Rob van Gijzel
Encyclopedia
Rob van Gijzel is a Dutch
politician
. He is a former Member of Parliament and is the incumbent mayor
of Eindhoven (entered office on April 8, 2008).
When Van Gijzel was a student
, he became an active member of the Jonge Socialisten
. He served as that organization's chairman in the period 1979-1982. He was a candidate for parliament for the PvdA
and was finally elected to parliament for that party in 1989, where he served as caucus
spokesman on the subject of Verkeer & Waterstaat (traffic
, transport
, public works
and water management
). Following the Bijlmer disaster
he picked up the nickname Bijlmerboy, due to his vociferous insistence on a full parliamentary inquiry into the aftereffects of the crash.
After that inquiry, Van Gijzel was PvdA spokesperon in the debate on the findings of the parliamentary committee. In that function he joined Rob Oudkerk
(who was on the committee) in voting for a motion of no confidence
in health minister Els Borst
. He was also the only PvdA representative to vote against the motion of Ad Melkert
, calling on the government to learn the lessons of the failings in the handling of the Bijlmer disaster.
On November 9, 2001, Rob van Gijzel was a guest on the television program Zembla, in an episode regarding the building industry fraud. The program revealed that a cartel
of the largest building contractors in The Netherlands had been defrauding the ministry of public works
, the Nederlandse Spoorwegen
and Schiphol Airport for years; the total damage was between 500 million and one billion guilders. Van Gijzel referred to this in the program as "the largest fraud in the history of The Netherlands". Van Gijzel also commented on the building fraud in the television program NOVA on the same day. The leader of the PvdA in parliament, Ad Melkert, was not happy about the way Van Gijzel openly commented on the affair and immediately replaced Van Gijzel as spokesman for the building fraud and ordered Van Gijzel to run all future commentary on the affair by him (Melkert) first. Van Gijzel felt this made him a "muzzled parliamentarian" (Dutch: een parlementariër met een slot op de mond), making it impossible for him to execute his office as an elected representative. On November 27 he left parliament, giving as reason that he was given too little leeway to function properly. Van Gijzel also stated that Melkert feared that he (Van Gijzel) was too hungry for political consequences in the building fraud affair and that Van Gijzel felt that the PvdA caucus was protecting the responsible ministers too much. In the fraud affair, Van Gijzel had often and openly opposed PvdA-minster Tineke Netelenbos
of public works and Benk Korthals
of justice. Despite Van Gijzel resigning, a parliamentary inquiry into the affair was started in August 2002.
After having been considered for an alderman
post, Van Gijzel was a candidate for mayor of Eindhoven in 2003. He lost out to VVD
candidate Alexander Sakkers though. After losing the mayoral race, he started a political advisory agency called Politea, together with his wife Irene van Rijsewijk. After the 2004 Summer Olympics
in Athens
he became deputy chairman of the National Swimming Institute Eindhoven.
In December 2007 Van Gijzel once again ran for mayor of Eindhoven. The citizens of Eindhoven were allowed to vote in an advisory referendum
on January 23, 2008, with a choice between Van Gijzel and fellow PvdA party member Leen Verbeek
. Van Gijzel received 68.5% of the vote, although the referendum was invalid due to a turnout of less than 30%. This left the advisory decision with the city council
, which stuck with the outcome of the referendum and recommended Van Gijzel (with 25 out of 43 vote). The Minister of Internal Affairs followed the recommendation and Van Gijzel was installed as mayor on April 7, succeeding interim mayor Gerrit Braks
.
On November 21, 2008 a conference was held in Almere
on inner-city problems with marihuana
. Speaking for 33 mayors, Van Gijzel announced that Eindhoven was going to start a city nursery to supply the soft drug
to city coffee shops
.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He is a former Member of Parliament and is the incumbent 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 Eindhoven (entered office on April 8, 2008).
When Van Gijzel was a student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
, he became an active member of the Jonge Socialisten
Jonge Socialisten
The Dutch Young Socialists within the PvdA is the youth section of the Dutch social democratic party Partij van de Arbeid .JS used to be a democratic socialist organisation that promotes the full participation of young people in society. Since 2007 however, the JS is no longer a democratic...
. He served as that organization's chairman in the period 1979-1982. He was a candidate for parliament for the PvdA
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...
and was finally elected to parliament for that party in 1989, where he served as caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
spokesman on the subject of Verkeer & Waterstaat (traffic
Traffic
Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...
, transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
, public works
Public works
Public works are a broad category of projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community...
and water management
Water management
Water management is the activity of planning, developing, distributing and managing the optimum use of water resources. In an ideal world. water management planning has regard to all the competing demands for water and seeks to allocate water on an equitable basis to satisfy all uses and demands...
). Following the Bijlmer disaster
El Al Flight 1862
On 4 October 1992, El Al Flight 1862, a Boeing 747 cargo plane of the Israeli airline El Al, crashed into the Groeneveen and Klein-Kruitberg flats in the Bijlmermeer neighbourhood of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. For the location in the Bijlmermeer, the crash is known in Dutch as the "Bijlmerramp"...
he picked up the nickname Bijlmerboy, due to his vociferous insistence on a full parliamentary inquiry into the aftereffects of the crash.
After that inquiry, Van Gijzel was PvdA spokesperon in the debate on the findings of the parliamentary committee. In that function he joined Rob Oudkerk
Rob Oudkerk
Robert Herman Oudkerk is a Dutch politician and general practitioner. He has served as a member of the Dutch House of Representatives for the Dutch Labour Party and as alderman of education in Amsterdam...
