André Haspels
André Haspels (born January 23, 1962) is a Dutch diplomat currently serving as the Dutch Ambassador to the United States since September 16, 2019. He previously served as ambassador in Vietnam and South Africa and most recently as Director general of political affairs in The Hague. Personal life and education Haspels was born in Uithoorn, North Holland. His father was a flower merchant who bought flowers worldwide, including flowers from Florida. He completed pre-university education in 1982 and graduated from the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam with a degree in Political Science, specializing in International Relations. Haspels then joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1987 and followed its diplomatic service training program. Haspels is married to Bernie Grootenboer and has four children: Lora, Sabine, Quinten and Alec. Career Haspels joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1987, after completing the diplomatic service training program he worked as a Policy officer, at the Political and Economic Affairs Section at the embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 1988 until 1990. From 1990 until 1992 he served as the Press secretary to Minister for European Affairs Piet Dankert, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Hague. From 1992 until 1994 he served as the Seconded