Jan Franssen is a Dutch politician.

Franssen is a member of the VVD. He began his political career as an advisor to Hans Wiegel

Hans Wiegel

Hans Wiegel is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy . He served as a Member of the House of Representatives from April 18, 1967 until December 19, 1977...

, having previously worked as a history teacher. His was also a city councillor of Nederhorst den Berg, leader of the provinciale staten of Noord-Holland and President of the House of Representatives (1982-1994). From 1994 to 2000 Franssen was mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of Zwolle

Zwolle

Zwolle is a municipality and the capital city of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands, 120 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam. Zwolle has about 120,000 citizens.-History:...

. Finally. he was named 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...

 in South Holland

South Holland

South Holland is a province situated on the North Sea in the western part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague and its largest city is Rotterdam.South Holland is one of the most densely populated and industrialised areas in the world...

 in 2006.

He is the current chairman of the Interprovinciaal Overleg

Interprovinciaal Overleg

The Interprovinciaal Overleg is the association of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. The association looks after provincial interests and forms a platform for exchanging knowledge and experience among the twelve Dutch provinces...

 (IPO), that looks after provincial interests.

He is openly gay.