Curriculum Vitae

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands in Jakarta

Born 1 April 1945 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Married to Marinka van Dam-Bogaerts. Father of a daughter and three sons.

Studied Arabic and Political & Social Sciences at the University of Amsterdam (cum laude), where he obtained the degree of Doctor in Literature in 1977.



1970-1975
Taught Modern Middle Eastern History at the University of Amsterdam.
1975-1980 Staff Member of the Middle East Section of the Directorate General of Political Affairs at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
1980-1983 First Secretary at the Netherlands Embassy in Beirut, covering Lebanon, Jordan and Cyprus.
1983-1985 Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of the Netherlands in Tripoli, Libya.
1985-1988 Deputy Director for African and Middle Eastern Affairs at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
1988-1991 Ambassador of the Netherlands in Baghdad, Iraq (accredited until 2004).
1991-1996 Ambassador of the Netherlands in Cairo, covering Egypt and Palestinian occupied territories.
1996-1999 Ambassador of the Netherlands in Ankara, covering Turkey and Azerbaijan.
1999-2005 Ambassador of the Netherlands in Bonn & Berlin, Germany.
2005- Ambassador of the Netherlands in Jakarta (credentials presented on 8 September 2005), covering Indonesia and Timor-Leste (credentials presented on 8 February 2006).

Decorations
Knight in the Order of Orange Nassau – The Netherlands (1983).
Officer in the Order of Orange Nassau – The Netherlands (1991).
Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (2003).
Knight Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2005).

Languages
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German and Indonesian.

Publications

* De vrede die niet kwam. Twintig jaar diplomaat in het Midden-Oosten (The peace that did not come. Twenty years as a diplomat in the Middle East) (& Jan Keulen), Amsterdam: Bulaaq, 1998 (also as audiobook and in braille).
* The Struggle for Power in Syria. Politics and Society under Asad and the Ba'th Party, 3rd edition, London & New York: I.B. Tauris, 1997 (also in Arabic, Cairo: Maktabat Madbouli, 1996, and in Turkish, Istanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2000).
* Nederland en de Arabische Wereld: van Middeleeuwen tot Twintigste Eeuw (The Netherlands and the Arab World: from the Middle Ages until the Twentieth Century) (ed.), Lochem & Gent: De Tijdstroom, 1987.
* De Rol van Sektarisme, Regionalisme en Tribalisme bij de Strijd om de Politieke Macht in Syrië (The Role of Sectarianism, Regionalism and Tribalism in the Struggle for Political Power in Syria) (1961-1976) , PhD thesis, University of Amsterdam, 1977.
* Articles in Acta Politica, al-Ahram, Asian Affairs, Bibliotheca Orientalis, al-Diyar, al-Hayat, Internationale Spectator, Majallat Markaz al-Dirasat al-Filastiniyah, Middle East International, The Middle East Journal, Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, The Muslim World, Orient, Orientations, al-Qabas, al-Safir, Soera, Spieghel Historiael, Die Welt des Islams, Tijdschrift voor Moderne Geschiedenis, Vrij Nederland, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft.
* Extended list of publications and interviews (some downloadable)