page_title: Laurens Jan Brinkhorst
section_title: Career in politics and academia
hierarchical_section_title: Laurens Jan Brinkhorst / Career in politics and academia
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Collectie / Archief&#160;: Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie&#160;: Tweede Kamer is bijeen over de levering van duikboten aan Taiwan Beschrijving&#160;: V.l.n.r. Laurens Jan Brinkhorst in gesprek met Dries van Agt in de tweede kamer Datum&#160;: 3 februari 1981 Locatie&#160;: Binnenhof, Den Haag, Zuid-Holland Trefwoorden&#160;: ministers-presidenten, parlementariërs, parlementen Persoonsnaam&#160;: Agt, Dries van, Brinkhorst, Laurens Jan Fotograaf&#160;: Antonisse, Marcel / Anefo, [onbekend] Auteursrechthebbende&#160;: Nationaal Archief Materiaalsoort&#160;: Negatief (zwart/wit) Nummer archiefinventaris&#160;: bekijk toegang 2.24.01.05 Bestanddeelnummer&#160;: 931-3002
context_page_description: Laurens Jan Brinkhorst is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat of the Democrats 66 party and jurist.
  Brinkhorst studied Law at the Leiden University obtaining a Master of Laws degree followed by a postgraduate education in Political science at the Columbia University obtained a Master of Social Science degree. Brinkhorst worked as a paralegal at Shearman & Sterling in New York City from September 1961 until December 1962. Brinkhorst worked as a researcher and associate professor of International law at his alma mater in Leiden from December 1962 until January 1967 and as a professor of International law, International relations and European law at the University of Groningen from January 1967 until May 1973. After the election of 1972 Brinkhorst was appointed as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet Den Uyl taking office on 19 December 1977. The Cabinet Den Uyl just before the end of its term and he resigned on 8 September 1977. After the election of 1977 Brinkhorst was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives on 8 June 1977 and served as a frontbencher and spokesperson for Foreign and European Affairs.
context_section_description: Brinkhorst served on the Provincial-Council of Groningen from July 1970 until August 1971. After the election of 1972 Brinkhorst was appointed as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet Den Uyl, taking office on 19 December 1977. The Cabinet Den Uyl fell on 22 March 1977 after four years of tensions in the coalition and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity. Brinkhorst was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the election of 1977, taking office on 8 June 1977 but he was still serving in the cabinet and because of dualism customs in the constitutional convention of Dutch politics he couldn't serve a dual mandate he subsequently resigned as State Secretary on 8 September 1977.
  In 1977 he was again a member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch parliament for D66 and in 1981 became the leader of his party in parliament.  From 1983-1987 he was Ambassador of the European Community in Japan. After the election of 1981 the Leader of the Democrats 66 and Parliamentary leader of the Democrats 66 in the House of Representatives Jan Terlouw was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs in the Cabinet Van Agt II and Brinkhorst was selected as his successor as Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives on 11 September 1981. After the Leader of the Democrats 66 Terlouw announced that he was stepping down as Leader following a big loss in the election of 1982 the Democrats 66 leadership appointed Brinkhorst as his successor on 8 September 1982. In October 1982 Brinkhorst was nominated as Ambassador of the European Union to Japan, he resigned as Leader and as Parliamentary leader and as a Member of the House of Representatives on 11 November 1982 and was installed as Ambassador, taking office on 1 December 1982. In December 1986 Brinkhorst was nominated as Director-General of the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety of the European Commission, he resigned as Ambassador the same day he was installed as Director-General, serving from 1 January 1987 until his resignation 19 July 1994. 
  Brinkhorst was elected as a Member of the European Parliament after the European Parliamentary election of 1994, taking office on 19 July 1994. Brinkhorst was appointed as Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Fisheries in the Cabinet Kok II following the resignation of Haijo Apotheker, taking office on 9 June 1999. In February 2002 Brinkhorst announced that he wouldn't stand for the election of 2002. The Cabinet Kok II resigned on 16 April 2002 following the conclusions of the NIOD report into the Srebrenica massacre during the Bosnian War and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity. The Cabinet Kok II was replaced by the Cabinet Balkenende I following the cabinet formation of 2002 on 22 July 2002. Brinkhorst semi-retired from active politics and became active in the private sector and public sector and worked as a senior legal advisor at NautaDutilh in Brussels from August 2002 until May 2003 and served as a distinguished professor of Governmental Studies and International relations at the Tilburg University from 1 December 2002 until 27 May 2003.
  In 1987 he became a correspondent of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Between 1987 and 1994 Brinkhorst continued his service at the European Commission as Director-General for Environmental Affairs and Nuclear Safety. In 1994 Brinkhorst became a member of the European Parliament, serving there until 1999.
  Brinkhorst was also a member of the Provinciale Staten (the provincial parliament) of the province of Groningen for D66, a member of the board of advice of the World Resources Institute in Washington DC, a member of the board of governors of the Nederlands Economisch Instituut (Dutch Economical Institute), a professor by special appointment of international environmental law at the University of Leiden, a member of the Board of Directors of the Salzburg Seminar, a member of the Board of Directors of the International Institute of Sustainable Development, and a professor (on a temporary basis) of international envir
caption: Laurens Jan Brinkhorst and Prime Minister Dries van Agt in the House of Representatives on 3 February 1981.
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