Neelie Kroes

Neelie Kroes (born 19 July 1941 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch politician, currently serving as European Commissioner for Competition. Kroes has an impressive carreer in both business and politics: After she had been member of parliament and minister for the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), Kroes was member of the board of commissioners of a long list of multinationals. Download high resolution version (850x567, 187 KB)Neelie Kroes, Dutch politician and European Commissioner for Competition. ... Download high resolution version (850x567, 187 KB)Neelie Kroes, Dutch politician and European Commissioner for Competition. ... July 19 is the 200th day (201st in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 165 days remaining. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... For other places named Rotterdam, see Rotterdam (disambiguation) Rotterdam ( (help· info)), located in the province of Zuid Holland, is the second largest municipality in the Netherlands (after Amsterdam), yet depending on the calculation methods the agglomeration in which Rotterdam is situated vies with the Amsterdam agglomeration for first spot in... The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive body of the European Union. ... The Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD), literally Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy, is a free market liberal party in the Netherlands. ...

Career

Career before Politics

Kroes went to a protestant grammar school in Rotterdam. She continued on a protestant high school. In 1958 she went to study Economy at the University of Rotterdam. In 1961, Kroes was preses of the R.V.S.V. (the largest Rotterdam Sorority). She was also elected in to the member of the University Council. After graduating in 1965, she became a research fellow at the economic faculty at that university. During this period Kroes was involved in the women's organisation within the VVD.In this period she also was member of the board of Heavy Transporting company "ZwaTra", the company of her father. Kroes was elected member of the the Rotterdam city council for the VVD since 1970. Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Education in the Netherlands is obligatory between the ages of 5 and 16, and partially between 16 and 18. ... For other places named Rotterdam, see Rotterdam (disambiguation) Rotterdam ( (help· info)), located in the province of Zuid Holland, is the second largest municipality in the Netherlands (after Amsterdam), yet depending on the calculation methods the agglomeration in which Rotterdam is situated vies with the Amsterdam agglomeration for first spot in... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Erasmus University is a university in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... While the term fraternity can be used to describe any number of social organizations, including the Lions Club and the Shriners, fraternities and sororities are most commonly known as social organizations of higher education students in the United States and Canada but there are fraternities in the whole world (for... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... A city council is the most common style of legislative government in a city or town. ... 1970 (MCMLXX in Roman) was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

Political Career

In 1971 she was elected to the lower house of parliament, forcing her to stop her fellowship. In parliament, she became spokesperson for education. She remained a member of parliament until 1977, when she became junior minister of Transport and Waterworks in the First Van Agt Cabinet, responsible for Postal and Telephone Services and Transport. In 1981 she briefly returned to the lower house of parliament, while her party, VVD, was in the opposition. In 1982 she returned to office in the First and Second Lubbers Cabinets, now as the minister for Transport and Waterworks, a post that she held until 1989. As a minister she was responsible for the privatisation of the Post and Telephone Services. 1971 (MCMLXXI) is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ... The Tweede Kamer (second chamber) is the lower house of the Staten-Generaal, the parliament in the Netherlands. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... The Netherlands cabinet Van Agt-1 (1977-1981) was a right-wing coalition of the CDA and the VVD. The labour party was the largest party after the elections, but the demands of labour party leader Joop den Uyl were to much for christian-democrat Dries van Agt, who formed... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Netherlands cabinet Lubbers-1 (1982-1986) was formed by the right-wing political parties CDA and VVD. The aim of the cabinet was cuting government spending and privatizations. ... The Netherlands cabinet Lubbers-2 (1986-1989) was a continuation of the coalition of the right-wing political parties CDA and VVD. Main aim was the continuation of the policy of cuting government spending. ... Privatization (sometimes privatisation, denationalization, or — especially in India — disinvestment) is the process of transferring property, from public ownership to private ownership. ...

