Jacques Tichelaar is a Dutch

Politics of the Netherlands

The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy and a decentralised unitary state. The Netherlands is described as a consociational state...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 and former trade union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 leader and educator. He is a member of the Labour Party

Labour Party (Netherlands)

The Labour Party , is a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands. Since the 2003 Dutch General Election, the PvdA has been the second largest political party in the Netherlands. The PvdA was a coalition member in the fourth Balkenende cabinet following 22 February 2007...

 (Partij van de Arbeid). Since May 1, 2009 he has been the Queen's Commissioner

Queen's Commissioner

The Queen's Commissioner is the head of a province in the Netherlands, who is chairman of both the Provinciale Staten and the Gedeputeerde Staten , but only has a right to vote in the latter...

 of the Province of Drenthe

Drenthe

Drenthe is a province of the Netherlands, located in the north-east of the country. The capital city is Assen. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and Germany to the east.-History:Drenthe, unlike many other parts of the Netherlands, has been a...

. Previously he was an MP from 2002 to 2009 and Parliamentary group leader

Parliamentary group leader

The leader or chairman of a parliamentary group holds an influential political post in a parliamentary system with strong party discipline...

 from 2007 to 2008.

Biography

In 1973 Tichelaar finished his havo

Hoger algemeen voortgezet onderwijs

The havo or hoger algemeen voortgezet onderwijs is a stream in the secondary educational system of the Netherlands. It has five grades and is generally attended from age twelve to seventeen...

 and enrolled at the Academy for Pedagogy in Heerenveen. In 2002 he received an honorary

Honorary degree

An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...

 doctorate in business administration

Doctor of Business Administration

The degree of Doctor of Business Administration, abbreviated, or and equivalent to , is a research doctorate in business administration. The D.B.A...

 from Kingston University

Kingston University

Kingston University is a public research university located in Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, United Kingdom. It was originally founded in 1899 as Kingston Technical Institute, a polytechnic, and became a university in 1992....

.

Before he entered politics Tichelaar was vice-director of a grammar school, general secretary of the education labour union ABOP and chair of its successor AOB, which is affiliated with the FNV

Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging

The Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging is a federation of trade unions of the Netherlands.-History:...

, the major Dutch federation of labour unions. Since the 2002 election

Dutch general election, 2002

The General Election to the House of Representatives of the States-General of the Netherlands was held in the Netherlands on May 15, 2002....

 he has been a member of the House of Representatives. He concentrates his attention on education and agriculture. He is also chair of the committee for finance.

During the 2006–2007 Dutch cabinet formation

2006–2007 Dutch cabinet formation

Following the 2006 Dutch general election, held on November 22, a process of cabinet formation started, involving negotiations about which coalition partners to form a common programme of policy and to divide the posts in cabinet...

 Tichelaar was secondant of Wouter Bos

Wouter Bos

Wouter Jacob Bos is a Dutch management consultant and former politician of the Labour Party . He was Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister in the Cabinet Balkenende IV from February 22, 2007 till February 23, 2010...

 during the confidential negotiations. He was unexpectedly chosen over MPs like Nebahat Albayrak

Nebahat Albayrak

Nebahat Albayrak is a Turkish-Dutch politician and former civil servant. As a member of the Dutch Labour Party she is a former State Secretary for Justice in the Netherlands. Since May 12, 2010 she has been an MP. From April till August 2011 she was on maternity leave...

, the PvdA's second candidate on the list, because of his experience with negotiations from his union years. Tichelaar had also spent years talking to CDA leader Maxime Verhagen

Maxime Verhagen

Maxime Jacques Marcel Verhagen is a Dutch politician in the Christian Democratic Appeal party. He is the Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation and Deputy Prime Minister since October 14, 2010 in the Cabinet Rutte.He previously served as a Member of the European Parliament for...

about why the 2003 information talks between the two parties had failed, and understood the CDA best among MPs.