About Mrs. drs. Neelie Kroes

Neelie Kroes, born on 19 July 1941 in Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, is a Dutch politician and businessperson. In 1971 she was elected to the lower house of parliament, forcing her to stop her fellowship. In parliament, she became spokesperson for education. She remained a member of parliament until 1977, when she became junior minister of Transportation and Water Management in the First Van Agt Cabinet, responsible for Postal and Telephone Services and Transportation. In 1981 she briefly returned to the lower house of parliament, while her party, VVD, was in the opposition. In 1982 she returned to office in the First and Second Lubbers Cabinets, now as the minister for Transportation and Water Management, a post that she held until 1989. As a minister she was responsible for the privatization of the Post and Telephone Services, as well as the commissioning of the Betuwe-railway.
After her time as minister, Ms Kroes became a member of the Rotterdam Chamber of Commerce, furthermore she served as a board member for Ballast Nedam (shipping), ABP-PGGM (a pension fund), NIB (an investment bank), McDonald's Netherlands, Nedlloyd, and Nederlandse Spoorwegen (the privatized Dutch railroad company).
In 1991 she became chairperson of Nyenrode University, a private business school. In 2004 Neelie Kroes was appointed European Commissioner for Competition. Since February 2010, she is Vice-President of the European Commission, responsible for the Digital Agenda.