Diederik Samson
Encyclopedia
Diederik Maarten Samsom is a Dutch
politician
. As a member of the Labour Party
(Partij van de Arbeid) he has been an MP since January 30, 2003. He is the party's spokesperson on environmental issues. Before that he was CEO of a green energy company and a campaigner for Greenpeace Netherlands
.
in Leeuwarden. There he became interested in physics and so he went on to study Technical Physics
(Dutch
: "Technische Natuurkunde") at Delft University of Technology
. Samsom specialised in nuclear physics
and became a level three radiation expert. He graduated in May 1997, obtaining a Dutch Engineer's degree
(In Dutch: Ingenieur). He was also on the board of the National Students' Union
LSVb and edited a yearly edition of the Poenboek, which is basically a students' guide concerning monetary issues.
Samsom had been involved in environmentalism long before entering politics. Samsom joined environmental organisation Greenpeace Netherlands
in September 1995 as a volunteer. He led several campaigns and projects until he quit in December 2001, when the PvdA approached him offering a career in politics. He has also worked as the CEO of Real Energy , a small green energy trading company, from August 2002 until January 2003.
while a student in Delft
. He left the party but joined again in February 2001. He stood as a candidate in the 2002 Dutch general election
, but was not elected due to the PvdA losing almost half of its seats in this election. The party regained most of its seats in the 2003 election
and this time Samsom was given a high position (nine) on the list of candidates. He was subsequently sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives on January 30, 2003.
editor Coen van Zwol called their campaign fresh, clear and sharp (Dutch: fris, helder en scherp).
, climate and energy, traffic congestion
and railway issues and projects. He was nineteenth on the list of candidates in the 2006 Dutch general elections
and he received a high number of 6248 preference votes.
as fractievoorzitter, but eventually he lost the vote to Mariëtte Hamer
.
Jacques Tichelaar became the leader of the parliamentary party shortly after the 2006 general election
in February 2007 but fell ill in January 2008. He had to undergo a septuple bypass surgery
and it took him three months to recuperate. On April 16, he announced he had decided to resign from office for health reasons. He plans to return as a parliamentarian on July 1, 2008. As vice parliamentary leader Hamer had led the party in Tichelaar's absence. The next day she decided to run for office. Three days later, Diederik Samsom officially announced he would compete also compete in the race. Other names were mentioned, but only Samsom and Hamer decided to vie for the position. All 33 Parliamentarians gathered two days later to discuss the position and cast their votes, resulting in a victory for Hamer.
According to opinion poller Maurice de Hond
, a majority of the 2006 Labour voters preferred Samsom as party leader. Out of a total of 1500 Labour voters, 26 per cent favoured Hamer while 42 per cent liked Samsom better. From the people who indicate they will vote for the PvdA in the future a smaller majority of 40 to 35 preferred Samsom.
's De Nieuwste Show, a satirical news show à la The Daily Show
, current affairs
programme Nova, comical talk show Raymann is Laat, KRO
's Nederland komt thuis and VARA's daily talk show
s De wereld draait door and Pauw & Wittman, on which he has appeared twice.
referred to him after he won his fifth televised game show. Particularly notable are his consecutive victories in the 2005 and 2006 National IQ Tests
. According to the test, he has an IQ of 136. He also won the popular National News Quiz in 2005 and 2006 and in May 2008 he was crowned winner of the Big History Quiz.
family and considers himself an atheist
. He's a non smoker and observes a vegetarian
diet. As his favourite sports he cites swimming and polo. Samsom is married, and has two children. His daughter Benthe was born in 2001 and his son Fane was born in 2006. Samsom lived on a houseboat
in Broek in Waterland
with his then girlfriend and daughter before moving to Leiden, where he still resides as of 2008.
, November 18, 2002
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. As a member of the Labour Party
Labour Party (Netherlands)
The Labour Party , is a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands. Since the 2003 Dutch General Election, the PvdA has been the second largest political party in the Netherlands. The PvdA was a coalition member in the fourth Balkenende cabinet following 22 February 2007...
(Partij van de Arbeid) he has been an MP since January 30, 2003. He is the party's spokesperson on environmental issues. Before that he was CEO of a green energy company and a campaigner for Greenpeace Netherlands
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
.
