Wouter Bos
Encyclopedia
Wouter Jacob Bos (ˈʋʌutər ˈbɔs; born July 14, 1963 in Vlaardingen
) is a Dutch
management consultant and former politician of the Labour Party
(Partij van de Arbeid - PvdA). He was Minister of Finance
and Deputy Prime Minister
in the Cabinet Balkenende IV from February 22, 2007 till February 23, 2010. He became the political leader of the Dutch Labour Party on November 17, 2002 and announced his retirement from politics on March 12, 2010.
family with a Protestant background in Vlaardingen
. His father founded the ecumenical development cooperation fund ICCO, which he also led for many years. Between 1969 and 1974 Bos attended the Protestant elementary school de Beurthonk in Odijk. From 1974 he attended the Protestant high school Christelijk Lyceum in Zeist
. In 1980 he graduated specializing in sciences and classics. In 1980-81 he was a Voluntary Instructor at the YMCA
National Centre in Curdridge
in the United Kingdom
.
at the Vrije Universiteit
in Amsterdam
. In 1982 he also took up Economics
. In 1988 he graduated cum laude in both subjects.
From 1988 till 1998 he worked for Royal Dutch/Shell
in various positions. With a background in Shell, he differs from other Dutch leftwing politicians, who rarely have a background in a major Multinational corporation
. Bos began to work for Shell because he thought that "the Dutch Left should not leave the business world to the Dutch Right".
Between 1988 and 1990 he worked at the Pernis
Refinery as a management consultant, where he was a specialist on training and reorganisation. In 1990 he became policy advisor for the central board, specializing in labour relations and working conditions, he also served as representative of the central board in its dealings with the central works council
. In 1992-93 he was stationed as general affairs manager for Shell Romania Exploration, where he was responsible for setting up the Romania
n branch of Shell. In 1993 he was stationed in Hong Kong
, to work as staff planning and development manager for Shell Companies in Greater China, responsible for the recruitment and selection of new manager for Shell in South Korea
, Taiwan
, Hong Kong and China
. In 1996 he returned to Europe
, and worked as a consultant for new markets for Shell International Oil Products in London
, focusing on acquisition in developing LPG markets in South America
and Asia
. In 1998 he left Shell to enter Dutch politics. For a short while he was policy advisor for the PvdA parliamentary party in the lower house and a personal assistant of the party's financial spokesperson, Rick van der Ploeg.
he was elected into the lower house of parliament for the PvdA as finance specialist. He campaigned together with Rick van der Ploeg and Willem Vermeend as "the Polderboys" and gave lectures in economics at universities. In 2000, due to a cabinet reshuffle, he succeeded Willem Vermeend
as staatssecretaris
for Finance, and became responsible for taxation, monetary policy and finances of lower-level government. Together with Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm
he was able to get parliamentary support for a radical reform of the tax system. After the May 2002
elections he returned to parliament, as a specialist on income policy and health affairs.
After the fall of the first Balkenende cabinet
Bos was elected top candidate
for the following elections and de facto leader of the PvdA in the 2002 PvdA leadership election
by 60% of the voting party members. He immediately became the chairman of the parliamentary party
, succeeding Jeltje van Nieuwenhoven
, and leaving her, Klaas de Vries
and Jouke de Vries
behind him by a 30% margin.
In the January 2003 election
, Bos entered a head to head race with incumbent Prime Minister and leader of the Christian Democratic CDA
, Jan Peter Balkenende
. Under Bos the vote and seats of the PvdA nearly doubled from 15% (23 seats) in 2002 to 27% (42 seats) in 2003. This resurgence was partially credited to Bos' charisma and youthful appearance (and according to some journalists Bos' "sexy touch"). Balkenende's CDA however remained largest the party by a margin of two seats. The ensuing coalition formation talks between Balkenende and Bos failed after several months. The CDA went on to form a government
with the conservative liberal VVD
, and the progressive liberal D66.
At that time Bos was the leader of the largest opposition party. He spent considerable time reforming the PvdA's internal organisation and public image, together with the party's chairman Ruud Koole. He was criticized for his silence on important reforms and issues, and his moderacy which resulted in other parties claiming opposition leadership, among them most notably the Socialist Party
. Although still enjoying large public support, criticism about his "style over substance" approach to politics was voiced in this period. At the December 2005 party congress, Bos announced that he aspired to become Prime Minister of the Netherlands
, should the PvdA succeed in becoming the biggest party after the next parliament elections. And in the 2006 municipal elections
, a few months lather, the PvdA performed particularly well, becoming the largest party in local government.
