Thom de Graaf
Thom de Graaf was born on the 11th of June 1957 in Amsterdam. He is a member of the Dutch Senate for the Democrats 66 Party (D66) since 2011. Since 2012 he is the chairman of the The Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences.
Political career
Between 1978 and 1981 he was a part-time research assistant at the Centre for Parliamentary History in Nijmegen. From 1981 to 1985 he was a scientific employee at the department of constitutional law at the University of Nijmegen. From 1985 to 1994 he held various different functions at the Ministry of the Interior. Between 1990 and 1994 he was a member of the city council of Leiden for D66. Between 1994 and 2003 he was a member of the House of Representatives for D66. Moreover, between 1997 and 2003 he was the chairman of the D66-fraction in the House of Representatives. Between 2003 and 2005 he was minister without portfolio and Deputy Prime Minister. In 2006 and 2007 he was an advisor for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Between 2007 and 2012 he was the mayor of Nijmegen.
Education
De Graaf studied law at the University of Nijmegen from 1976 to 1981.
Interesting facts
In 2005, de Graaf became an Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau. This order is a chivalric order open to everyone who has earned special merits for society. In the same year he became an honarary member of the D66 party.
