Jan Peter Balkenende

Quick Facts

Full Name	Jan Peter Balkenende
Occupation	Jurist
Date Of Birth	May 7, 1956(1956-05-07)
Age	68
Birthplace	Biezelinge
Country	Netherlands
Horoscope	Taurus

Jan Peter Balkenende Biography

Jan Peter Balkenende is one of the most popular and richest Jurist who was born on May 7, 1956 in Biezelinge, Netherlands. Jan Pieter Balkenende Jr. was a child of Jan Pieter Balkenende Sr., a cereal grains merchant, and Thona Johanna Sandye, a teacher. He was born in Biezelinge on 7 May 1956. Balkenende, his father and grandfather, were avid supporters of PSV Eindhoven’s Dutch football team. He attended many matches. Balkenende also visited the local theatre and music school. Balkenende attended a Kapelle primary school of Reformed Protestantism. Balkenende graduated in 1974 from secondary school at the Christian Lyceum for Zeeland in Goes. He attended the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam where he earned a Master of Arts in history in 1980 and a Master of Laws in Law in 1982. Finally, a Doctor of Philosophy in Law was awarded in 1992.

Balkenende began his career in 1982 as a legal counsel at the Academic Council of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and then as a researcher at the Christian Democratic Appeal think-tank from 1984 to 1998. From 1993 to 2002, he was a professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in Christian theology. Balkenende was elected Member of the House of Representatives following the 1998 election. He served as the House of Representatives’ Chairman from the 19th May 1998 to the 22nd July 2002. Following a power struggle between Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Marnix van Rij, the Chairman of Christian Democratic Appeal, De Hoop Scheffer supported Balkenende to succeed him. Balkenende was elected to replace De Hoop Scheffer on October 1, 2001. He became the Leader of Christian Democratic Appeal, Parliamentary leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal in the House of Representatives, and the lijsttrekker of the party for 2002. The surprising winner of this election was the Christian Democratic Appeal, which won 14 seats and became the largest party with 43 seats in the House of Representatives. Balkenende’s neutrality in debates with Pim Fortuyn (the eponymous leader from the Pim Fortuyn List) was a key factor in this success. He was assassinated on the 6th of May 2002. Following the formation of the cabinet, a coalition agreement was reached between the Christian Democratic Appeal (LPF), the Pim Fortuyn List(VVD), and the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy. This formed the first Balkenende cabinet. Balkenende became Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister for General Affairs on 22/7/2002.

On 4 July 2002 Queen Beatrix asked Balkenende to form a new government after the general elections following the resignation of Prime Minister Wim Kok. The coalition cabinet included the Pim Fortuyn List (LPF) party, whose leader (Pim Fortuyn) was assassinated just days before the election. It collapsed after just 87 days in office because of internal conflicts within the LPF that destabilised the government.

However, the first Balkenende cabinet fell after only 87 days in office on 16 October 2002 following internal conflicts within the Pim Fortuyn List leadership that destabilised the coalition agreement on 16 October 2002. For the election of 2003, Balkenende served again as lijsttrekker. The Christian Democratic Appeal remained the largest party, gaining one seat and now totalling 44 seats in the House of Representatives. The following cabinet formation resulted in a coalition agreement between the Christian Democratic Appeal, the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy and the Democrats 66 (D66), which formed the second Balkenende cabinet, with Balkenende continuing as Prime Minister and Minister of General Affairs, taking office on 27 May

