Piet Dankert was a Dutch politician, a member of the Dutch Labour Party.

He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1968. There he was spokesman for foreign affairs and defence. In the late 1970s he moved to the European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

, and was President of the European Parliament

President of the European Parliament

The President of the European Parliament presides over the debates and activities of the European Parliament. He or she also represents the Parliament within the EU and internationally. The President's signature is required for enacting most EU laws and the EU budget.Presidents serve...

 from 19 January 1982 to 24 July 1984.

In the third government of Ruud Lubbers

Ruud Lubbers

Rudolphus Franciscus Marie "Ruud" Lubbers is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal . He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from November 4, 1982 until August 22, 1994....

 (1989–1994) he was Secretary of State for European matters. He subsequently served a second period in the European Parliament, where he devoted himself to working for the accession of Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 to the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

.