Neelie Kroes
Neelie Kroes | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 19, 1941 Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| Occupation(s) | Politician, business executive |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Known for | European Commissioner, Dutch Minister of Transport and Water Management |
Neelie Kroes (; born 19 July 1941) is a former Dutch politician affiliated with the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and a business executive who held the position of European Commissioner from 22 November 2004 until 1 November 2014.
Kroes completed her Master of Economics degree at the Rotterdam School of Economics. She began her career as a researcher at her university between 1963 and 1968, followed by roles as a corporate director at a transport firm in Delft (1968–1971) and at the Rotterdam chamber of commerce (1969–1971). Her political journey started in 1971 when she became a Member of the House of Representatives, concentrating on Transport and Education issues. After the 1977 elections, she was appointed State Secretary for Transport and Water Management in the Van Agt–Wiegel Cabinet. She returned to parliament after the 1981 elections but soon took office as Minister of Transport and Water Management in the Cabinet Lubbers I from 1982, continuing through Cabinet Lubbers II after 1986. Kroes announced her retirement from political office in 1989.
Following her political career, Kroes transitioned into both private and public sectors, assuming various corporate and nonprofit directorships and participating in government advisory bodies. Between 1991 and 2000, she served as Rector Magnificus at Nyenrode Business University. In 2004, she was appointed European Commissioner for Competition within the First Barroso Commission and was reappointed in 2009 to oversee the Digital Agenda portfolio as Vice-President during the Second Barroso Commission until 2014.
Upon leaving politics at age 73, Kroes resumed leadership roles in corporate and nonprofit organizations while acting as an economic envoy. She is a prominent supporter of startups and entrepreneurship, noted as the first female Dutch Minister of Transport—a role predominantly held by women since her tenure began in 1982, except during two cabinet intervals.
Career before politics
Born on 19 July 1941 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Neelie Kroes is the daughter of the owner of Zwatra, a transport company.
She attended Protestant educational institutions in Rotterdam before studying economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam. In 1961, Kroes served as praeses of R.V.S.V., Rotterdam’s largest sorority, and was a member of the University Council. After obtaining her Bachelor of Economics and Master of Economics degrees in 1965, she worked as a research fellow within the university’s economics faculty. During this period, she was active in the VVD women's group and joined the board of her father’s heavy transport business, ZwaTra.
Local and national politics
Neelie Kroes began her political career as a VVD member elected to Rotterdam’s city council in 1970.
In 1971, she secured a seat in the House of Representatives, where she acted as spokesperson for education until 1977. Subsequently, she was appointed State Secretary for Transport, Public Works and Water Management in the First Van Agt Cabinet, responsible for Postal and Telephone Services alongside Transport oversight. After briefly returning to parliament during VVD’s opposition period following the 1981 election, she became Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management in both the First and Second Lubbers Cabinets from 1982 to 1989. Her ministerial duties included overseeing the privatization of Postgiro (Postbank), Post and Telephone Services, Harbour Pilotage operations, and initiating construction of the Betuwe Railway.
In 1988, Kroes declined an offer to serve as Minister of Defence.
Her time as minister was marked by controversy linked to the TCR affair involving unauthorized warship sales and connections with TCR, a tank cleaning company that received illicit government subsidies.
After National Politics
Once her ministerial tenure concluded, Kroes spent two years providing counsel to European Commissioner for Transport Karel van Miert. She became involved with the Rotterdam Chamber of Commerce and occupied board roles at various organizations, including Ballast Nedam (shipping industry), ABP-PGGM Capital Holdings N.V. (a pension fund partnership), NIB, McDonald's Netherlands, Nedlloyd, and Nederlandse Spoorwegen (the Dutch railway company).
In 1991, Kroes was appointed chair of Nyenrode Business Universiteit, a private institution focused on business education. Additionally, she contributed to the Advisory Board of the VVD's Prof.Mr. B.M. Teldersstichting.
From 1993 until 2001, it has been reported that Kroes sought guidance from astrologers and clairvoyants for both personal and professional matters. Up to 2004, she operated an office within the castle owned by Jan-Dirk Paarlberg, a real estate entrepreneur later convicted of money laundering and extortion, who maintained long-term connections with one of her advisors.
Her leadership extended into cultural and social sectors where she chaired organizations such as Poets of all Nations and Delta Psychiatric Hospital, and served on the board of the Rembrandt House Museum. She also held board memberships at Nedlloyd and Lucent Technologies.
Commissioner for Competition
Kroes was appointed European Commissioner for Competition in 2004, a role during which she encountered scrutiny concerning alleged business affiliations and contentious arms transactions. To uphold impartiality, Commissioner Charles McCreevy took over responsibilities in matters involving industries where she had previous board involvement.
During her time as Nyenrode chairperson, Kroes awarded an honorary doctorate to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in 1996. Later, in her capacity overseeing competition policy, she administered sanctions against Microsoft in the significant European Union Microsoft competition case, which included a €497 million penalty and required Microsoft to disclose interoperability documentation.
Between 2005 and 2012, Kroes regularly participated in annual Bilderberg Group meetings.
In 2009, she moved to the position of European Commissioner for ICT and Telecom and was designated vice-president of the European Commission.
Commissioner for Digital Agenda
In 2010, Kroes assumed the role of European Commissioner for Digital Agenda within the second Barroso Commission. The European Commission introduced the Digital Agenda for Europe on 19 May 2010, supported by the EU Digital Competitiveness Report released simultaneously. She is an advocate for Free and Open Source Software initiatives.