2003. This second cabinet fell on 30 June 2006 after the Democrats 66 retracted their support following there dissatisfaction with the way Minister for Integration and Asylum Affairs Rita Verdonk had handled the crisis around the naturalisation of Member of the House of Representatives Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Democrats 66 cabinet members resigned on 3 July 2006. A caretaker government was made by the Christian Democratic Appeal and the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy that formed the third Balkenende cabinet on 7 July
2004. For the election of 2006 Balkenende served again as lijsttrekker. The election resulted in a small loss of three seats for the Christian Democratic Appeal, but it remained the largest party and now had 41 seats in the House of Representatives. The following cabinet formation resulted in a coalition agreement between the Christian Democratic Appeal, the Labour Party (PvdA) and the Christian Union (CU), which formed the centre-left fourth Balkenende cabinet, with Balkenende continuing as Prime Minister and Minister of General Affairs, taking office on 22 February 2007. The fourth Balkenende cabinet fell on 20 February 2010 after the Labour Party retracted their support following a disagreement over the extension of the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, the Labour Party cabinet members resigned on 23 February 2010. The cabinet remained in office in a demissionary capacity. For the election of 2010 Balkenende served as lijsttrekker for a fourth and final time. The Christian Democratic Appeal suffered a large defeat in the election, losing 20 seats and falling back as the fourth party, now having 21 seats in the House of Representatives. Balkenende accepted responsibility for the defeat and sequentially announced his resignation as party leader and his retirement from national politics. He was succeeded as Leader by his long serving Deputy Maxime Verhagen that same day on 9 June 2010. He remained Prime Minister until the first Rutte cabinet was installed on 14 October 2010.

Balkenende was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1998, when the CDA was still in opposition. Balkenende was the financial spokesperson for the CDA and was involved in domestic, social, and justice affairs. He advocated for a significant reduction in the national debt and sound public finance.

Jan Peter Balkenende Net Worth

Jan Peter Balkenende is one of the richest Jurist from Netherlands. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Jan Peter Balkenende 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

Jan Pieter Balkenende Jr., Dutch jurist and former politician, was Prime Minister of the Netherlands between 22 July 2002 and 14 October 2010. He is a member the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA).

His career began as a researcher at the CDA and then as a councilman in Amstelveen. In 1992 he received his PhD with a thesis on “Governance regulation and social organisations” (Overheidsregelgeving en maatschappelijke organisaties), a strongly inspired by the Communitarian ideas of Amitai Etzioni. He was appointed professor of Christian-Social Thinking at the Free University of Amsterdam one year later.

He was elected Chairman of the CDA parliamentary fraction on 1 October 2001, succeeding Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. On 3 November 2001, he was appointed lijsttrekker for the CDA in the tumultuous May 2002 parliamentary elections. These elections restored the CDA’s former position as the largest political party in the House of Representatives.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

Jan Peter Balkenende height 6 ft 0 in Jan weight Not Known & body measurements will update soon.

Who is Jan Peter Balkenende Dating?

According to our records, Jan Peter Balkenende married to Bianca Hoogendijk. As of December 1, 2023, Jan Peter Balkenende’s is not dating anyone.

Relationships Record : We have no records of past relationships for Jan Peter Balkenende. You may help us to build the dating records for Jan Peter Balkenende!

On 4 June 2005, the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Karel De Gucht said in the Flemish newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws (The Latest News) that “Balkenende is a mix of Harry Potter and a petty rigid bourgeois mentality”. This comparison caused a small diplomatic controversy, and the Belgian ambassador had to apologise to Ben Bot, the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs. Retired deputy prime minister Hans Wiegel commented he preferred Harry Potter to the Manneken Pis.

Facts & Trivia

Jan Ranked on the list of most popular Jurist. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in Netherlands. Jan Peter Balkenende celebrates birthday on May 7 of every year.

Though his old coalition partners VVD and D66 fared badly in the parliamentary elections of 2006, Balkenende managed to defend the dominant position of his CDA. Needing alternative coalition partners to form a new majority government, he formed a social-Christian coalition with the Labour Party (PvdA) and the orthodox-Protestant Christian Union. The Fourth Balkenende cabinet was formed after Balkenende was appointed formateur by Queen Beatrix on 9 February 2007. His cabinet was announced on 13 February and was scheduled to be in office until 2011, but it fell in the early morning of 20 February 2010 as the result of disagreement between the majority of the parliament and the coalition partners CDA and PvdA over the extension of the Dutch ISAF-mission in Afghanistan. In contrast to the formation of a new caretaker cabinet with full responsibility (Balkenende III after the fall of Balkenende II), Balkenende IV continued as a demissionary cabinet, a caretaker cabinet with limited responsibility.