In 1991 she became chairperson of Nyenrode University, a private business school. During this period Kroes was a member of the Advisory Board of the Prof.Mr. B.M. Teldersstichting, the scientific bureau of VVD. 1991 (MCMXCI in Roman) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nyenrode Business Universiteit is Hollands leading business school and only private university. ...

In 2004 Kroes was appointed the European Commissioner for Competition. Her nomination was heavily criticised because of her ties to big business and alleged involvement in shady arms deals. Kroes has tried to uphold her integrity; whenever she has to deal with issues concerning competition in branches of industry in which she used to be active as a board member, Commissioner McCreevy takes over her responsibilities. As of January 2006 this has happened in five cases. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Charlie McCreevy Charles (Charlie) McCreevy, (born September Irish politician. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Kroes has held and still holds many side offices, mainly in cultural and social organisations. She is chairperson of Poets of all Nations, the Delta Psychiatric Hospital and of the board of the Rembrandthuis. Also, she is still a member of several boards of commissioners, for instance at Nedlloyd (a shipping company) and Lucent Technologies (an information and communication technologies company). On September 30, 1996, AT&T spun off its Systems and Technology units (AT&T Technologies, Inc. ...

Before her membership of the European Commission, Kroes had been a member of the Rotterdam Chamber of Commerce. Between 1968 and 1977, she was variously active as a board member at Ballast Nedam (shipping), ABP-PGGM (a pension fund), NIB (an investment bank), McDonald's Netherlands, Nedlloyd, and Nederlandse Spoorwegen (the privatized dutch railroad company). ABP is a company providing professional service on Printed Circuit Boards to overseas agents and distributors. ... A fountain pen is a writing instrument, more specifically a pen, that contains a reservoir of water-based ink that is fed to a nib through a feed via a combination of gravity and capillary action. ... McDonalds Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is the worlds largest chain of fast-food restaurants. ... Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) is the main public transport railway company in the Netherlands. ...

Misceleanous Information

• As chairperson of Nijenrode University, Kroes awarded a honorary doctorate to Microsoft founder Bill Gates. As a European Commissioner for Competition one of her first tasks was to investigate alleged unfair trading practices by Microsoft;
• Kroes, a liberal, was married to the social democratic minister and mayor Peper;
• Kroes refused to become minister of Defense in 1988;
• Kroes is Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion since 1981, and Grand Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau since 1989;
• Kroes has received many prices and awards, she was International Road Federation Man of the Year of 1993;
• Kroes is a confidant of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Kroes persuaded Hirsi Ali to switch allegiances from the social democratic PvdA to the VVD.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKEx: 4338) is the worlds largest software corporation, with 2005 global annual sales of close to $40 billion USD and about 64,000 employees in 85 countries and regions. ... William Henry Bill Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is the co-founder, chairman, and chief software architect of Microsoft Corporation, the worlds largest computer software company. ... For the Belgian political party of the same name, see Partij van de Arbeid (Belgium). ... A defence minister ( Commonwealth English) or defense minister ( American English) is a cabinet portfolio (position) which regulates the armed forces in a sovereign nation. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Order of the Dutch Lion (De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw) is an order (decoration) of the Netherlands which was first created in 1815 by the first King of the Netherlands, King William I. The Order of the Dutch Lion was until recently awarded upon eminent individuals from all... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Ayaan Hirsi Ali Ayaan Hirsi Ali (help· info) (original name Ayaan Hirsi Magan, born 13 November 1969 in Mogadishu, Somalia) is a member of the Tweede Kamer (the Lower House of the Netherlands), for the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy. ...

External link

• Official website
• [1]

Mario Monti Mario Monti (nicknamed Super Mario) was born in Varese, Italy on March 19, 1943. ... Frits Bolkestein Frederik Bolkestein (born 1933; usually known as Frits Bolkestein) is a Dutch politician and former EU Commissioner. ...