However, in the election campaign for the Dutch general elections of 2006
the PvdA - for the second time campaigning under his leadership - didn't manage to maintain this position as biggest party. Some considered pension reforms proposed by him to embattle the consequences of an aging population as a reason for this decline in popularity. Others emphasized a declining confidence in Bos among parts of the electorate that perceived him as "unreliable", as reason for this. Bos lost eight seats in the elections, which saw large gains for the main rival of Labour on the left side of the political spectrum, the more radical Socialist Party. Nonetheless, after these elections (and this time successful coalition talks with Prime Minister Balkenende), Bos became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
in the Fourth Balkenende cabinet
, thereby breaking a campaign promise to only join a cabinet when he could hold the office of Prime Minister.
As part of the leadership of the PvdA he revoked his confidence in fellow party member Ella Vogelaar
as Minister of Integration and Housing. She subsequently resigned her post on 13 November 2008. The Dutch parliamentary press chose him as politician of the year 2008, largely due to his crisis management of 2008/2009 world financial crisis that included nationalization
of the Fortis bank.
, the former State Secretary of finance for the CDA. Wouter and Barbara Bos have two daughters, Iris Jessie (5 February 2004) and Julia Roos (3 January 2006) and a son Joppe (18 April 2009)
Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen is a town in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas/Nieuwe Waterweg river at the confluence with the Oude Maas...
) is a Dutch
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...
management consultant and former politician 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 - PvdA). He was Minister of Finance
Ministry of Finance (Netherlands)
The Ministry of Finance is the Dutch ministry of finance: it is occupied with the national budget, taxation and financial economic policy, including supervision of financial markets...
and Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
The Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands is the official Deputy of the Head of Government of the Netherlands. In the absence of the Prime Minister the deputy prime minister takes over his functions, such as chairing the Cabinet of the Netherlands...
in the Cabinet Balkenende IV from February 22, 2007 till February 23, 2010. He became the political leader of the Dutch Labour Party on November 17, 2002 and announced his retirement from politics on March 12, 2010.
Youth
Bos was raised in a Doorbraak social-democraticSocial democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
family with a Protestant background in Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen is a town in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas/Nieuwe Waterweg river at the confluence with the Oude Maas...
. His father founded the ecumenical development cooperation fund ICCO, which he also led for many years. Between 1969 and 1974 Bos attended the Protestant elementary school de Beurthonk in Odijk. From 1974 he attended the Protestant high school Christelijk Lyceum in Zeist
Zeist
Zeist is a municipality and a town in the central Netherlands, located east of the city of Utrecht.-Population centres :*Austerlitz*Bosch en Duin*Den Dolder*Huis ter Heide*Zeist- The town of Zeist :...
. In 1980 he graduated specializing in sciences and classics. In 1980-81 he was a Voluntary Instructor at the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
National Centre in Curdridge
Curdridge
Curdridge is a village and civil parish within the City of Winchester district of Hampshire, England. Also located within the parish is the similarly named village of Curbridge. The village houses a small school...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Life before politics
He became a member of the PvdA in 1981. In the same year Bos started studying Political SciencePolitical science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at the Vrije Universiteit
Vrije Universiteit
The Vrije Universiteit is a university in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch name is often abbreviated as VU and in English the university uses the name "VU University". The university is located on a compact urban campus in the southern part of Amsterdam in the Buitenveldert district...
in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. In 1982 he also took up Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
. In 1988 he graduated cum laude in both subjects.
From 1988 till 1998 he worked for Royal Dutch/Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
in various positions. With a background in Shell, he differs from other Dutch leftwing politicians, who rarely have a background in a major Multinational corporation
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
. Bos began to work for Shell because he thought that "the Dutch Left should not leave the business world to the Dutch Right".
Between 1988 and 1990 he worked at the Pernis
Pernis (Netherlands)
thumb|200px|right|Pernis in 1865.Pernis is a village and district of the municipality of Rotterdam, South Holland, Netherlands. The district has a population of 4,560 on a total area size of 1.60 km². Pernis is not a full submunicipality of Rotterdam, but the former independent municipality...
Refinery as a management consultant, where he was a specialist on training and reorganisation. In 1990 he became policy advisor for the central board, specializing in labour relations and working conditions, he also served as representative of the central board in its dealings with the central works council
Works council
A works council is a "shop-floor" organization representing workers, which functions as local/firm-level complement to national labour negotiations...
