Drs. Th.J.A.M. (Tom) de Bruijn

Tom de Bruijn (1948) is alderman in the city of The Hague for the social liberal party. Between 2003 and 2011 mr. De Bruijn held one of the highest ranking posts in the diplomatic service of the Netherlands, that of permanent representative to the EU. Mr. De Bruijn is lauded as a skillfull negotiator. As director-general European integration at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs he played an important part in the negotiations on the treaties of Maastricht (1992) and Amsterdam (1997).

Mr. De Bruijn is still very much engaged in European affairs. He is advisor to a number of organisations that study or engage with EU affairs. Mr. De Bruijn was special advisor to the special Task Force for Greece, established by the European Commission to aid Greece in reforming its economy and public administration.

1. Personal data

Name and surname

Th.J.A.M. (Tom) de Bruijn

Date of birth

October 8th, 1948

Place of birth

Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Family

His partner, Angelien Eijsink, is a member of the Dutch House of Representatives

Selected honours and distinctions

Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau

2. Education

Higher education

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St. Thomascollege, Venlo, The Netherlands, finished in 1968

Academic

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Graduate political sciences, Institut Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales (Geneva, Switserland), finished in 1973
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Master of Arts war studies, King's College, University of London (London, United Kingdom), finished in 1974
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Dutch law, University of Utrecht, finished in 1977

3. Career

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staff, treaty department Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1977 to 1981
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staff, department of international organisations Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1981 to 1984
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head of section, department of European integration Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1984 to 1988
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first secretary, permanent representation at the United Nations in Geneva, 1988 to 1992
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deputy director, department of European integration Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1992 to 1994
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director / deputy director general, department of European integration Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1994 to 1998
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director general European affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1998 to 2003
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permanent representative to the European Union (special ambassadorial level) and chief advisor to the prime minister on EU matters, 2003 to 2011
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council of state, since 2011
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alderman (responsible for finances, environmental affairs, traffic and public transportation), city of The Hague, since 2014

Selected honoraries and functions (current)

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chair executive board, Europa decentraal (local and regional authorities’ knowledge centre on EU law and legislation)
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visiting professor, Leiden University

Selected honoraries and functions (past)

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Member of the advisory board, Nexus Institute (EU study centre related to Tilburg University)
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Member of the executive board, European Academy for Legislation
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Permanent fellow, Duitsland Instituut
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special advisor to the Task Force for Greece
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chair of the advisory board, ProDemos (House for Democracy and the Rule of Law)

This biography has been updated until July 24, 2014.