By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
AMSTERDAM (Worthy News) – Frits Bolkestein, one of the most influential Dutch conservative-liberal politicians who was among the first to publicly challenge immigration policies in the Netherlands, has died at the age of 91.
The former Dutch minister and European commissioner of the European Union, who voted for the left-leaning Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA) or Labour Party in his younger days, worked for oil giant Shell before moving on to become a legislator of the conservative-liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) in 1977.
He was junior economic affairs minister in Ruud Lubbers’ first cabinet and defense minister in the second after a cabinet reshuffle.
In 1990, he became VVD leader and was instrumental in forming the first cabinet led by the PvdA’s Wim Kok, although he opted to remain in parliament.
From 1999 to 2004, he was the European commissioner for the internal market and taxation.
Bolkestein’s career was not without controversies. In 2010, he called for the legalization of all drugs in an article in the Dutch NRC daily entitled “Save the nation, allow drugs,” a stance he reiterated in 2020.
Also, that year, he suggested that orthodox Jews should leave the Netherlands because of rising anti-semitism in the first of many outspoken comments he made on immigration.
He was also criticized for his financial support for Soumaya Sahla, a convicted terrorist who later became an academic and adviser on deradicalization.
The author of many books, his most recent “Bij het scheiden van de markt” about politics and society, was published in 2019.
Bolkestein passed away in Laren in the Rosa Spier Huis care home, where he had lived for several years, officials said.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest Stories from Worthy News
Russia escalated its war rhetoric Friday, stating that any ceasefire with Ukraine is conditional on Kyiv’s complete withdrawal from the Donbas region, as Ukrainian forces claimed new gains near the strategic northeastern hub of Kupiansk.
by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief SOFIA/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Bulgaria plunged into renewed political turmoil Friday after Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov resigned following mass protests accusing his minority government of corruption, just weeks before the Balkan nation is due to adopt the euro. Zhelyazkov stepped down ahead of a planned parliamentary no-confidence vote, less than a month before Bulgaria is scheduled to adopt the euro as its official currency by joining the eurozone on January 1. “We hear the voice of citizens protesting against the government,” Zhelyazkov stressed in a televised address. “This civic energy must … Read more
Hungary’s embattled Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, widely viewed as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally within the European Union, has accused the EU’s executive arm of “systematically raping European law” over plans to lock up Russia’s frozen assets until Moscow ends its war in Ukraine and compensates for the devastation it has inflicted.
Germany on Friday summoned the Russian ambassador amid allegations that Moscow is conducting a coordinated campaign to destabilize the country, the European Union’s largest economy, according to government officials.
A leading human rights group has condemned Hungary’s decision to place state-run youth detention centers under police oversight after abuse scandals triggered calls for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s resignation.