Early life and career
Samsom was raised in Leeuwarden. His father worked as an internist and his mother as a physiotherapist. Between 1983 and 1989 he attended the Municipal GymnasiumGymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in Leeuwarden. There he became interested in physics and so he went on to study Technical Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
(Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
: "Technische Natuurkunde") at Delft University of Technology
Delft University of Technology
Delft University of Technology , also known as TU Delft, is the largest and oldest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands...
. Samsom specialised in nuclear physics
Nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
and became a level three radiation expert. He graduated in May 1997, obtaining a Dutch Engineer's degree
Engineer's degree
An engineer's degree is an advanced academic degree in engineering that is conferred in Europe, some countries of Latin America, and a few institutions in the United States....
(In Dutch: Ingenieur). He was also on the board of the National Students' Union
Students' union
A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...
LSVb and edited a yearly edition of the Poenboek, which is basically a students' guide concerning monetary issues.
Samsom had been involved in environmentalism long before entering politics. Samsom joined environmental organisation Greenpeace Netherlands
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
in September 1995 as a volunteer. He led several campaigns and projects until he quit in December 2001, when the PvdA approached him offering a career in politics. He has also worked as the CEO of Real Energy , a small green energy trading company, from August 2002 until January 2003.
Political career
Samsom became a member of the social democratic Labour partyLabour Party (Netherlands)
The Labour Party , is a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands. Since the 2003 Dutch General Election, the PvdA has been the second largest political party in the Netherlands. The PvdA was a coalition member in the fourth Balkenende cabinet following 22 February 2007...
while a student in Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
. He left the party but joined again in February 2001. He stood as a candidate in the 2002 Dutch general election
Dutch general election, 2002
The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on May 15, 2002....
, but was not elected due to the PvdA losing almost half of its seats in this election. The party regained most of its seats in the 2003 election
Dutch general election, 2003
The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on January 22, 2003.-Background:...
and this time Samsom was given a high position (nine) on the list of candidates. He was subsequently sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives on January 30, 2003.
Red Engineer
Together with fellow PvdA parliamentarians Staf Depla and Jeroen Dijsselbloem he traveled around the country campaigning. They operated under the name The Red Engineers , referring to both their scientific backgrounds and their red overalls. NRCNRC Handelsblad
NRC Handelsblad, often abbreviated to NRC, is a daily evening newspaper published in the Netherlands by NRC Media. The newspaper was created on October 1, 1970, from merger of the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant and Algemeen Handelsblad . In 2006 a morning newspaper, nrc•next, was launched...
editor Coen van Zwol called their campaign fresh, clear and sharp (Dutch: fris, helder en scherp).
Parliamentarian (2003-present)
Samsom is the party's spokesperson on environmental issues: sustainabilitySustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
, climate and energy, traffic congestion
Traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...
and railway issues and projects. He was nineteenth on the list of candidates in the 2006 Dutch general elections
Dutch general election, 2006
The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on November 22, 2006. And followed the call for new elections after the fall of the Second Balkenende cabinet....
and he received a high number of 6248 preference votes.
2008 Parliamentary Chair election
In April 2008, Samsom was a candidate for succeeding Jacques TichelaarJacques Tichelaar
Jacques Tichelaar is a Dutch politician and former trade union leader and educator. He is a member of the Labour Party . Since May 1, 2009 he has been the Queen's Commissioner of the Province of Drenthe...
as fractievoorzitter, but eventually he lost the vote to Mariëtte Hamer
Mariëtte Hamer
Mariëtte Iris Hamer is a Dutch politician and former civil servant, educator and trade union leader. As a member of the Labour Party she has been an MP since May 19, 1998. From January 2008 to June 2010 she was Parliamentary group leader. She focuses on matters of labour economics, day care and...
.
Jacques Tichelaar became the leader of the parliamentary party shortly after the 2006 general election
Dutch general election, 2006
The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on November 22, 2006. And followed the call for new elections after the fall of the Second Balkenende cabinet....
in February 2007 but fell ill in January 2008. He had to undergo a septuple bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
and it took him three months to recuperate. On April 16, he announced he had decided to resign from office for health reasons. He plans to return as a parliamentarian on July 1, 2008. As vice parliamentary leader Hamer had led the party in Tichelaar's absence. The next day she decided to run for office. Three days later, Diederik Samsom officially announced he would compete also compete in the race. Other names were mentioned, but only Samsom and Hamer decided to vie for the position. All 33 Parliamentarians gathered two days later to discuss the position and cast their votes, resulting in a victory for Hamer.
