Ferdinand Grapperhaus

Ferdinand Grapperhaus
Born	Ferdinand Bernhard Joseph Grapperhaus (1959-11-08) November 8, 1959 Amsterdam, Netherlands
Occupation(s)	Politician, jurist, professor
Years active	1984–present
Known for	Minister of Justice and Security (2017–2022)

Ferdinand Bernhard Joseph "Ferd" Grapperhaus (born 8 November 1959) is a Dutch political figure who held the position of Minister of Justice and Security in the Third Rutte cabinet from 26 October 2017 until 10 January 2022. He is affiliated with the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA).

Family and education

Grapperhaus was born in Amsterdam as the eldest child of Ferd Grapperhaus, who served as State Secretary for Finance between 1967 and 1971. He completed his secondary education at Aloysius College in The Hague from 1971 to 1977. Subsequently, he pursued studies in Dutch law at the University of Amsterdam, where he obtained a LLM degree specializing in constitutional law in 1984. In 1995, he earned a PhD in labour law from the same institution, under the guidance of Paul F. van der Heijden.

Professional life

Professionally trained as a jurist, Grapperhaus began his legal career at Schut & Grosheide, practicing there from 1984 until 1998. He then became a partner at Loeff Claeys Verbeke. Following a merger in 1999 between part of Loeff Claeys Verbeke and Allen & Overy, he assumed partnership at its Amsterdam office, eventually serving as managing partner from February 2015 to September 2017. Since January 2005, he has held an extraordinary professor position in European labour law at Maastricht University. In February 2023, Grapperhaus took on the role of head of legal affairs at Deloitte Legal, the legal arm of consultancy company Deloitte, succeeding Frederieke Leeflang. Additionally, from June 2023 onward, he holds a full professorship titled "Rule of Law, Society and Legal Practice" at Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Politics

Between April 2006 and May 2015, Grapperhaus was a member of the Social and Economic Council. Following the 2017 Dutch general election, he was appointed as Minister of Justice and Security within the Third Rutte cabinet, relinquishing his academic post upon assuming office on 26 October 2017. During his ministerial tenure, the department's name was altered from "Ministry of Security and Justice" to "Ministry of Justice and Security," a change that incurred expenses amounting to €2 million.

Controversy

After parliamentary inquiries prompted by the Argos documentary titled 'Shards of glass and dark rituals,' Grapperhaus declared on 27 August 2020 that an independent investigation into ritual abuse involving children in The Netherlands would not proceed. This stance faced opposition from political parties including Green Left, Socialist Party, and Labour Party. On that same day, media outlets revealed that Grapperhaus had breached COVID-19 social distancing regulations during his wedding; he issued an apology and paid a €390 penalty. In June 2021, amid rising COVID-19 infections reaching daily counts near 10,000, he performed a song on Dutch television that downplayed mask usage. Subsequently, on 13 October 2020, the House of Representatives passed a motion initiated by PvdA, GL, and SP mandating an independent inquiry into organized sadistic child abuse, overriding Grapperhaus' earlier refusal.

Electoral history

Electoral history of Ferdinand Grapperhaus

Year	Body	Party		Pos.	Votes	Result		Ref.
						Party seats	Individual
2021	House of Representatives		Christian Democratic Appeal	50	1,502	15	Template:No2

External links

Official

• Mr.Dr. F.B.J. (Ferdinand) Grapperhaus Parlement & Politiek

|-