Wouter Bos

Wouter Jacob Bos ((born 14 July 1963) is a retired Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and businessman.

Between 1969 and 1974 Bos attended the Protestant elementary school de Beurthonk in Odijk.

From 1974 he attended the Protestant high school Christelijk Lyceum in Zeist.

Bos attended the Christian Gymnasium in Zeist from June 1975 until July 1980 and applied at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in June 1981 majoring in Political science and Economics obtaining a Bachelor of Social Science degree and a Bachelor of Economics degree in June 1984 before graduating with a Master of Social Science degree and a Master of Economics degree in July 1988.

In 1980 he graduated specializing in sciences and classics.

In 1980–81 he was a Voluntary Instructor at the YMCA National Centre in Curdridge in the United Kingdom.

Bos became a member of the PvdA in 1981.

In the same year he started studying Political Science at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam.

In 1982 he also took up Economics.

Bos worked as a human resource manager for Royal Dutch Shell from August 1988 until May 1998 in Pernis from August 1988 until September 1989 in Rotterdam from September 1989 until July 1991 in Bucharest, Romania from July 1991 until April 1993 in Hong Kong from April 1993 until November 1995 and in London, England from November 1995 until May 1998.

In 1988 he graduated cum laude in both subjects.

From 1988 till 1998 he worked for Royal Dutch Shell in various positions.

With a background in Shell, he differs from other Dutch leftwing politicians, who rarely have a background in a major multinational corporation.

Bos began to work for Shell because he thought that "the Dutch Left should not leave the business world to the Dutch Right".

Between 1988 and 1990 he worked at the Pernis Refinery as a management consultant, where he was a specialist on training and reorganisation.

In 1990 he became policy advisor for the central board, specializing in labour relations and working conditions, he also served as representative of the central board in its dealings with the central works council.

In 1992–93 he was stationed as general affairs manager for Shell Romania Exploration, where he was responsible for setting up the Romanian branch of Shell.

In 1993 he was stationed in Hong Kong, to work as staff planning and development manager for Shell Companies in Greater China, responsible for the recruitment and selection of new manager for Shell in South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.

In 1996 he returned to Europe, and worked as a consultant for new markets for Shell International Oil Products in London, focusing on acquisition in developing LPG markets in South America and Asia.

Bos was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the election of 1998, taking office on 19 May 1998 serving as a frontbencher and spokesperson for Finances.

In 1998 he left Shell to enter Dutch politics.

Bos was appointed as State Secretary for Finance in the Cabinet Kok II following the appointment of Willem Vermeend as Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, taking office on 24 March 2000.

After the election of 2002 Bos returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 23 May 2002 serving again as a frontbencher and spokesperson for Finances.

The Cabinet Kok II was replaced by the Cabinet Balkenende I following the cabinet formation of 2002 on 22 July 2002.

After the Leader of the Labour Party and Parliamentary leader of the Labour Party in the House of Representatives Ad Melkert announced he was stepping down as Leader and Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives following the defeat in the election, Bos announced his candidacy to succeed him.

Bos won the leadership election defeating former Speaker of the House of Representatives Jeltje van Nieuwenhoven and former Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Klaas de Vries and was elected as Leader and Parliamentary leader and Lijsttrekker (top candidate) for the election of 2003, taking office on 19 November 2002.

The Labour Party made a large win, gaining 19 seats and became the second largest party and now had 42 in the House of Representatives.

For the Dutch general election of 2006 Bos again served as Lijsttrekker.

The Labour Party suffered a loss, losing 9 seats and now had 33 seats in the House of Representatives.

The following cabinet formation of 2006 resulted in a coalition agreement between the Labour Party, the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the Christian Union (CU) which formed the Cabinet Balkenende IV with Bos appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, taking office on 22 February 2007.

The Cabinet Balkenende IV fell on 20 February 2010 after tensions in the coalition over the extension of the Dutch involvement in the Task Force Uruzgan of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until the Labour Party cabinets members resigned on 23 February 2010.

On 12 March 2010 Bos unexpectedly announced his retirement from national politics and that he wouldn't stand for the election of 2010 and approached Job Cohen as his successor.

Bos semi-retired from national politics and became active in the private sector and public sector, in October 2010 Bos was named as a management consultant for KPMG.

After the election of 2012 Bos was appointed as co-Informateur for the cabinet formation of 2012.

In August 2013 Bos was nominated as chairman of the board of directors of the VU University Medical Center.

In September 2018 Bos was appointed as chairman of the board of directors of the Netherlands Investment Agency, taking office on 1 October 2018.

Bos also serves as an lobbyist for several economic delegations on behalf of the government.

As of 2022 he is the chairman of health insurance company Menzis.

Bos was raised in a Doorbraak social-democratic family with a Protestant background in Vlaardingen.

His father founded the ecumenical development cooperation fund ICCO, which he also led for many years.