Thom de Graaf

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In this Dutch name, the surname is De Graaf, not Graaf.
Thom de Graaf
de Graaf in 2018
Vice-President of the Council of State
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 November 2018
MonarchWillem-Alexander
Preceded byPiet Hein Donner
Parliamentary leader in the Senate
In office
9 June 2015 – 26 June 2018
Preceded byRoger van Boxtel
Succeeded byHans Engels
Parliamentary groupDemocrats 66
Member of the Senate
In office
7 June 2011 – 20 September 2018
Mayor of Nijmegen
In office
8 January 2007 – 1 February 2012
Preceded byGuusje ter Horst
Succeeded byWim Dijkstra (ad interim)
Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
In office
27 May 2003 – 23 March 2005
Serving with Gerrit Zalm
Prime MinisterJan Peter Balkenende
Preceded byJohan Remkes
Roelf de Boer
Succeeded byLaurens Jan Brinkhorst
Minister for Governmental Reform
and Kingdom Relations
In office
27 May 2003 – 23 March 2005
Prime MinisterJan Peter Balkenende
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byAlexander Pechtold
Leader of the Democrats 66
In office
30 May 1998 – 22 January 2003
Preceded byEls Borst
Succeeded byBoris Dittrich
Parliamentary leader in the
House of Representatives
In office
30 May 1998 – 22 January 2003
Preceded byEls Borst
Succeeded byBoris Dittrich
In office
21 November 1997 – 19 May 1998
Preceded byGerrit Jan Wolffensperger [arz; nl]
Succeeded byEls Borst
Parliamentary groupDemocrats 66
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
17 May 1994 – 27 May 2003
Personal details
BornThomas Carolus de Graaf
(1957-06-11) 11 June 1957 (age 68)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
PartyDemocrats 66 (from 1977)
Children2
Parent
Alma materRadboud University Nijmegen
(Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws)
Occupation
WebsiteVice-President of the Council of State (in Dutch)

Thomas Carolus de Graaf (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtoːmɑz də ˈɣraːf];[a] born 11 June 1957)[1] is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist.[2] He has been the Vice-President of the Council of State since 1 November 2018.

Early life and education

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De Graaf was born in Amsterdam in 1957. De Graaf's father, Theo de Graaf, was a Catholic People's Party member of parliament and from 1968 until 1977 mayor of Nijmegen. De Graaf attended the Stedelijk Gymnasium Nijmegen [de; nl] from April 1969 until May 1975 and applied at the Radboud University Nijmegen in June 1975 majoring in Law obtaining a Bachelor of Laws degree in June 1977 and worked as a student researcher before graduating with a Master of Laws degree in July 1981.

De Graaf served on the municipal council of Nijmegen from May 1978 until April 1979. De Graaf worked as a researcher at the Radboud University Nijmegen and the Centrum voor Parlementaire Geschiedenis [nl] from July 1981 until September 1985. De Graaf worked as a civil servant for the Ministry of the Interior from September 1985 until May 1994. He worked at the Department for Law Enforcement from September 1985 until February 1986, as deputy director-general of the Department for Legislative Affairs from February 1986 until August 1988, as deputy director-general of the Department for Legal Affairs from August 1988 until September 1991, and as deputy director-general of the Department for Law Enforcement from September 1991 until May 1994. De Graaf served on the municipal council of Leiden from April 1990 until May 1994.

Political career

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De Graaf was elected to the House of Representatives in 1994 general election, taking office on 17 May 1994. He served as his party's spokesperson for the interior, Kingdom relations, and law enforcement, and as deputy spokesperson for foreign affairs and European affairs. He was also vice-chairman of the parliamentary inquiry committee that looked into the investigative methods used by the Dutch inter-regional police force, leading to the resignation in 1994 of the Minister for Internal Affairs, Ed van Thijn.

