Alexander Hendrik George Rinnooy Kan (born 5 October 1949) is a Dutch politician, businessman and mathematician who served as Chairman of the Social and Economic Council from 2006 to 2012. A member of the Democrats 66 (D66) party, he was a member of the Senate from 2015 to 2019 and is a distinguished professor of Economics and Business Studies at the University of Amsterdam since 1 September 2012. He has also been president of the supervisory board of EYE Film Institute Netherlands since 2008 and of Museum Boerhaave since 2018.
Alexander Rinnooy Kan | |
---|---|
![]() Rinnooy Kan in 2011 | |
Member of the Senate | |
In office 9 June 2015 – 11 June 2019 | |
Chairman of the Social and Economic Council | |
In office 1 April 2006 – 1 September 2012 | |
Preceded by | Herman Wijffels |
Succeeded by | Wiebe Draijer |
Member of the Social and Economic Council | |
In office 1 January 1991 – 1 August 1996 | |
Chairman | Theo Quené Klaas de Vries |
Personal details | |
Born | Alexander Hendrik George Rinnooy Kan (1949-10-05) 5 October 1949 (age 73) Scheveningen, Netherlands |
Political party | Democrats 66 (since 1980) |
Residence(s) | Aerdenhout, Netherlands |
Alma mater | University of Amsterdam (BSc, PhD) Leiden University (MSc) |
Occupation | Politician · Civil servant · Economist · Mathematician · Researcher · Businessman · Corporate director · Nonprofit director · Academic administrator · Trade association executive · Author · Professor |
Rinnooy Kan grew up in The Hague. He graduated with a doctorandus degree (eq. to MSc) in mathematics at Leiden University in 1972. The same year, he also obtained a candidate degree (eq. to BSc) in econometrics from the University of Amsterdam. In 1972–1973, he worked as a mathematician at Spectrum Encyclopedia. From 1973 until 1977, he was a scientific employee in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Delft University of Technology (then called the Delft Technical College). In 1976, he obtained a PhD in mathematics at the University of Amsterdam; he was advised by Gijsbert de Leve.[1]
In 1977, he went to the Erasmus University Rotterdam, where he became a full Professor in Operations Research in 1980 at the age of 30. In 1983, he was appointed head of the Econometric Institute and in 1986 rector magnificus of the university. In the meantime, he was visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley and MIT, among others.[2]
From 1991 until 1996, he was president of the employers federation VNO and (after the merger with NCW) of the VNO-NCW.[2] Between 1996 and 2006, Rinnooy Kan was a member of the board of directors of ING Group, where he was responsible for the Asian branch. He was a member of the Netherlands Innovation Platform until the platform was dissolved in 2010.
From 2006 until 2012, he was a crown-appointed member and Chairman of the Social and Economic Council (SER). He was succeeded in this position by Wiebe Draijer. During his farewell party at the SER he was appointed Commander in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.[3] The Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant named him the most influential person in the Netherlands in 2007, 2008 and 2009.[4]
On 9 June 2015, he became a member of the Senate on behalf of the Democrats 66 party. He did not seek reelection to the upper chamber in 2019; his term ended on 11 June 2019.
Honours | ||||
Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
Commander of the Order of the Netherlands Lion | Netherlands | 1 September 2012 | |
![]() |
Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire | United Kingdom | 2018[5] |
Civic offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by | Chairman of the Social and Economic Council 2006–2012 |
Succeeded by Wiebe Draijer |
Preceded by Fokko van Duyne |
Chairman of the Supervisory board of the Central Bank of the Netherlands 2012–2015 |
Succeeded by Wim Kuijken |
Business positions | ||
Preceded by | Chairman of the Industry and Employers confederation 1991–1996 |
Succeeded by Hans Blankert |
Non-profit organization positions | ||
Preceded by | Chairman of the Concertgebouw Foundation 2003–2015 |
Succeeded by Hans Wijers |
Chairman of the EYE Film Institute Netherlands 2008–present |
Incumbent | |
Preceded by Douwe Breimer |
Chairman of Museum Boerhaave 2018–present | |
Academic offices | ||
Preceded by Ries van Hof |
Rector Magnificus of the Erasmus University Rotterdam 1986–1989 |
Succeeded by Kees Rijnvos |
Members of the Senate of the Netherlands (2015–2019) | ||
---|---|---|
Senate 9 June 2015 – 11 June 2019 | ||
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD: 13) |
| ![]() |
Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA: 12) | ||
Democrats 66 (D66: 10) |
| |
Party for Freedom (PVV: 9) |
| |
Socialist Party (SP: 9) |
| |
Labour Party (PvdA: 8) |
| |
GreenLeft (GL: 4) |
| |
Christian Union (CU: 3) |
| |
Party for the Animals (PvdD: 2) |
| |
Reformed Political Party (SGP: 2) |
| |
50PLUS (50+: 2) |
| |
Independent Senate Group (OSF: 1) |
| |
Bold signifies the Parliamentary leader (first mentioned) Bold also signifies the President |
General | |
---|---|
National libraries | |
Scientific databases | |
Other |
|