. In 1992-93 he was stationed as general affairs manager for Shell Romania Exploration, where he was responsible for setting up the Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n branch of Shell. In 1993 he was stationed in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, to work as staff planning and development manager for Shell Companies in Greater China, responsible for the recruitment and selection of new manager for Shell in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Hong Kong and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. In 1996 he returned to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and worked as a consultant for new markets for Shell International Oil Products in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, focusing on acquisition in developing LPG markets in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. In 1998 he left Shell to enter Dutch politics. For a short while he was policy advisor for the PvdA parliamentary party in the lower house and a personal assistant of the party's financial spokesperson, Rick van der Ploeg.
Political life
In 1998Dutch general election, 1998
The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on 6 May 1998.-Result:...
he was elected into the lower house of parliament for the PvdA as finance specialist. He campaigned together with Rick van der Ploeg and Willem Vermeend as "the Polderboys" and gave lectures in economics at universities. In 2000, due to a cabinet reshuffle, he succeeded Willem Vermeend
Willem Vermeend
Wilhelmus Adrianus Franciscus Gabriël Vermeend is a Dutch former politician.-References:...
as staatssecretaris
State Secretary (Netherlands)
State Secretary is the title of a junior member of the Dutch or Belgian cabinet. Other terms for the title are deputy minister, junior minister or vice-minister...
for Finance, and became responsible for taxation, monetary policy and finances of lower-level government. Together with Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm
Gerrit Zalm
Gerrit Zalm is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy . He served as Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister from May 27, 2003 until February 22, 2007 in the Cabinets Balkenende II and III. He served earlier as Minister of Finance in the Cabinets Kok I and...
he was able to get parliamentary support for a radical reform of the tax system. After the May 2002
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....
elections he returned to parliament, as a specialist on income policy and health affairs.
After the fall of the first Balkenende cabinet
First Balkenende cabinet
The first cabinet of Jan Peter Balkenende was in office in the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 until 16 October of the same year. The term of 87 days was the shortest since the fifth cabinet of Hendrikus Colijn .Following the 15 May 2002...
Bos was elected top candidate
Lijsttrekker
Lijsttrekker is a Dutch term for the top candidate of a party on a party list. He or she is almost always the party's political leader. After an election, this person usually leads the party's faction in the States-General, or serves in a senior position in the Cabinet if his party is part of...
for the following elections and de facto leader of the PvdA in the 2002 PvdA leadership election
2002 PvdA leadership election
Between 6 and November 12, 2002 the 60,000 members of the Dutch social-democratic Labour Party could vote for their preferred candidate for top candidate for the 2003 general election....
by 60% of the voting party members. He immediately became the chairman of the parliamentary party
Parliamentary group leader
The leader or chairman of a parliamentary group holds an influential political post in a parliamentary system with strong party discipline...
, succeeding Jeltje van Nieuwenhoven
Jeltje van Nieuwenhoven
Jeltje van Nieuwenhoven is a Dutch politician. She was a member of the House of Representatives for over 20 years for the social-democratic PvdA, and its chair for four years.-Before entering politics:...
, and leaving her, Klaas de Vries
Klaas de Vries (politician)
Klaas George de Vries is a member of the Dutch House of Representatives for the PvdA. De Vries has had a long political career: he has been a member of parliament for more than 15 years, he has been a minister, and was involved in forming both Kok cabinets.-Career before politics:After attending a...
and Jouke de Vries
Jouke de Vries
Jouke de Vries is a professor at Leiden University in Leiden.De Vries grew up in the village of Balk in Friesland and in 1979 started his studies in political science at the University of Amsterdam. He has been working at the group Leaderships Art at the University of Leiden since 1984. De Vries...
behind him by a 30% margin.
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:...
, Bos entered a head to head race with incumbent Prime Minister and leader of the Christian Democratic CDA
Christian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal is a centre-right Dutch Christian democratic political party. It suffered severe losses in the 2010 elections and fell from the first to the fourth place...
, Jan Peter Balkenende
Jan Peter Balkenende
Jan Pieter "Jan Peter" Balkenende is a Dutch politician of the party Christian Democratic Appeal .He was the Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 until 14 October 2010, having led four coalition governments, cabinets Balkenende I, II, III and IV, none of which served a full...