After the parliamentary leader of the Democrats 66 in the House of Representatives Gerrit Jan Wolffensperger [arz; nl] announced that he was stepping down following increasing criticism of his leadership, De Graaf was chosen as his successor, taking office on 21 November 1997. In the 1998 general election, the new Leader of the Democrats 66 Els Borst was elected to the House of Representatives and became parliamentary leader, taking office on 19 May 1998. Following the 1998 cabinet formation, Borst opted to remain Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport in the Kok II cabinet and unexpectedly announced that she was stepping down as party leader. De Graaf announced his candidacy to succeed her, and won the leadership election defeating fellow member of parliament Roger van Boxtel. He took office as party leader on 30 May 1998.

For the 2002 general election, De Graaf served as the lead candidate. The Democrats 66 suffered a big loss, falling back from fourteen to seven seats. The party lost another seat in the 2003 general election, and was left with six seats in the House of Representatives. On 22 January 2003, De Graaf announced his resignation as party leader on account of the election defeats, but continued to serve in the House of Representatives, chairing the parliamentary committee for Kingdom Relations. Following the 2003 cabinet formation, De Graaf was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Governmental Reform and Kingdom Relations in the Balkenende II cabinet, taking office on 27 May 2003.[3]

De Graaf resigned on 23 March 2005 after his proposal for the introduction of democratically elected mayors had been rejected in the Senate, with a deciding vote cast by the Labour Party group under the leadership of Ed van Thijn. The proposal was especially important as it had become a symbol of the government reform that D66 had pursued since its founding. Alexander Pechtold succeeded him in the cabinet.

Semi-retirement

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De Graaf semi-retired from active politics and became active in the public sector and occupied numerous seats as a nonprofit director on several supervisory boards (Centrum voor Parlementaire Geschiedenis, Consumentenbond and the Anne Vondeling prize) and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government (Public Pension Funds APB, De Koning Commission, National Committee for 4 and 5 May, Netherlands Film Fund and the Advisory Council for Spatial Planning). De Graaf also worked as a sport administrator for the Royal Dutch Football Association. De Graaf also served as a professor of Ethics for the Royal Marechaussee at the Royal Military Academy from July 2005 until September 2010.

Return

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In December 2006 De Graaf was nominated as mayor of Nijmegen, taking office on 8 January 2007. In January 2012 De Graaf was nominated as chairman of the executive board of the Universities of Applied Sciences association, he resigned as mayor the same day he was installed chairman from serving from 1 February 2012 until 1 November 2018. De Graaf was elected to the Senate in the 2011 Senate election, taking office on 7 June 2011. He served as a chair of the parliamentary committee for Kingdom Relations and spokesperson for the interior, Kingdom relations, European affairs, defence and immigration and asylum affairs. After the 2015 Senate election, De Graaf was chosen as parliamentary leader of the Democrats 66, taking office on 9 June 2015. In June 2018, De Graaf was nominated as Vice-President of the Council of State, he resigned as parliamentary leader on 26 June 2018 and as a member of the Senate on 20 September 2018, and was installed as Vice-President of the Council of State on 1 November 2018. He has announced his resignation from the Council of States effective July 2026.[4]

Decorations

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Honours
Ribbon bar Honour Country Date Comment
Knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Holy See 4 April 2004
Officer of the Order of Oranje-Nassau Netherlands 23 May 2005

Notes

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  1. ^ Thomas in isolation: [ˈtoːmɑs].

References

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  1. ^ Verbond van Nederlandse Ondernemingen; Nederlands Christelijk Werkgeversverbond (1999). VNO NCW forum voor ondernemend Nederland (in Dutch). Verbond van Nederlandse Ondernemingen en Nederlands Christelijk Werkgeversverbond. p. 26. Retrieved 1 November 2024. Thom de Graaf Geboren: Amsterdam, 11 juni 1957
  2. ^ De Kampioen (in Dutch). ANWB BV. May 2002. p. 49. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  3. ^ The 2003 CIA World Factbook: Global Country Profiles and Geopolitical Insights. Good Press. 2019. p. 1865. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  4. ^ "Thom de Graaf stopt volgend jaar als vice-president van de Raad van State" [Thom de Graaf will quit next year as vice president of the Council of State]. NOS (in Dutch). 3 November 2025. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
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