Jaap de Hoop Scheffer

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<tr> <td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">Image:Bush dehoopscheffer.jpg
De Hoop Scheffer meeting George Bush on March 20, 2006</td> </tr><tr style="text-align: center;"> <th colspan="2">11th NATO Secretary General</th> </tr><tr> <th>Preceded by</th><td>George Robertson</td> </tr><tr> <th>Succeeded by</th><td>Incumbent</td> </tr><tr> <th>Political party</th> <td>Christian Democratic Appeal</td> </tr><tr> <th colspan="2">Website:www.nato.int</th> </tr>

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
Born	April 3, 1948 Amsterdam, Netherlands

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (legally Jakob Gijsbert de Hoop Scheffer) (born April 3, 1948) is a Dutch politician who is the 11th NATO Secretary General.

Born in Amsterdam, De Hoop Scheffer studied law at the University of Leiden. After completing military service in the air force, where he became a reserve officer, he worked for the ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1976 to 1986. For the first two years, he was stationed at the Dutch embassy in Ghana. After that, he worked at the Dutch delegation at NATO headquarters in Brussels until 1980.

Although he has been a member of the D'66 party, he became a member of the Christen-Democratisch Appèl (CDA) in 1982. At the elections of 1986, he was chosen in the Second Chamber of parliament. He was a spokesman on foreign affairs for his party. Between 1997 and 2001, he was the leader of the CDA delegation in the Second Chamber, at a time when the CDA was in opposition. This made him the party leader.

When the list of candidates for the 2002 elections was chosen, his position as the party leader of the CDA became uncertain. After a power struggle with the party chairman Van Rij, De Hoop Scheffer resigned as party leader. Jan Peter Balkenende succeeded him, and had the top spot on the CDA list of candidates in the elections on May 15, 2002.

In those elections, the CDA was the winner, and received the leading role in the formation of a new government. The new prime minister Balkenende appointed De Hoop Scheffer as foreign minister in his short-lived first cabinet, a position he retained in the second Balkenende cabinet after the elections of January 22, 2003.

In 2003, the foreign policy of the Netherlands, which was determined in a large part by De Hoop Scheffer and Balkenende, was characterized by its approval of Operation Iraqi Freedom, although its formulation ("political" but not "military" support) gave it an ambivalent character.

He became the 11th NATO Secretary General on January 5, 2004, succeeding Lord Robertson, who held the post from 1999 until 2003. The announcement was made on September 22, 2003.<ref>New Secretary General takes up office. NATO (January 7, 2004).</ref>

In 2003, as the Foreign Minister of Netherlands, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer was the Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

He is said to speak fluent Dutch, English, German and French. ^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Biography - NATO website
Appointment as Secretary General - NATO announcement
Profile of Jaap de Hoop Scheffer - by journalist Robert van de Roer, NATO website

[edit] Gallery

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (right) and Jan Peter Balkenende

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (left) and Colin Powell

Preceded by: Enneüs Heerma	CDA Lower House Faction leader 1997–2002	Succeeded by: Jan Peter Balkenende
Preceded by: Jozias van Aartsen	Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs 2002–2003	Succeeded by: Bernard Bot
Preceded by: Lord Robertson	Secretary General of NATO 2004–	Succeeded by: –