. Under Bos the vote and seats of the PvdA nearly doubled from 15% (23 seats) in 2002 to 27% (42 seats) in 2003. This resurgence was partially credited to Bos' charisma and youthful appearance (and according to some journalists Bos' "sexy touch"). Balkenende's CDA however remained largest the party by a margin of two seats. The ensuing coalition formation talks between Balkenende and Bos failed after several months. The CDA went on to form a government
Second Balkenende cabinet
The second cabinet of Jan Peter Balkenende of the Netherlands formed on 27 May 2003. It consisted of three political parties: People's Party for Freedom and Democracy , Christian Democratic Appeal , and Democrats 66 , which is the smallest of the three.On 29 June 2006, D66 dropped its support for...
with the conservative liberal VVD
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party located in the Netherlands. The VVD supports private enterprise in the Netherlands and is often perceived as an economic liberal party in contrast to the social-liberal Democrats 66 alongside which it sits in...
, and the progressive liberal D66.
At that time Bos was the leader of the largest opposition party. He spent considerable time reforming the PvdA's internal organisation and public image, together with the party's chairman Ruud Koole. He was criticized for his silence on important reforms and issues, and his moderacy which resulted in other parties claiming opposition leadership, among them most notably the Socialist Party
Socialist Party (Netherlands)
The Socialist Party is a democratic socialist political party in the Netherlands. After the 2006 general election, the Socialist Party became one of the major parties of the Netherlands with 25 seats of 150, an increase of 16 seats. The party was in opposition against the fourth Balkenende cabinet...
. Although still enjoying large public support, criticism about his "style over substance" approach to politics was voiced in this period. At the December 2005 party congress, Bos announced that he aspired to become Prime Minister of the Netherlands
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
The Prime Minister of the Netherlands is the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Netherlands. He is the de facto head of government of the Netherlands and coordinates the policy of the government...
, should the PvdA succeed in becoming the biggest party after the next parliament elections. And in the 2006 municipal elections
Dutch municipal elections, 2006
The Dutch municipal elections of 2006 were held on March 7, 2006. About 11.8 million people could vote in 419 municipalities. Due to local redistricting, 15 municipalities have already held elections in January 2006 and 24 municipalities will hold elections in November 2006...
, a few months lather, the PvdA performed particularly well, becoming the largest party in local government.
However, in the election campaign for the Dutch general elections of 2006
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....
the PvdA - for the second time campaigning under his leadership - didn't manage to maintain this position as biggest party. Some considered pension reforms proposed by him to embattle the consequences of an aging population as a reason for this decline in popularity. Others emphasized a declining confidence in Bos among parts of the electorate that perceived him as "unreliable", as reason for this. Bos lost eight seats in the elections, which saw large gains for the main rival of Labour on the left side of the political spectrum, the more radical Socialist Party. Nonetheless, after these elections (and this time successful coalition talks with Prime Minister Balkenende), Bos became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
Ministry of Finance (Netherlands)
The Ministry of Finance is the Dutch ministry of finance: it is occupied with the national budget, taxation and financial economic policy, including supervision of financial markets...
in the Fourth Balkenende cabinet
Fourth Balkenende cabinet
The fourth Balkenende cabinet or Balkenende IV is the previous Dutch coalition cabinet formed by the political parties Christian Democratic Appeal , Labour Party , and ChristianUnion . The cabinet succeeded the third Balkenende cabinet following the 2006 election, and was installed by Queen Beatrix...
, thereby breaking a campaign promise to only join a cabinet when he could hold the office of Prime Minister.
As part of the leadership of the PvdA he revoked his confidence in fellow party member Ella Vogelaar
Ella Vogelaar
Drs. Catharina Pieternella Vogelaar was minister of Integration and Housing in the Fourth cabinet Balkenende for the PvdA from February 22, 2007 to November 13, 2008...
as Minister of Integration and Housing. She subsequently resigned her post on 13 November 2008. The Dutch parliamentary press chose him as politician of the year 2008, largely due to his crisis management of 2008/2009 world financial crisis that included nationalization
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
of the Fortis bank.
Personal life
In December 2002 Bos married Barbara Bos (the surname is a coincidence). The master of ceremonies of his marriage was Joop WijnJoop Wijn
Joannes Gerardus Wijn was Minister of Economic Affairs in the third Balkenende cabinet of the Netherlands....
, the former State Secretary of finance for the CDA. Wouter and Barbara Bos have two daughters, Iris Jessie (5 February 2004) and Julia Roos (3 January 2006) and a son Joppe (18 April 2009)