Johannes Jan "Joop" Atsma (born July 6, 1956) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal

Christian Democratic Appeal

The Christian Democratic Appeal is a centre-right Dutch Christian democratic political party. It suffered severe losses in the 2010 elections and fell from the first to the fourth place...

 party (CDA). He is the State Secretary

State Secretary (Netherlands)

State Secretary is the title of a junior member of the Dutch or Belgian cabinet. Other terms for the title are deputy minister, junior minister or vice-minister...

 for Infrastructure and the Environment

Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment (Netherlands)

The Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment is a Dutch ministry created in 2010 by the Rutte Cabinet, and is a merger of the former Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management and Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment. The minister is Melanie Schultz van...

 in the Cabinet Rutte serving since October 14, 2010. He previously served as a Member of the House of Representatives from May 19, 1998 until October 14, 2010.

Early life

Joop Atsma was the son of a dairy farmer and Tjitske Atsma Pieter van der Meer. After grammar school

Grammar school

A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...

, he began to study history to the University of Groningen

University of Groningen

The University of Groningen , located in the city of Groningen, was founded in 1614. It is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands as well as one of its largest. Since its inception more than 100,000 students have graduated...

, but he was not off.

Journalism and PR

In 1978 he began his career as a journalist, he worked for the Netherlands Broadcasting Foundation (NOS) Friesch Dagblad

Friesch Dagblad

The Friesch Dagblad is a Dutch daily newspaper founded in 1903. It covers the region of Friesland with news reports written from a protestant perspective...

 News of the North and Omrop Fryslân

Omrop Fryslân

Omrop Fryslân is a special broadcaster on the NPO which serves the Frisian community. Because West Frisian is an official language of the Kingdom of the Netherlands the NPO is also responsible for broadcasts in the West Frisian language....

.

Cycling

From 1989 worked at the KNWU Straatsma, first as an amateur cycling section president and later as chairman. In the Olympic Games

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 in Seoul (1988)

1988 Summer Olympics

The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...

 Barcelona (1992)

1992 Summer Olympics

The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...

 Atlanta (1996)

1996 Summer Olympics

The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....

 and Sydney (2000)

2000 Summer Olympics

The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

 Atsma was chef d'equipe of cycling. In 2009, Joop Atsma appointed chairman of the Road Committee of the International cycling body UCI. This committee is responsible for such regulation of wegsport, admitting teams, fixture lists and qualification criteria for World Championships and Olympic Games. Atsma 178ste during the meeting of the International Cycling Union in Lugano in 2009 again elected to the Board of the Union Cycliste Internationale

Union Cycliste Internationale

Union Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland....

. From 1994 to 2006 he was chairman of the Royal Dutch Cycling Union.

Politics

Atsma began his political career as a Staten and chairman of the Provincial States of Friesland. In 1998, Atsma elected to the House. Interestingly, his oath in the Fries took off. In parliament he was involved with sports, agriculture, food, media and mining. He was also chairman of the Standing Committee for Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and vice president of the standing committee on Health, Welfare and Sport. On October 14, 2010 Atsma was appointed State Secretary for Infrastructure and Environment in the government-Rutte. Because of this appointment Atsma at that date paid and unpaid (side) functions set and relevant business and financial interests spaced.

External links

J.J. (Joop) Atsma (Parlement & Politiek)