(who was on the committee) in voting for a motion of no confidence
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
in health minister Els Borst
Els Borst
Else Borst-Eilers is a former Dutch Politician, she led D66 in the 1998 election campaign and served as Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport for eight years, and the last four as Deputy Prime Minister. Before entering politics she had a career in medicine.-Education and Academic Career:Borst...
. He was also the only PvdA representative to vote against the motion of Ad Melkert
Ad Melkert
Adrianus Petrus Wilhelmus "Ad" Melkert is a Dutch politician of the Labour Party . He served as chair of the parliamentary party and Minister of Social Affairs and Employment for the social-democratic PvdA. He led the PvdA to a historic low in the contentious 2002 general elections, which were won...
, calling on the government to learn the lessons of the failings in the handling of the Bijlmer disaster.
On November 9, 2001, Rob van Gijzel was a guest on the television program Zembla, in an episode regarding the building industry fraud. The program revealed that a cartel
Cartel
A cartel is a formal agreement among competing firms. It is a formal organization of producers and manufacturers that agree to fix prices, marketing, and production. Cartels usually occur in an oligopolistic industry, where there is a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products...
of the largest building contractors in The Netherlands had been defrauding the ministry of public works
Rijkswaterstaat
Rijkswaterstaat, founded in 1798 as the Bureau voor den Waterstaat, is part of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, the former Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management...
, the Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Nederlandse Spoorwegen , or NS, is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands.Its trains operate over the tracks of the Dutch national railinfrastructure, operated by ProRail, which was split off from NS in 2003...
and Schiphol Airport for years; the total damage was between 500 million and one billion guilders. Van Gijzel referred to this in the program as "the largest fraud in the history of The Netherlands". Van Gijzel also commented on the building fraud in the television program NOVA on the same day. The leader of the PvdA in parliament, Ad Melkert, was not happy about the way Van Gijzel openly commented on the affair and immediately replaced Van Gijzel as spokesman for the building fraud and ordered Van Gijzel to run all future commentary on the affair by him (Melkert) first. Van Gijzel felt this made him a "muzzled parliamentarian" (Dutch: een parlementariër met een slot op de mond), making it impossible for him to execute his office as an elected representative. On November 27 he left parliament, giving as reason that he was given too little leeway to function properly. Van Gijzel also stated that Melkert feared that he (Van Gijzel) was too hungry for political consequences in the building fraud affair and that Van Gijzel felt that the PvdA caucus was protecting the responsible ministers too much. In the fraud affair, Van Gijzel had often and openly opposed PvdA-minster Tineke Netelenbos
Tineke Netelenbos
Tineke Netelenbos née Tine Koomen is a Dutch politician.-References:...
of public works and Benk Korthals
Benk Korthals
Albert Hendrik Korthals is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy. He is the Party Chair of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy since May 22, 2011...
of justice. Despite Van Gijzel resigning, a parliamentary inquiry into the affair was started in August 2002.
After having been considered for an alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
post, Van Gijzel was a candidate for mayor of Eindhoven in 2003. He lost out to VVD
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party located in the Netherlands. The VVD supports private enterprise in the Netherlands and is often perceived as an economic liberal party in contrast to the social-liberal Democrats 66 alongside which it sits in...
candidate Alexander Sakkers though. After losing the mayoral race, he started a political advisory agency called Politea, together with his wife Irene van Rijsewijk. After the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
he became deputy chairman of the National Swimming Institute Eindhoven.
In December 2007 Van Gijzel once again ran for mayor of Eindhoven. The citizens of Eindhoven were allowed to vote in an advisory referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
on January 23, 2008, with a choice between Van Gijzel and fellow PvdA party member Leen Verbeek
Leen Verbeek
Leendert Verbeek is a Dutch politician and former civil servant and social worker. He is a member of the Labour Party . He has served as mayor of Purmerend from April 2003 till November 2008...
. Van Gijzel received 68.5% of the vote, although the referendum was invalid due to a turnout of less than 30%. This left the advisory decision with the city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
, which stuck with the outcome of the referendum and recommended Van Gijzel (with 25 out of 43 vote). The Minister of Internal Affairs followed the recommendation and Van Gijzel was installed as mayor on April 7, succeeding interim mayor Gerrit Braks
Gerrit Braks
Gerardus Johannes Maria Braks is a retired Dutch politician.He was a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal and was president of the Senate from 2001 until 2003. He succeeded Frits Korthals Altes.- References :...
.
On November 21, 2008 a conference was held in Almere
Almere
Almere is a planned city and municipality in the province of Flevoland, the Netherlands, bordering Lelystad and Zeewolde. The municipality of Almere comprises the districts Almere Stad, Almere Haven, Almere Buiten, Almere Hout, Almere Poort and Almere Pampus .Almere is the youngest city in the...
on inner-city problems with marihuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
. Speaking for 33 mayors, Van Gijzel announced that Eindhoven was going to start a city nursery to supply the soft drug
Hard and soft drugs
Hard and Soft drugs are terms to distinguish between psychoactive drugs that are addictive and perceived as especially damaging and drugs that are believed to be non-addictive and with fewer dangers associated with their use...
to city coffee shops
Cannabis coffee shop
Coffeeshops are establishments in the Netherlands where the sale of cannabis for personal consumption by the public is tolerated by the local authorities ....
.