Since 2010, she has been a member of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development, which champions broadband technologies as essential catalysts for social progress and economic expansion.
There was speculation in 2010 that she might become prime-minister of the Netherlands amid difficulties forming a cabinet; however, Mark Rutte ultimately took office.
In December 2011, Kroes appointed Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg—who had stepped down as German Minister of Defence due to plagiarism accusations—as an advisor to the European Commission’s No Disconnect Strategy, which promotes Internet freedom.
In November 2012, Kroes attracted global attention when advisers attending the Internet Governance Forum in Baku, Azerbaijan were reportedly targeted by computer hacking.
Later career
Kroes currently heads StartupDelta, a collaborative public-private initiative designed to establish the Netherlands as a leading center for startup companies. During the 2019 European elections, she played a role in supporting Belgium's Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Open VLD), under the leadership of Guy Verhofstadt.
She remains active in numerous paid and voluntary positions spanning both public institutions and private enterprises.
Controversy
In the late 1980s, investigations into environmental violations by chemical waste handlers ended unsuccessfully. While serving as Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, Kroes advocated for subsidies to TCA and TCR despite being aware of their illicit practices, such as blending chemical waste into fuel oil. This led to the TCR scandal, which prompted a 1997 parliamentary inquiry accusing Kroes of facilitating the company through government financial support.
During the mid-1990s, Kroes was implicated in the unsuccessful €1.2 billion transaction involving six Dutch frigates sold to the United Arab Emirates. Acting as chairperson of a consortium including Holland Signaal and Ballast Nedam, she sought to barter frigates for oil supplies. When it was revealed that she leveraged her position to benefit a personal acquaintance, businessman Joop van Caldenborgh, she was dismissed from her post. In 2011, reports disclosed her involvement of Prince Bernhard as a lobbyist, contravening earlier agreements. This controversy linked her with Jordanian investor Amin Badr-El-Din; together they later managed Mint Holdings, which aimed to purchase part of Enron.
Documents leaked in 2016 showed that Kroes served as director of Mint Holdings, a company registered in the Bahamas from 2001 until 2009. EU regulations require commissioners to declare financial interests and forbid holding external directorships during their mandate (2004–2014 in Kroes’ case). She did not disclose this directorship at the time, later describing it as an "oversight" and taking responsibility for the omission.
The 2022 "Uber files" revealed undisclosed meetings between Kroes and Uber executives while she was European Commissioner for Competition and Digital Agenda until November 2014. After leaving office, she utilized her network—including Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte—to support Uber’s efforts to influence regulatory frameworks, breaching the mandatory 18-month cooling-off period following office. She joined Uber’s Public Affairs team in 2016.
Personal life
Kroes was once married to social democratic politician and mayor Bram Peper. She is a close associate of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, known for her critical stance on Islam and having faced a fatwa; Kroes influenced Hirsi Ali’s transition from the social democratic PvdA to the VVD party.
Corporate boards
- Uber, Member of the Public Policy Advisory Board
- Salesforce, Non-Executive Board Director (since 2016)
Non-profit organizations
- Open Data Institute, Non-Executive Board Member (since 2015)
Awards
In 1993, Kroes received the International Road Federation Man of the Year award.
She has been featured multiple times on Forbes' list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women, ranking #53 in 2009, #47 in 2008, and #59 in 2007.
Decorations
| Awards and Distinctions | ||||
| Ribbon bar | Title | Nation | Date awarded | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knight within the Order of the Netherlands Lion | Netherlands | 26 October 1981 | ||
| Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown | Belgium | 1 May 2008 | ||
| Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 19 November 2015 | Promoted from Grand Officer (20 November 1989) | |
Honorary degrees
| Honorary Doctorates | ||||
| Institution | Discipline | Country | Date conferred | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Hull | Economics | England | 1989 | |
| Open University | Political science | Netherlands | 26 September 2014 | |
External links
- Official
- Dr. N. (Neelie) Kroes Parlement & Politiek
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1941 births
- Living people
- Businesspeople from Rotterdam
- Dutch academic administrators
- Dutch corporate directors
- Dutch chief executives in the finance industry
- Dutch European commissioners
- Dutch expatriates in Belgium
- Dutch financial advisors
- Dutch lobbyists
- Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church
- Dutch nonprofit directors
- Dutch nonprofit executives
- Dutch women academics
- 20th-century Dutch businesswomen
- 20th-century Dutch businesspeople
- Erasmus University Rotterdam alumni
- European commissioners for competition
- Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau
- Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
- Ministers of transport and water management of the Netherlands
- Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands)
- Merrill (company) people
- Municipal councillors of Rotterdam
- Academic staff of Nyenrode Business University
- People from Wassenaar
- People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians
- Protestant Church Christians from the Netherlands
- Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 2nd Class
- Rectors of universities in the Netherlands
- State secretaries for transport of the Netherlands
- Women European commissioners
- Women government ministers of the Netherlands
- Women heads of universities and colleges
- 20th-century Dutch economists
- 20th-century Dutch educators
- 20th-century Dutch women politicians
- 20th-century Dutch politicians
- 21st-century Dutch businesswomen
- 21st-century Dutch businesspeople
- 21st-century Dutch economists
- 21st-century Dutch women politicians
- 21st-century Dutch politicians