Jaap de Hoop Scheffer Facts for Kids

In this article, the family name is de Hoop Scheffer, not Scheffer.

Quick facts for kids His Excellency Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
De Hoop Scheffer in 2005

11th Secretary General of NATO
In office 1 January 2004 – 1 August 2009
Preceded by	Alessandro Minuto-Rizzo (acting)
Succeeded by	Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 22 July 2002 – 3 December 2003
Prime Minister	Jan Peter Balkenende
Preceded by	Jozias van Aartsen
Succeeded by	Ben Bot
Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal
In office 27 March 1997 – 1 October 2001
Preceded by	Enneüs Heerma
Succeeded by	Jan Peter Balkenende
Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal in the House of Representatives
In office 27 March 1997 – 1 October 2001
Preceded by	Enneüs Heerma
Succeeded by	Jan Peter Balkenende
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 3 June 1986 – 23 May 2002

Personal details
Born	Jakob Gijsbert de Hoop Scheffer (1948-04-03) 3 April 1948 (age 77) Amsterdam, Netherlands
Political party	Christian Democratic Appeal (since 1982)
Other political affiliations	Democrats 66 (1979–1982)
Spouse	Jeannine van Oorschot (m. 1979)
Children	2 daughters
Residence	The Hague
Alma mater	Leiden University (LL.B., LL.M.)
Occupation	Politician diplomat civil servant jurist corporate director nonprofit director lobbyist professor
Military service
Allegiance	Netherlands
Branch/service	Royal Netherlands Air Force
Years of service	1974–1976 (Conscription) 1976–1978 (Reserve)
Rank	Second lieutenant
Battles/wars	Cold War

Jakob Gijsbert "Jaap" de Hoop Scheffer (born 3 April 1948) is a Dutch politician and diplomat. He is known for serving as the eleventh Secretary General of NATO from 2004 to 2009. Before that, he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Netherlands.

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer was a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) political party. He even led the party from 1997 to 2001. He has had a long career helping his country and working with other nations.

Early Life and Education
Political Career
After Politics
Honours and Awards
Images for kids
See also

Early Life and Education

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer grew up in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He went to Ignatius Gymnasium for his high school education. After that, he studied Law at Leiden University. He earned both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Law.

After university, he joined the Royal Netherlands Air Force. He served as a Second Lieutenant from 1974 to 1976. Later, he worked as a civil servant and diplomat. He worked for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His work took him to places like Accra, Ghana, and Brussels, Belgium. In Brussels, he worked with the NATO delegation.

Political Career

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer started his political journey with the Democrats 66 party. Later, he joined the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party in 1982.

Member of Parliament

In 1986, he was elected to the House of Representatives. This is like the main parliament in the Netherlands. He worked on important topics like foreign affairs and European relations. He was a spokesperson for these areas.

Leading the Christian Democratic Appeal Party

In 1997, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer became the leader of the CDA party. He also became the leader of the party in the House of Representatives. He led the party during the 1998 general election. In 2001, he decided to step down as leader.

Dutch Foreign Minister

The CDA party won the 2002 general elections. Jan Peter Balkenende became the new Prime Minister. He chose Jaap de Hoop Scheffer to be the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He continued in this role after the 2003 elections.

As Foreign Minister, he helped shape the Netherlands' foreign policy. The Netherlands also sent about 1,100 servicemen to Iraq as part of a stabilization force. This force helped keep peace in a southern province from 2003 to 2005. In 2003, he also chaired the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Secretary General of NATO

In 2004, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer became the 11th Secretary General of NATO. NATO stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It is a group of countries that work together for peace and security. He encouraged NATO members to help more with operations, like the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

He often spoke about the importance of NATO's role in global security. He also visited different countries to discuss international cooperation. For example, in 2007, he visited Montreal to talk about Canada's mission in Afghanistan. He emphasized that their presence was for a good cause.

He served as Secretary General until August 2009.

After Politics

After leaving his role at NATO, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer retired from active politics. He started working in other areas. From 2009 to 2014, he was a professor at Leiden University. He taught about international relations and diplomacy.

He also serves on various boards and councils. He continues to speak about the importance of European integration and good relations between Europe and North America. In 2018, he received the honorary title of Minister of State. As of 2025, he still shares his thoughts on political matters as a respected statesman.

Honours and Awards

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has received many awards for his service. These include:

Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands, 2002)
Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands, 2003)
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands, 2009)
Member 1st Class of the Order of the Balkan Mountains (Bulgaria, 2009)
Recipient of the Grand Order of King Tomislav (Croatia, 2009)
Member 1st Class of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana (Estonia, 2009)
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy, 2009)
Grand Officer of the Order of the Three Stars (Latvia, 2004)
Grand Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great (Lithuania, 2009)
Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (Poland, 2009)
Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Romania (Romania, 2004)
Member 1st Class of the Order of the White Double Cross (Slovakia, 2009)
Recipient of the Order for Exceptional Merits (Slovenia, 2009)
Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (United Kingdom, 2010)