Joop Wijn

Who is Joop Wijn?

Joannes Gerardus Wijn was Minister of Economic Affairs in the third Balkenende cabinet of the Netherlands.

Wijn was born in Haarlem and has a master's degree in both economics and Dutch law from the University of Amsterdam. As a student he worked as an intern with Shell in Jakarta, Indonesia. He also worked as an economics teacher and started his own company, a search and selection agency. After his graduation in 1994, he was employed by ABN Amro as an investment manager, responsible for the financing of innovative companies in transition, e.g. start ups, expansion and management buy outs.

In 1998, he became a member of parliament for the Christian Democrats. As an MP he focused on public finances, small businesses and immigration politics. He was also one of the few CDA MPs that voted in favour of a law making same-sex marriages legal in the Netherlands. The debate about same-sex marriage caused friction between his personal life and his political affiliation, as Wijn himself is gay.

In July 2002, Wijn became junior minister for Economic Affairs in the first Balkenende cabinet, responsible for foreign trade.