State Secretary Joop Atsma

Joop Atsma
State Secretary of Infrastructure and the Environment

Personal details

Given names (informal name): Johannes Jan (Joop)
Place and date of birth: Surhuisterveen, 6 July 1956
City of residence: Surhuisterveen
Marital status: married, two children

Education

1974: atheneum-a (pre-university school), Drachten
1974-1978: history (not completed) Rijksuniversiteit Groningen

Career

Joop Atsma began his career in 1978 as a journalist. He was the director and owner of a press and publicity agency and worked for, among other clients, the Netherlands national news agency ANP, the Netherlands broadcasting authority NOS, regional newspaper Friesch Dagblad and regional broadcasting company Omrop Fryslân. As a PR consultant, he worked for municipalities, companies and educational institutions.

On 19 May 1998, Atsma became a member of the Dutch Lower House for the CDA (Christian Democrats). He served as spokesperson in the areas of sports, agriculture, food quality, telecommunications, the media and the Wadden Sea. In the Lower House, he also served as the chairman of the permanent committee for Transport, Public Works and Water Management, and of the permanent committee for Agriculture, Nature Management and Food Quality.

From 10 June 2010 until his appointment as State Secretary, Atsma was Vice Chairman of the Parliamentary Party CDA in the Lower House.

On 14 October 2010, J.J. Atsma was appointed as the State Secretary of Infrastructure and the Environment in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Rutte.

Party-political positions and additional positions

From 1991 to 1998, Joop Atsma was party chairman of the CDA in the Provincial States of Friesland.

Atsma has also held numerous positions in a range of areas, cycling being one of the most striking. Among other things, he was:

• Member of the board for Stichting Machiavelli
• Member of the executive committee of Internationaal Perscentrum Nieuwspoort
• Member of the Advisory Board of the transport company Arriva
• Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Northern Netherlands Orchestra
• Member of the executive board of UCI, the international cycling racing union (since 2005)
• Chef d'équipe of cycle racing for the Olympic Games in Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney and Athens
• Chairman of the KNWU, the Royal Dutch Cycle Racing Union (from 1994 to 2006)