News

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer new Chairman of Clingendael Institute
28 Sep 2022 - 09:15
Source: Clingendael General Director Monika Sie Dhian Ho with incoming chairman of the Supervisory Board Jaap de Hoop Scheffer

Today, during Clingendaels annual State of the Union conference, it was announced that Jaap de Hoop Scheffer takes office as the new chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Clingendael Institute on the 1st of October 2022. De Hoop Scheffer succeeds Tom de Bruijn, who headed the Supervisory Board from March 2019 until July 2021, when he became the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation.

“We warmly welcome our new chairman. Clingendael is a strong international brand, a Netherlands-based research institute and academy navigating a highly dynamic world with pressing security and diplomatic challenges. As former Secretary General of NATO and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer brings decades of experience in the international field and a rich network that match Clingendael’s mission and ambitions”

states Clingendael’s General Director Monika Sie Dhian Ho.  

J.G. (Jaap) de Hoop Scheffer (1948) studied Law at the Leiden University and worked as a civil servant and diplomat for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Diplomatic service between 1976 and 1986. In 1986 De Hoop Scheffer was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives and served as a frontbencher and spokesperson for Foreign and European Affairs. He was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2002. From 2004 until 2009 De Hoop Scheffer was Secretary General of NATO. After his retirement as a politician, De Hoop Scheffer became active in the private and public sectors, served on several state commissions and councils and worked as a distinguished professor of International relations and the Practice of Diplomacy at Leiden University. In 2018, De Hoop Scheffer was granted the title of Minister of State. From 2014 until 2021 De Hoop Scheffer was chairman of the Advisory Council on International Affairs for the Dutch government.

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer looks forward to joining the Supervisory Board: “In a world full of geopolitical turbulence and war on the European continent, Clingendael’s cast iron reputation is a guarantee for in-depth research, analysis and public comment on the shifting panels. Topical issues like the US-China relationship and its consequences for the EU, climate change, migration and the consequences for international security will need our full attention. The same goes for nuclear non-proliferation and the relationship between Europe and Africa, to name just a few.”

Clingendael cordially thanks Yvonne Zonderop, who acted as interim Chair last year, and who will remain a member of the Supervisory Board.   

Clingendael’s annual State of the Union conference reflects on the medium and long-term consequences of the war for the European Union and its Member States, the EU’s neighbourhood, NATO, and the future of the United States’ engagement in European security with a stellar line-up of speakers. Follow it here:

Clingendael - the Netherlands Institute of International Relations - is an independent think tank and academy on international affairs which aims to contribute to a secure, sustainable and just world.