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Bolkestein in 1999

European Commissioner
In office 16 September 1999 – 22 November 2004
President	Romano Prodi
Preceded by	Mario Monti as European Commissioner for Internal Market
Succeeded by	Charlie McCreevy as European Commissioner for Internal Market
President of the Liberal International
In office 15 April 1996 – 18 April 2000
Preceded by	Sir David Steel
Succeeded by	Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck
Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
In office 30 April 1990 – 30 July 1998
Deputy	See list Loek Hermans (1990) Hans Dijkstal (1990–1998) Benk Korthals (1994–1998) Annemarie Jorritsma (1998) Gerrit Zalm (1998)
Preceded by	Joris Voorhoeve
Succeeded by	Hans Dijkstal
Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy in the House of Representatives
In office 30 April 1990 – 30 July 1998
Preceded by	Joris Voorhoeve
Succeeded by	Hans Dijkstal
Minister of Defence
In office 24 September 1988 – 7 November 1989
Prime Minister	Ruud Lubbers
Preceded by	Piet Bukman (ad interim)
Succeeded by	Relus ter Beek
State Secretary for Economic Affairs
In office 5 November 1982 – 14 July 1986 Serving with Piet van Zeil
Prime Minister	Ruud Lubbers
Preceded by	Wim Dik
Succeeded by	Enneüs Heerma
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 14 September 1989 – 21 September 1999
In office 3 June 1986 – 24 September 1988
In office 16 January 1978 – 5 November 1982
Parliamentary group	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy

Personal details
Born	Frederik Bolkestein (1933-04-04)4 April 1933 Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died	17 February 2025(2025-02-17) (aged 91) Laren, Netherlands
Political party	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (since 1975)
Relatives	Gerrit Bolkestein (grandfather)
Alma mater	University of Amsterdam (BSc, MA) London School of Economics (MSc) Leiden University (LLM)
Occupation	Politician Energy executive Nonprofit director Political commentator Lobbyist

Frederik "Frits" Bolkestein ( 4 April 1933 – 17 February 2025) was a Dutch politician and energy executive who served as Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) from 1990 to 1998 and European Commissioner for Internal Market from 1999 until 2004 under Romano Prodi.

Bolkestein worked as a corporate director for Royal Dutch Shell from May 1960 until July 1976 and as a manager for an engineering company in Amsterdam from September 1976 until January 1978. Bolkestein became a member of the House of Representatives shortly after election of 1977 taking office on 16 January 1978 serving as a frontbencher and spokesman for Economic Affairs. After the election of 1982 Bolkestein was appointed State Secretary for Economic Affairs in the Cabinet Lubbers I taking office on 5 November 1982. After the election of 1986 Bolkestein was not offered a cabinet post in the new cabinet and returned to the House of Representatives on 3 June 1986 serving as a frontbencher and spokesman for Foreign Affairs and International trade. Bolkestein was appointed Minister of Defence in the Cabinet Lubbers II following a cabinet reshuffle taking office on 24 September 1988. After the election of 1989 Bolkestein again returned to the House of Representatives on 14 September 1989. Shortly after the election, party leader and parliamentary leader Joris Voorhoeve announced he was stepping down and Bolkestein announced his candidacy to succeed and was selected as his successor on 30 April 1990.

For the election of 1994, Bolkestein served as lijsttrekker (top candidate) and following a successful cabinet formation with Labour Leader Wim Kok and fellow Liberal Leader Hans van Mierlo formed the Cabinet Kok I with Bolkestein opting to remain as Parliamentary leader. Bolkestein also served as President of the Liberal International from 15 April 1996 until 18 April 2000. For the election of 1998 Bolkestein again served as lijsttrekker (top candidate) but shortly thereafter announced that he was stepping down on 30 July 1998 but continued to serve in the House of Representatives as a backbencher. In August 1999 Bolkestein was nominated as the next European Commissioner in the Prodi Commission, and was given the heavy portfolios of Internal Market and Services and Taxation and Customs serving from 16 September 1999 until 22 November 2004.

Early life and career
Politics and later life
Bolkestein Directive
Honours
Published books
See also

Early life and career

Frederik Bolkestein was born on 4 April 1933 in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. His father was president of the Court in Amsterdam. His grandfather, Gerrit Bolkestein, was Minister of Education, Arts, and Sciences to the Dutch government-in-exile of 1939 to 1945. Bolkestein's mother was born in the Dutch East Indies to Dutch parents.

Bolkestein attended the Barlaeus Gymnasium in Amsterdam from 1945 to 1951, where he majored in both arts and sciences. Upon completing his gymnasium education, he was an undergraduate in mathematics at Oregon State College from 1951 to 1953. Subsequently, he went to the University of Amsterdam, where he received a BSc degree in mathematics and physics in 1955. In 1959, he received a MA degree in philosophy and Greek from the same university. Bolkestein went on to earn a BSc degree from The London School of Economics in 1963, and an LLM degree from Leiden University in 1965.

