the new cabinet and instead was selected as Parliamentary leader on 7 November 1989. Shortly before a upcoming election Party Leader and Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers announced his retirement and Brinkman was anonymously selected as his successor on 29 January 1994. For the election of 1994 Brinkman served as Lijsttrekker (top candidate) but shortly thereafter announced that he was stepping down following disappointing election results on 16 August 1994 but continued to serve in the House of Representatives as a frontbencher chairing the House Committee on Kingdom Relations and spokesperson for Health. In April 1995 Brinkman unexpectedly announced his retirement and resigned from the House of Representatives on 26 April 1995.
Brinkman retired from active politics at just 47 and became active in the private and public sectors as a corporate and non-profit director and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government, and worked as a trade association executive serving as Chairman of the Construction association from from May 1995 until July 2013, Vice Chairman of the Industry and Employers confederation (VNO-NCW) from April 2002 until May 2008 and a Member of the Social and Economic Council for the VNO-NCW from June 1995 until July 2013. Brinkman returned to active in politics and after the Senate election of 2011 was elected as a Member of the Senate and became Parliamentary leader serving from 7 June 2011 until 11 June 2019. Brinkman retired from active politics a second time at 71 but following his retirement continues to be active as a advocate and lobbyist for trade associations
Decorations
| Honours | ||||
| Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour | France | 6 February 1984 | |
 |
Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II | Belgium | 10 September 1988 | |
 |
Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 20 November 1989 | |
References
- "CDA-coryfee Elco Brinkman kondigt vertrek uit politiek aan" (in Dutch). NOS. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elco Brinkman. |
- Official
- (in Dutch) Mr.Drs. L.C. (Elco) Brinkman Parlement & Politiek
- (in Dutch) Mr.Drs. L.C. Brinkman (CDA) Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ruud Lubbers |
Parliamentary leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal in the House of Representatives 1989–1994 |
Succeeded by Enneüs Heerma |
| Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal 1994 | ||
| Preceded by Ruud Lubbers 1989 |
Lijsttrekker of the Christian Democratic Appeal 1994 |
Succeeded by Jaap de Hoop Scheffer 1998 |
| Preceded by Jos Werner |
Parliamentary leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal in the Senate 2011–2019 |
Succeeded by Ben Knapen |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Til Gardeniers-Berendsen as Minister of Health and Environment |
Minister of Welfare, Health and Culture 1982–1989 |
Succeeded by Hedy d'Ancona |
| Preceded by Til Gardeniers-Berendsen as Minister of Culture, Recreation and Social Work Ad interim | ||
| Civic offices | ||
| Preceded by Unknown |
Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of the Interior 1979–1980 |
Succeeded by Unknown |
| Director-General of the Department for Public Administration of the Ministry of the Interior 1980–1982 | ||
| Preceded by Bert de Vries |
Chairman of the Supervisory board of Public Pension Funds APB 2001–2009 |
Succeeded by Harry Borghouts |
| Business positions | ||
| Preceded by Office established |
Chairman of the Executive Board of the Construction association 1995–2013 |
Succeeded by Maxime Verhagen |
| Preceded by Hans de Boer |
Vice Chairman of the Executive Board of the Industry and Employers confederation 2002–2008 |
Succeeded by Hans Wiegel |
| Non-profit organization positions | ||
| Preceded by Bram Peper |
Chairman of the Supervisory board of the International Architecture Biennal Rotterdam 2001–2011 |
Succeeded by Ed Nijpels |
| Preceded by Wim Deetman |
Chairman of the Supervisory board of the Royal Library 2004–2015 |
Succeeded by Tjibbe Joustra |
| Preceded by Hans Wiegel |
Chairman of the Supervisory board of Staatsbosbeheer 2008–2010 |
Succeeded by Inge Brakman |
 | ||
| ||
Senate 9 June 2015 – 11 June 2019 | ||
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD: 13) |
|  |
| Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA: 12) | ||
| Democrats 66 (D66: 10) |
| |
| Party for Freedom (PVV: 9) | ||
| Socialist Party (SP: 9) | ||
| Labour Party (PvdA: 8) | ||
| GreenLeft (GL: 4) | ||
| Christian Union (CU: 3) | ||
| Party for the Animals (PvdD: 2) | ||
| Reformed Political Party (SGP: 2) | ||
| 50PLUS (50+: 2) | ||
| Independent Senate Group (OSF: 1) | ||
Bold signifies the Parliamentary leader (first mentioned) Bold also signifies the President | ||
Authority control  |
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