According to opinion poller Maurice de Hond
Maurice de Hond
Maurice de Hond is a Dutch pollster and entrepreneur.-Career:De Hond studied social geography at the University of Amsterdam, obtaining a degree in 1971. He worked for the university, as assistant with the Sociaal Geografisch Instituut, but became a project leader for Interview-NSS in 1973...
, a majority of the 2006 Labour voters preferred Samsom as party leader. Out of a total of 1500 Labour voters, 26 per cent favoured Hamer while 42 per cent liked Samsom better. From the people who indicate they will vote for the PvdA in the future a smaller majority of 40 to 35 preferred Samsom.
Media appearances
Samsom has been involved with a number of television appearances including BNNBNN
BNN is a three letter abbreviation which can refer to*Banana News Network, A Pakistani comedy TV Show.*Bart's Neverending Network , a radio and television broadcasting organization in the Netherlands...
's De Nieuwste Show, a satirical news show à la The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
, current affairs
Current affairs (news format)
Current Affairs is a genre of broadcast journalism where the emphasis is on detailed analysis and discussion of news stories that have recently occurred or are ongoing at the time of broadcast....
programme Nova, comical talk show Raymann is Laat, KRO
KRO
KRO, or Katholieke Radio Omroep , is a Dutch public broadcasting organization founded on 23 April 1925. Broadly Catholic in its spiritual outlook, KRO broadcasts the bulk of its television output on the Nederland 1 channel. KRO is also responsible for managing broadcasts made by the Catholic Church...
's Nederland komt thuis and VARA's daily talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
s De wereld draait door and Pauw & Wittman, on which he has appeared twice.
Quizzes
Quizking, that's how NRC HandelsbladNRC Handelsblad
NRC Handelsblad, often abbreviated to NRC, is a daily evening newspaper published in the Netherlands by NRC Media. The newspaper was created on October 1, 1970, from merger of the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant and Algemeen Handelsblad . In 2006 a morning newspaper, nrc•next, was launched...
referred to him after he won his fifth televised game show. Particularly notable are his consecutive victories in the 2005 and 2006 National IQ Tests
Test the Nation
Test the Nation is a television programme, first broadcast in 2001 by BNN in the Netherlands where the concept is owned by Eyeworks Holding who license it to TV production companies around the world.-Show format:...
. According to the test, he has an IQ of 136. He also won the popular National News Quiz in 2005 and 2006 and in May 2008 he was crowned winner of the Big History Quiz.
Personal life
Samsom was raised in a non-religiousIrreligion
Irreligion is defined as an absence of religion or an indifference towards religion. Sometimes it may also be defined more narrowly as hostility towards religion. When characterized as hostility to religion, it includes antitheism, anticlericalism and antireligion. When characterized as...
family and considers himself an atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
. He's a non smoker and observes a vegetarian
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
diet. As his favourite sports he cites swimming and polo. Samsom is married, and has two children. His daughter Benthe was born in 2001 and his son Fane was born in 2006. Samsom lived on a houseboat
Houseboat
A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a human dwelling. Some houseboats are not motorized, because they are usually moored, kept stationary at a fixed point and often tethered to land to provide utilities...
in Broek in Waterland
Broek in Waterland
Broek in Waterland is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland with about 2350 inhabitants. It is a part of the municipality of Waterland, and is situated about 8 km south of Purmerend and 8 km northeast of Amsterdam. In the 17th and 18th century, the town was a popular residence for...
with his then girlfriend and daughter before moving to Leiden, where he still resides as of 2008.
Further reading
Oostveen, Margriet "De activist, de filosoof, de strateeg", NRC HandelsbladNRC Handelsblad
NRC Handelsblad, often abbreviated to NRC, is a daily evening newspaper published in the Netherlands by NRC Media. The newspaper was created on October 1, 1970, from merger of the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant and Algemeen Handelsblad . In 2006 a morning newspaper, nrc•next, was launched...
, November 18, 2002