During his studies in Amsterdam, Bolkestein was editor for the satirical student magazine Propria Cures. He was also a member of the board of the student union ASVA.

Before entering Dutch politics, Bolkestein worked for the oil company Royal Dutch Shell from 1960 to 1975. During this period he was assigned to postings in East Africa, Honduras and El Salvador, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, and France. In Paris, he served on the board of the Shell Chimie from 1973 to 1975. During his tenure with Shell, he completed the first part of the economics program at the London School of Economics in 1964 and he also completed a law degree at Leiden University, graduating in 1965.

In 1976, Bolkestein wrote an English language play named Floris, Count of Holland, under the anagrammatic pseudonym of Niels Kobet.

Politics and later life

Member of the House of Representatives Frits Bolkestein during a debate on the 1980s oil glut in the House of Representatives on 26 June 1980.

Bolkestein left Shell in 1976 and became a member of parliament for the VVD. From 1982 to 1986, he served as Minister of International Trade. After joining the parliament again, he was Minister of Defence from 1988 to 1989. In 1990, he was elected Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy of the VVD, a position he held until 1998. Between 1978 and 1999, when he became European Commissioner, he was member of parliament for 17 years.

During the 1990s, he was very successful as the political frontman of the VVD. As an opinion leader, he was known for his daring and controversial positions on such issues as multicultural problems in Dutch society, political dualism between government and parliament, and the structure and expansion of the European Union. From 1990 to 1994 he was the parliamentary opposition leader and continued his outspoken and independent style when his party was part of the government from 1994. During the provincial elections of 1995, his criticism of Dutch immigration policies made his party the largest of the country.

In 1996, his political integrity came under heavy criticism, because it was revealed he had written a letter to Health Minister Els Borst, in which he asked her to help a pharmaceutical company, on whose board of commissioners Bolkestein sat. The incident was known as the "Dear Els"-incident, because the letter was addressed to Borst personally.

He was president of the Liberal International, the world federation of liberal political parties. As of Autumn 2004, he was a professor at the Dutch universities of Leiden and Delft. Former Irish finance minister Charlie McCreevy succeeded him as Commissioner for the Internal Market.

He authored a number of books on politics and related subjects. Frits Bolkestein was until his death married to Femke Boersma, a retired Dutch actress. In 2005, his house in northern France had its electricity cut briefly by the local energy company after he criticized French protectionist measures against incoming electricians from Eastern Europe.

In 2010 he was awarded the Prize for Liberty by the Flemish classical-liberal think tank Libera!. Also, he was on the advisory board of OMFIF where he was regularly involved in meetings regarding the financial and monetary system.

Bolkestein died in Laren on 17 February 2025, at the age of 91.

Bolkestein Directive

Named after Frits Bolkestein, the Directive on services in the internal market aims at enabling a company from a given member-state to recruit workers in other European Union countries using the law of its home country. It triggered huge protests in Europe. This directive was voted in the European Parliament in March 2006 and the MEPs proposed amendments to the provisional text. The "principle of origin", which stipulates that workers are employed under the legal arrangements of their own state of residence, was replaced by a new "freedom" principle – freedom to provide services, meaning that administrative obstacles should be removed. The compromise allowed the draft Directive to continue to exist. However, there was a great deal of concern about its effect on social standards and welfare, triggering competition between various parts of Europe. This led to significant protests across Europe against the directive including a notable protest at the European Parliament in Strasbourg by port workers which led to damage to the building. MEPs eventually reached a compromise on the text and the Parliament adopted it on 12 December 2006; 2 years after Bolkestein left office, under the Barroso Commission.

Honours

Netherlands: Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion (26 August 1986)
Netherlands: Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau (20 November 1989)
Portugal: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (14 May 1991)
Honorary doctorate of laws from the University of Bradford (12 December 2003)
Netherlands: Commander of the Order of the Netherlands Lion (18 October 2004)
Germany: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Published books

(1976) Floris, Count of Holland as Niels Kobet
(1982) Modern Liberalism
(1990) De Engel en het Beest
(1992) Woorden hebben hun betekenis
(1994) Islam en Democratie with Mohammed Arkoun
(1995) Het Heft in Handen
(1997) Moslim in de Polder
(1998) Boren in hard Hout
(1998) Onverwerkt Verleden
(2004) De Grenzen van Europa
(2005) Grensverkenningen
(2006) De twee lampen van de staatsman
(2006) Peut-on réformer la France?
(2008) Overmoed en onverstand
(2009) De politiek der dingen
(2011) De goede vreemdeling
(2011) De intellectuele verleiding (The Intellectual Temptation)
(2013) Cassandra tegen wil en dank
(2015) De succesvolle mislukking van Europa, co-edited with Paul Cliteur and Meindert Fennema