Dick Schoof facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dick Schoof
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Schoof in 2018
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| Prime Minister of the Netherlands | |
| Assumed office 2 July 2024 |
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| Monarch | Willem-Alexander |
| Deputy | Fleur Agema Sophie Hermans Eddy van Hijum Mona Keijzer |
| Preceded by | Mark Rutte |
| Secretary-General of the Ministry of Justice and Security | |
| In office 1 March 2020 – 28 May 2024 |
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| Preceded by | Siebe Riedstra |
| Succeeded by | Ric de Rooij (acting) |
| Director-General of the General Intelligence and Security Service | |
| In office 16 November 2018 – 1 March 2020 |
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| Preceded by | Rob Bertholee |
| Succeeded by | Erik Akerboom |
| National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism | |
| In office 1 March 2013 – 16 November 2018 |
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| Preceded by | Erik Akerboom |
| Succeeded by | Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg |
| Chief Director of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service | |
| In office 1 December 1999 – 1 March 2003 |
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| Preceded by | J. G. Bos |
| Succeeded by | P. W. A. Veld |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Hendrikus Wilhelmus Maria Schoof
8 March 1957 Santpoort, Netherlands |
| Political party | Independent (2021–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Labour Party (until 2021) |
| Spouse |
Yolanda Senf
(divorced) |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Nico Schoof (brother) |
| Residences | Zoetermeer, Netherlands |
| Alma mater | Radboud University (MSc) |
| Occupation | |
Hendrikus Wilhelmus Maria "Dick" Schoof ( born 8 March 1957) is a Dutch civil servant serving as prime minister of the Netherlands after being nominated during the 2023–2024 government formation. He previously served as secretary-general of the Ministry of Justice and Security from 2020 to 2024, as National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism from 2013 to 2018, and director-general of the General Intelligence and Security Service from 2018 to 2020. On 2 July 2024, Schoof was sworn in as prime minister of the Netherlands in the Schoof Cabinet, succeeding Mark Rutte.
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Early life and education
Hendrikus Wilhelmus Maria Schoof was born on 8 March 1957 in Santpoort, into a Roman Catholic family as the second youngest of seven children. He has one sister, and his father was a municipal civil servant, including for social services. At the age of eight, he moved with his family to Hengelo, where he attended Lyceum De Grundel. From 1975 to 1982, he studied urban and regional planning at Radboud University. He was a member of its rowing-oriented student association Phocas and served as its chair.
Career
Civil service
Schoof began his career as a policy advisor on education at the Association of Netherlands Municipalities, and became a civil servant at the Ministry of Education and Sciences in 1988. He helped dissolve the primary school construction department, which he headed, under State Secretary Jacques Wallage. He helped broker a compromise between the Christian Democratic Appeal and the Labour Party when both parties disagreed whether schools or municipalities should be responsible for the maintenance of school buildings.
From 1996, Schoof held various senior positions in the field of security. He served as deputy secretary-general at the Ministry of Security and Justice before being appointed chief director of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) in 1999. The Netherlands was experiencing a relatively high influx of asylum seekers as a result of the Kosovo War, and the organization had a significant backlog of requests. Schoof was responsible for implementing reforms to the Aliens Act by State Secretary for Justice Job Cohen in 2001 that simplified the asylum procedure, and he worked to deport applicants that did not qualify. The number of asylum applications declined, which Schoof attributed to stricter migration policies. A later evaluation concluded that legislation had a more limited impact, suggesting that external factors were the primary drivers of the drop. Schoof left the IND to become director-general at the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations in 2003, where he was in charge of restructuring the police force from a number of regional organisations into a single National Police Corps.
After serving as director-general at the Ministry of Security and Justice (from 2010 to 2013), Schoof was appointed National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV). Schoof led the General Intelligence and Security Service as director-general from 2018 to 2020. De Volkskrant wrote that his relatively short tenure was characterized by a culture clash. Schoof unsuccessfully tried to make the agency more outward facing, including through cooperations with institutions and universities. In 2019, he warned the education ministry and the municipality of Amsterdam that supporters of the Salafi movement were on the board of an Islamic school. His message was perceived as a way to assert pressure, and it received criticism for stirring up polarisation.
In December 2019, it was announced that Schoof would succeed Siebe Riedstra as secretary-general of the Ministry of Justice and Security, the most senior non-political position within the ministry. The appointment took effect on 1 March 2020. In his role, he was involved in negotiations on asylum reform that led to the collapse of the fourth Rutte cabinet in July 2023. Upon reaching the legal retirement age in March 2024, Schoof chose not to retire and was granted an exemption to continue working for three more years.
Political career
Schoof was a passive member of the Labour Party (PvdA) for over 30 years, until he left the party in early 2021. Following the general election victory of the populist Party for Freedom (PVV) of Geert Wilders in November 2023, Schoof called it a signal of distrust towards the government in an interview. He said the people could not have been wrong if they voted for the PVV in such large numbers.
On 16 May 2024, the PVV presented a right-wing coalition agreement with the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), New Social Contract (NSC), and the Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB). As part of the negotiations, the four party leaders agreed none of them would serve as prime minister. The PVV had initially proposed Ronald Plasterk for the position, but he withdrew from consideration due to accusations of fraud. Schoof was subsequently nominated for the office of prime minister on 28 May 2024 by the coalition parties under formateur Richard van Zwol. He was sworn in on 2 July by King Willem-Alexander as part of the Schoof cabinet.
Personal life
Schoof lives in Zoetermeer with his partner. With his ex-wife, Yolanda Senf, he has two daughters, Yasmin and Celine, who were adopted from China. He likes running, having completed his first marathon in 1987 and his 18th marathon in 2024. Schoof's older brother Nico Schoof is a former mayor of the municipalities of Akersloot, Limmen, Heiloo and Alphen aan den Rijn for the Democrats 66 party.
Schoof is a Catholic.
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
Schoof succeeded Mark Rutte as Prime Minster of the Netherlands on the 2nd of July 2024. He is not a member of a coalition party, making him a partyless Prime Minister.
See also
In Spanish: Dick Schoof para niños
