Misplaced Pages

Jacob Kohnstamm

Article snapshot taken from[REDACTED] with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Dutch politician (born 1949)

This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous.
Find sources: "Jacob Kohnstamm" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Jacob Kohnstamm
Kohnstamm in 1989
Member of the Senate
In office
8 June 1999 – 7 September 2004
State Secretary for the Interior
In office
22 August 1994 – 3 August 1998Serving with Tonny van de Vondervoort
Prime MinisterWim Kok
Preceded byDieuwke de Graaff-Nauta
Succeeded byGijs de Vries
(as State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations)
Chairman of the Democrats 66
In office
30 October 1982 – 20 May 1986
Leader See list
Preceded byJan van Berkom
Succeeded byOlga Scheltema (ad interim)
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
3 June 1986 – 22 August 1994
In office
10 June 1981 – 16 September 1982
Personal details
BornJacob Kohnstamm
(1949-11-14) 14 November 1949 (age 75)
Wassenaar, Netherlands
Political partyDemocrats 66 (since 1970)
Parent
ResidenceAmsterdam
Alma materUniversity of Amsterdam
(Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws)
OccupationPolitician · civil servant · Jurist · Lawyer · Researcher · Corporate director · Nonprofit director · Media administrator · Lobbyist · Activist

Jacob Kohnstamm (born 14 November 1949) is a retired Dutch politician and jurist who was State Secretary for the Interior from 1994 to 1998. He is a member of the Democrats 66 (D66), which he chaired from 1982 to 1986.

Biography

Studies and early career

Kohnstamm attended a gymnasium in The Hague from April 1962 until May 1968 and applied at the University of Amsterdam in June 1971, majoring in Law and obtaining a Bachelor of Laws degree in June 1973. He worked as a student researcher before graduating with a Master of Laws degree in July 1977. Kohnstamm worked as a criminal defense lawyer in Amsterdam from October 1977 until June 1981.

House of Representatives

Kohnstamm was elected to the House of Representatives after the 1981 general election, taking office on 10 June 1981 serving as a backbencher. After the 1982 general election Kohnstamm was not re-elected and he continued to serve until the end of the parliamentary term on 16 September 1982. Kohnstamm again worked as a criminal defense lawyer in Amsterdam from September 1982 until June 1986. Kohnstamm served as chairman of Democrats 66 from 30 October 1982 until 20 May 1986.

After the 1986 general election, Kohnstamm returned to the House of Representatives, taking office on 3 June 1986 serving as a frontbencher as spokesperson for the interior, justice, law enforcement, health, the civil service and abortion and deputy spokesperson for foreign affairs, European affairs and the Benelux Union. He also chaired the parliamentary committee for law enforcement and the parliamentary committee for the Ombudsman.

State Secretary for the Interior

After the 1994 general election, Kohnstamm was appointed as State Secretary for the Interior in the first Kok cabinet, taking office on 22 August 1994. He was tasked with public security, emergency services, emergency management and urban planning. In December 1997 Kohnstamm announced that he would not stand for the 1998 general election. Following the cabinet formation of 1998, Kohnstamm asked not to be considered for a post in the new cabinet; the first Kok cabinet was replaced by the second Kok cabinet on 3 August 1998.

Late career

Kohnstamm remained in active in national politics; he was elected to the Senate after the 1999 Senate election, taking office on 8 June. He served as spokesperson for foreign affairs, justice, health, European affairs, art and culture, and chaired the special parliamentary committee for the European Court of Justice. He left the Senate on 7 September 2004. He was the chair of the Dutch Data Protection Authority from 2004 to 2016. From 2016 tot 2021 he was the chair of the Euthanasia Review Committee. From 2021 to 2023 he chaired the Restitution Committee that gives recommendations and binding opinions concerning Nazi looted art. He also was chair of board of the International Chamber Music Festival Schiermonnikoog (2012-2021) and of the board of the foundation Forbidden Music Regained (2014-2021).

Decorations

Honours
Ribbon bar Honour Country Date Comment
Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau Netherlands 30 October 1998

External links

Official
Party political offices
Preceded byJan van Berkom Chairman of the Democrats 66
1982–1986 		Succeeded byOlga Scheltema
Ad interim
Political offices
Preceded byDieuwke de Graaff-Nauta State Secretary for the Interior
1994–1998
Served alongside:
Tonny van de Vondervoort 		Succeeded byGijs de Vries
as State Secretary for the Interior
and Kingdom Relations
Non-profit organization positions
Preceded byUnknown Chairman of the
Supervisory board of the
Dutch Voluntary End of Life Association
2000–2006 		Succeeded byUnknown
Preceded byBram Stemerdink Chairman of the
Supervisory board of the
Verzetsmuseum
2004–present 		Incumbent
Media offices
Preceded byUnknown Chairman of the
Supervisory board of the
Humanist Broadcasting
1999–2013 		Succeeded byMagdeleen Sturm
State secretaries for the interior of the Netherlands
Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations
First Kok cabinet (1994–1998)
Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Ministers
Ministers
Minister without portfolios
State Secretaries
Categories:
Jacob Kohnstamm Add topic