He grew up in a modest family in Bergambacht near Rotterdam, where he was born on September 29, 1938. He became chairman of the socialist trade union movement FNV. In that capacity he often appeared in the media. The next step for Wim Kok was the leadership of the social democratic PvdA. Of the three governments that Kok was part of, he headed two himself. Kok was called the Prime Minister of all Dutch people. Wim Kok died on October 20, 2018 in Amsterdam as a result of a heart condition.
The youth of Wim Kok
Although he was always proud of his humble origins, Wim Kok went on to study business administration at the University of Nyenrode, the oldest private university in the Netherlands. The stories of his father, a carpenter, about unemployment influenced Kok’s later life. He graduated in 1958 after which he served a year of military service. After military service, he worked for the Sembodja Malaja trading office for two years.
The years as a trade unionist
Kok started his public career in 1961 at the Bouwbond NVV. During his twelve-year career at the Dutch Trade Union Confederation, his tasks and responsibilities gradually expanded and Wim Kok was often a guest on Dutch television. In 1976, the NVV merged with the Dutch Catholic Trade Union NKV. This gave rise to the largest trade union in the Netherlands, the Federation of Dutch Trade Unions FNV, and Kok took over as chairman. He held this position from 1976 to 1985.
Agreement from Wassenaar
An important event in Kok’s life as a trade unionist was the Wassenaar Agreement of 1982. The FNV, the employers’ organizations and the cabinet agreed to moderate wages in exchange for a reduction in working hours. This agreement gave the Dutch economy, which was in recession, a lot of breathing space.
Political career with the PvdA
Source: Rob Croes Anefo, Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Kok had been a member of the Social Democrats since 1961. Due to his social involvement, he was placed second on the list in the national elections in 1986 and was elected a member of the House of Representatives. In July 1986, Joop den Uyl resigned as party leader of the PvdA. Wim Kok succeeded him and, in addition to being party chairman, also became opposition leader against the Lubbers II cabinet.
Minister of Finance
When the Lubbers III cabinet came to power in 1989, a collaboration between CDA and PvdA, Kok was appointed as minister of finance. Significant cuts had to be made in government expenditure. Government subsidies were reduced, absenteeism was limited, rents rose, public transport became more expensive and excise duties were increased. Wim Kok also received criticism from his own party with these measures, but he still managed to maintain the confidence of his supporters.
Purple I, Kok as Prime Minister
In the 1994 elections, Ruud Lubbers’ CDA suffered a major defeat and the PvdA became the largest party. A coalition was formed between PvdA, VVD and D66. Wim Kok became Prime Minister of the so-called purple cabinet. The policy that Kok pursued as Minister of Finance was continued. This was necessary to meet the requirements for joining the European Monetary Union. By reducing the national debt and creating jobs through wage moderation, the economy in the Netherlands flourished.
A second term, Kok II
The voters rewarded the cabinet in 1998 and Wim Kok was allowed to take office as Prime Minister of Purple II. Initially, this cabinet also had the wind in its sails and the Dutch economy continued to grow. Wim Kok was praised at home and abroad for his economic policy. The cabinet further liberalized euthanasia legislation and made gay marriage possible.
The decline of the purple cabinet
Economic growth also brought problems. The rising number of jobs created more demand on the labor market than there was supply. This shortage caused wages to rise, which negated the policy of wage moderation. In addition, the competitive position of the Netherlands deteriorated because the government introduced tax cuts. This increased purchasing power, resulting in high inflation. Besides these economic vicissitudes, Wim Kok had other problems to flog.
Wedding of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander to Maxima
A political crisis arose in the Netherlands in 2001 when it became known that the then Crown Prince Willem-Alexander wanted to marry the Argentinian Maxima Zorreguieta. Maxima’s father, Jorge Zorreguieta, held the position of Secretary of State in the bloody regime of the Argentine dictator Videla. Kok managed to prevent the crown prince’s future father-in-law from attending the wedding.
The rise of Pim Fortuyn
In his book ‘The ruins of eight years of Purple’, Pim Fortuyn criticized the Kok cabinet in 2001. Fortuyn expressed strong criticism of the long waiting lists in healthcare and the problems in education. He also blamed the growing sense of insecurity in the Netherlands on the purple cabinets. This feeling flared up further due to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
Srebrenica, the final blow for the Kok cabinet
The Sebrenica issue ultimately became the death knell for Kok II. The Netherlands Institute for War Documentation NIOD published a very critical report on the Dutch mission to Bosnia in 1993. Responsibility for sending 400 Dutch soldiers to Srebrenica lay with Prime Minister Kok. The lightly armed troops could not prevent the enclave from being captured by Bosnian Serbs in 1995. The male population of the enclave, consisting of 7,000 people, was deported and murdered. Kok took political responsibility by resigning on April 16, 2002.
A life after politics
Source: Croes, Rob Anefo, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA-3.0)
In 2003, Wim Kok accepted supervisory positions at ING, TPG Post, KLM and Shell. This earned him some criticism. During his reign, Kok fulminated against directors of large companies. He called them pickpockets and accused them of exhibitionistic self-enrichment. In his position as commissioner, Kok not only enjoyed generous income himself, but was also responsible for further income increases. He defended himself by stating that as a politician he represented the interests of society and as a commissioner he was responsible for the interests of the company. Kok also fulfilled several European advisory positions. From 2009 to 2013 he was president of the Club of Madrid. This organization aims to promote democracy worldwide and consists of 70 former heads of state and government from 50 countries.
Wim Kok, a man of consensus
Although Wim Kok occasionally received criticism both inside and outside politics, he was a valued man. As Prime Minister he was respected by, among others, then American President Bill Clinton. The then British Prime Minister Tony Blair also made no secret of his admiration for Kok. Kok was seen as someone who stood above the parties and always strove for consensus. Under Kok, the PvdA grew from an opposition party to a party with government responsibility that could collaborate with other parties. Kok himself called this shaking off the ideological feathers.