Frederik "Frits" Bolkestein ( ) (born 4 April 1933) is a Dutch politician and former European Commissioner.

He was the leader of the market liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy. In the European Commission, Bolkestein was responsible for Internal Market, Taxation and Customs Union issues. Some of the more politically sensitive items in his portfolio were the draft Community Patent regulation and the draft Directives on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions and services in the internal market, the so-called "Bolkestein Directive", which has become the focus of heated debate.

Early life and career

Frederik Bolkestein, commonly known as Frits Bolkestein, was born on 4 April 1933 in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. His father was president of the Court in Amsterdam. His grandfather, Gerrit Bolkestein, was Minister of Education, Arts, and Sciences from 1939 to 1945. Bolkesteins mother was of Indo heritage which by some is mentioned as reason for his anti-Turkish and anti-Islametic Displacedness.

Bolkestein attended the Barlaeus Gymnasium in Amsterdam from 1945 to 1951, where he majored in both arts and sciences. Upon completing his gymnasium education, he was an undergraduate in mathematics at Oregon State College from 1951 to 1953. Subsequently he returned to Amsterdam, where he received a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics in 1955. In 1959 he received a master's degree in philosophy and Greek. Bolkestein subsequently received a B.Sc. from The London School of Economics in 1963, and an LL.M. from Leiden University in 1965.

During his studies in Amsterdam, Bolkestein was editor for the satirical student magazine Propria Cures. He was also a member of the board of the student union ASVA.

Before entering Dutch politics, Bolkestein worked for the oil company Royal Dutch Shell from 1960 to 1975. During this period he was assigned to postings in East Africa, Honduras and El Salvador, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, and France. In Paris, he served on the board of the Shell Chimie from 1973 to 1975. During his tenure with Shell, he completed the first part of the economics program at the London School of Economics in 1964 and he also completed a law degree at Leiden University, graduating in 1965.

In 1976, Bolkestein wrote an English language play named Floris, Count of Holland, under the anagram pseudonym of Niels Kobet.

Politics

Bolkestein left Shell in 1978 and became a member of parliament for the VVD. From 1982-1986, he served as Minister of International Trade. After joining the parliament again, he was Minister of Defence from 1988-1989. In 1990 he was elected party leader of the VVD, a position he held until 1998. Between 1978 and 1999, when he became European Commissioner, he was member of parliament for 17 years.

During the 1990s, he was very successful as the political frontman of the VVD. As an opinion leader, he was known for his daring and controversial positions on such issues as multicultural problems in Dutch society, political dualism between government and parliament, and the structure and expansion of the European Union. From 1990-1994 he was the parliamentary opposition leader and continued his outspoken and independent style when his party was part of the government from 1994. During the regional elections of 1995, his criticism of Dutch immigration policies made his party the largest of the country.

In 1996, his political integrity came under heavy criticism, because it was revealed he had written a letter to the Minister of Health Els Borst, in which he asked her to help a pharmaceutical company, of which Bolkestein was member of the board of commissioners. The incident was known as the "Dear Els"-incident, because the letter was addressed to Borst personally.

He was president of the Liberal International, the world federation of liberal political parties. Since Autumn 2004, he has been a professor at the Dutch universities of Leiden and Delft. Former Irish finance minister Charlie McCreevy succeeded him as Commissioner for the Internal Market.

He is also preparing a book on the influence of intellectuals on political life.

He authored a number of books on politics and related subjects. Frits Bolkestein is married to Femke Boersma, a retired Dutch actress. In 2005, his house in Northern France had its electricity cut briefly by the local energy company after he criticized French protectionist measures against incoming electricians from Eastern Europe.

Bolkestein Directive

Named after Frits Bolkestein, the Directive on services in the internal market aims at enabling a company from a given member-state to recruit workers in other European Union countries using the law of its home country. It triggered huge protests in Europe. This directive was voted in the European Parliament in March 2006 and the MEPs proposed amendments to the provisional text. The "principle of origin", which stipulates that workers are employed under the legal arrangements of their own state of residence, was replaced by a new "freedom" principle - freedom to provide services, meaning that administrative obstacles should be removed. The compromise allowed the draft Directive to continue to exist.

Controversies

In 2001, Bolkestein responded to the question raised by European MPs (MEP) Harlem Désir, Glyn Ford and Francis Wurtz, who asked the Commission to investigate the accusations brought forward by Révélation$, a book written by investigative journalist Denis Robert and former Clearstream member Ernest Backes, and to ensure that the 10 June 1990 directive (91/308 CE) on control of financial establishment be applied in all member states in an effective way. Commissioner Frits Bolkestein applied that "the Commission has no reason to date to believe that the Luxembourg authorities do not apply it vigorously". (sic) The three MPs henceforth published a press statement asking the opening of an investigation by the European Union about the correct application of the 10 June 1990 directive.

On 26 April 2006, daily 20 Minutes revealed that "in May 2005, MEP Paul van Buitenen was shocked by Frits Bolkestein's presence in Menatep's international consultative council [the bank owned by Mikhail Khodorkovsky ], a sulfurous Russian banking establishment, and by his work for Shell, British-Dutch petrol company. Two firms 'detaining secret accounts in Clearstream' ... Van Buitenen, also Dutch, then asked for 'clarification' to the European Commission and the opening of a parliamentary investigation. The Commission's president, José Manuel Barroso, answered that these facts "don't bring up any new question" and that it is not known "if Menatep took contact with Bolkestein while he was in his functions". No investigation thereby took place." The free daily underlines that "in 2001, it was Bolkestein himself that announced the Commission's refusal to open up a parliamentary investigation on Clearstream", following MEP Harlem Désir's requests and accusations that Menatep had an "undeclared account" at Clearstream. Bolkestein refused to answer any questions by the newspaper.

Published books

• Floris, Count of Holland (1976), as Niels Kobet
• Modern Liberalism (1982)
• De Engel en het Beest (1990)
• Woorden hebben hun betekenis (1992)
• Islam en Democratie (1994), with Mohammed Arkoun
• Het Heft in Handen (1995)
• Boren in hard Hout (1998)
• Onverwerkt Verleden (1998)
• Moslim in de Polder (1997)
• De Grenzen van Europa (2004)
• Grensverkenningen (2005)
• De twee lampen van de staatsman (2006)
• Peut-on réformer la France? (2006)

References

1. Dutch: De Groene Amsterdammer: De politieke roots van Geert Wilders
2. http://www.parlement.com/9291000/biof/02604
3. http://www.computerweekly.com/Article132681.htm
4. Harlem Désir's official website (European MPs Harlem Désir, Glyn Ford and Francis Wurtz press statement about the $1.5 trillion math error & Denis Robert and Ernest Backes' book "Revelation$" and a 9 May 2001 op-ed in Le Monde titled "Les 'boîtes noires' de la mondialisation financière" ("The black box of financial globalization") by Bernard Bertossa, attorney general in Geneva, Benoît Dejemeppe, king's attorney in Brussels (procureur du roi, procureur des konings), Eva Joly, investigative magistrate in Paris, Jean de Maillard, magistrate in Blois and Renaud van Ruymbeke, judge in Paris)
5. /

External links

• Frits Bolkestein (official website)
• Frits Bolkestein at the European Commission
• Frits Bolkestein at Leiden University