Jeroen Dijsselbloem
According to an official announcement of the Council of the European Union, on 21 January, the Eurogroup, the council of the 17 Eurozone ministers of Finance appointed its new president, the Dutch Minister of Finance Jeroen Dijsselbloem. Dijsselbloem takes over from Jean-Claude Juncker, minister of Finance and Prime Minister of Luxembourg, and will hold the post for two and a half years.
Dijsselbloem was appointed Minister of Finance in the current Dutch government on 5 November 2012. Before taking up this post, he had been a member of the House of Representatives since 2000, with a short interruption in 2002.
He joined the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA) in 1985. He was appointed deputy leader of its group in the Dutch parliament in 2008 and was a member of the party’s election manifesto committee in 2010 and 2012.
Having been educated both at Wageningen University and at University College, Cork (Ireland), Mr Dijsselbloem is fluent in both Dutch – his mother tongue – and in English.
According to Protocol 14 to the Lisbon Treaty, the president of the Eurogroup is elected by a majority of its members for a term of two and a half years
On his appointment, Mr Dijsselbloem said: “It is a distinct honour to have been given this responsibility in these challenging economic times. I want to thank my colleagues for their trust and confidence. I will work hard together with them with the goal of achieving a quick further recovery of confidence in the euro area. I would like to express my appreciation for Jean-Claude Juncker’s great commitment with which he has led the Eurogroup during these very difficult years.”
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