European Commission (2004–2009: Barroso Commission)

Joaquín Almunia | José Manuel Barroso | Jacques Barrot | Joe Borg | Stavros Dimas | Benita Ferrero-Waldner | Ján Figeľ | Franco Frattini | Mariann Fischer Boel | Dalia Grybauskaitė | Danuta Hübner | Siim Kallas | László Kovács | Neelie Kroes | Markos Kyprianou | Peter Mandelson | Charlie McCreevy | Louis Michel | Andris Piebalgs | Janez Potočnik | Viviane Reding | Olli Rehn | Vladimír Špidla | Günter Verheugen | Margot Wallström The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive body of the European Union. ... The Barroso Commission is the European Commission that has been in office since 22 November 2004 and is due to serve until 31 October 2009. ... Image File history File links European_flag. ... Joaquín Almunia Joaquín Almunia is the member of the European Commission responsible for Economic and Monetary Affairs (since 26 April 2004). ... This article needs to be updated. ... External links Webpage of Jacques Barrot as European Commission member (in French) Categories: Stub ... Joe Borg Joseph Borg (born March 19, 1952) is a politician and diplomat in Malta, associated with the Nationalist Party which is currently governing that country. ... Stavros Dimas Stavros Dimas (Σταύρος Δήμας) (born 30 April 1941) is a Greek politician, currently serving as European Commissioner for the Environment. ... Benita Ferrero-Waldner Benita Ferrero-Waldner (born September 5, 1948) is the European Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and an Austrian diplomat and politician. ... Ján Figeľ Ján Figeľ (born 20 January 1960) is a Slovak politician, currently serving as European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism. ... External links Profile: Franco Frattini, BBC Italian government: official Franco Frattini biography Categories: Stub | 1957 births | Italian politicians ... Mariann Fischer Boel Mariann Fischer Boel is a Danish politician of the party Venstre. ... Dalia GrybauskaitÄ— Dalia GrybauskaitÄ— (pronounced ) (born 1 March 1956 in Vilnius) is a Lithuanian politician, currently serving as European Commissioner for Financial Programming and Budget. ... Danuta Hübner Danuta Hübner (born on 8 April 1948, in Nisko, Poland) was Polish Minister for European Affairs and is currently European Union Commissioner for Regional Policy. ... Categories: Stub | 1948 births | European Commissioners ... László Kovács László Kovács (born 1939) is a Hungarian diplomat. ... Markos Kyprianou Markos Kyprianou {pronounced ) (born 22 January 1960 in Limassol) is a Cypriot politician, currently serving as European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection. ... The Rt Hon. ... Charlie McCreevy Charles (Charlie) McCreevy, (born September 1949) is a senior Irish politician. ... Louis Michel Louis Michel (born September 2, 1947) was until July 2004 the Belgian foreign minister. ... Andris Piebalgs Andris Piebalgs (born 17 September Latvian politician and diplomat, currently serving as European Commissioner for Energy. ... Janez Potočnik Janez Potočnik (pronounced ) (born 22 March 1958) is a Slovenian politician, currently serving as European Commissioner for Science and Research. ... EU Commissioner of DG InfoSoc born in Esch/Alzette, Luxembourg on April, 27th 1951 married, 3 children PhD. in Human Sciences from the Sorbonne University in Paris 1978-1999 Reporter at the Luxemburger Wort, the leading newspaper in Luxembourg. ... Olli Rehn Olli Rehn (born 31 March 1962) is a Finnish politician, currently serving as European Commissioner for Enlargement. ... Vladimír Å pidla Vladimír Å pidla (born April 21, 1951 in Prague) is a Czech social democratic politician. ... Günter Verheugen (born 28 April 1944 in Bad Kreuznach, Rhineland-Palatinate) is a German politician, currently serving as European Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry. ... Margot Wallström Margot Wallström (born September 28, 1954), is Swedish politician, Social Democrat, and currently First Vice President and Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy Commissioner of the European Commission. ...