Dutch government names members of Council for the Environment and Infrastructure

13 July 2012 – The Dutch government today announced the members of the Council for the Environment and Infrastructure (Rli). The Council is a new independent body that was established to advise the Dutch government and parliament on matters relating to the sustainable development of the physical environment and infrastructure. The Council will address wide-ranging issues facing society at large, such as land use, the economy, housing, the environment, food, raw materials, nature, agriculture, mobility and safety.

The government established the Council by merging several existing advisory bodies. These were the now defunct Council for Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment; the Advisory Council for Transport, Public Works and Water Management; the Council for Rural Areas; and the Hazardous Substances Council.

H. M. Henry Meijdam (Chairman)

Henry Meijdam has been appointed as the Council’s first chairman. He has been active in public administration for many years. His present positions include chairing the committee overseeing introduction of the public transport smart card in the Netherlands. Mr Meijdam formerly chaired the Council for Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment.

Agnes van Ardenne – van der Hoeven

Agnes van Ardenne currently chairs the Horticulture Marketing Board. Her previous positions include terms as Minister and State Secretary for Development Cooperation. She subsequently worked as the Permanent Representative of the Netherlands at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome.

Marjolein Demmers

Marjolein Demmers is Director of Corporate Responsibility at the engineering and consultancy group Royal HaskoningDHV and a member of the Dutch Energy Council, an independent body that advises the Dutch government and parliament on energy policy.

Eelco Dykstra

Eelco Dykstra is a crisis management consultant and International Director at the International Katrina Project, a think-tank established in response to Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the southern US in 2005. He was previously professor of International Emergency Management at George Washington University in Washington DC.

Léon Frissen

Léon Frissen has held a variety of public offices including municipal secretary, director of the Limburg section of the Christian Democratic Party (CDA), Member of Parliament, mayor, and Queen’s Commissioner (provincial governor) of the province of Limburg. He currently holds several administrative positions.

Jan Jaap de Graeff

Jan Jaap De Graeff is the outgoing managing director of Vereniging Natuurmonumenten, a society that aims to preserve nature, landscape and cultural heritage in the Netherlands. He is also Chamberlain to Her Majesty Queen Beatrix. He previously worked at the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (VNO-NCW), and the Association of Regional Water Authorities. He also served as dike reeve at the Schieland & Krimpenerwaard District Water Board.

Prof. Dr Pieter Hooimeijer

Pieter Hooimeijer is professor of sociology and demography at Utrecht University and specialises in regional aspects of population issues. He is also a member of the governing board of the Utrecht University Fund, and previously served as chairman of the Social Sciences Council of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW).

Prof. Niels Koeman

Niels Koeman is a member of the Council of State, the Dutch government’s highest advisory body. As a practising lawyer he specialised in environmental and spatial planning law. He has worked as a part-time professor at the University of Amsterdam since 1984.

Marike van Lier Lels

Marike van Lier Lels has held management positions at several companies including Schiphol Group. At present she is an independent consultant at Lels & KO B.V., a member of the supervisory boards of four companies, and chair of the Supervisory Council of the Netherlands Society for Nature and the Environment.

Prof. Dr Gerrit Meester

Gerrit Meester, an agricultural economist, has held positions at Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Agricultural Economics Research Institute, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. He was also a professor at the University of Amsterdam and served as chairman of the OECD’s Committee for Agriculture.

Prof. Dr Wouter Vanstiphout

Wouter Vanstiphout specialises in architecture and spatial planning, and is a co-founder and working member of the Crimson Architectural Historians research collective. He is also Professor of ‘Design as Politics’ at Delft University of Technology.

Dr Co Verdaas

Co Verdaas, a planner, is a member of the Gelderland Provincial Executive with special responsibility for spatial planning and labour market policy. He previously worked at a housing corporation and at the Municipality of Zwolle. He also served as Member of Parliament for the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA) and was their spokesperson for spatial planning, land policy and infrastructure.