Spouse Linda Kamp (m. 1975) | Name Henk Kamp | |
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Similar People Lodewijk Asscher, Bert Koenders, Edith Schippers, Ard van der Steur, Jeroen Dijsselbloem | ||
Dutch defence minister meets Karzai
Henricus Gregorius Jozeph "Henk" Kamp ( [ɦɛnˈrikəs xreːˈɣoːriəs ˈjoːzəf ɦɛŋk kɑmp]; born 23 July 1952) is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). He is the Minister of Economic Affairs in the Cabinet Rutte II since 5 November 2012.
Contents
- Dutch defence minister meets Karzai
- Henk K amp Lodewijk Asscher in Pauw Witteman 05 04 2012
- Early life
- Politics
- References
Kamp previously served as a Member of the House of Representatives from 17 May 1994 until 22 July 2002 when he became Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in the Cabinet Balkenende I. Kamp became acting Minister of Defence following the resignation of Benk Korthals on 12 December 2002 and remained as Minister of Defence in the successive Cabinets Balkenende II and III. He was succeeded as Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment on 27 May 2003 by Sybilla Dekker at the inauguration of the Cabinet Balkenende II. After the Dutch general election of 2006 the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy became an opposition party and Kamp returned to the House of Representatives on 30 November 2006. He stepped down as a Member of the House of Representatives on 18 December 2008 after he was named as Commissioner for the Netherlands Antilles to supervise the dissolution of the Islands, he took office on 1 January 2009 and left 10 October 2010 the day the Netherlands Antilles was officially dissolved. Following the Dutch general election of 2010 the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy became the largest party in the House of Representatives and after the cabinet formation the Cabinet Rutte I was formed with Kamp becoming Minister of Social Affairs and Employment on 14 October 2010. After the Dutch general election of 2012 the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy remained the largest party in the House of Representatives and Kamp was asked to make preparations for a new cabinet formation, Kamp and former Leader of the Labour Party Wouter Bos became informateurs for the Cabinet Rutte II and Kamp became Minister of Economic Affairs and took office on 5 November 2012.
Henk K amp & Lodewijk Asscher in Pauw & Witteman (05-04-2012)
Early life
Henricus Gregorius Jozeph Kamp was born on 23 July 1952 in Hengelo in the Netherlands Province of Overijssel in a Roman Catholic family. He left the Roman Catholic faith years later and became a Humanist. After completing his HAVO diploma he worked at two wholesalers in Enschede, Borculo and Tilburg until 1977. From 1977 to 1980 he attended the auditors training at the Tax Training in Utrecht. He worked as an investigator for the Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD) until 1986.
Politics
From 1976 to 1994 he was a member of the municipal council in Borculo. From 1986 he was in also alderman in Borculo. From 1987 to 1994 he was a member of the Provincial Council of Gelderland. He became a Member of the House of Representatives on 17 May 1994. On 22 July 2002, Kamp became Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment. He was Minister of Defence from December 12, 2002 till 22 February 2007. After early elections where held as a result of parliamentary agreements following the formation of the minority cabinet Balkenende III. As part of his "farewell tour" as Minister of Defence, Henk Kamp visited the Dutch troops in Afghanistan and paid his respects to president Hamid Karzai. President Karzai awarded Henk Kamp the High State Medal of Ghazi Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan. Kamp left the House of Representatives on 1 January 2009 to head the transformation of Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius to special municipalities within the Netherlands.
On 13 September 2012, the day after the parliamentary elections, Kamp was asked to prepare for the formation of a new cabinet and had exploratory conversations with several parties. Already on that very day the Parliamentary leaders in the House of Representatives met with the President of the House of Representatives Gerdi Verbeet. His opinion after the talks was to start a formation on a coalition with the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and the Labour Party with himself and former Leader of the Labour Party Wouter Bos as informateurs. The formation resulted in the forming of the Cabinet Rutte II and Kamp became Minister of Economic Affairs and took office on 5 November 2012. After the resignation of Minister of Security and Justice Ivo Opstelten on 10 March 2015, Kamp became the senior member of the Council of Ministers and the third highest-ranking member after Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Deputy Prime Minister Lodewijk Asscher.
Early February 2016 Kamp announced his retirement from national politics as of the 2017 elections.