Winnie Sorgdrager

Her Excellency
Winnie Sorgdrager
Her Excellency Winnie Sorgdrager
	Sorgdrager in 2009
Member of the Council of State
	In office; 1 January 2006 – 1 May 2018
Vice President	Herman Tjeenk Willink ; (2006–2012) ; Piet Hein Donner ; (2012–2018)
Member of the Senate
	In office; 8 June 1999 – 1 October 1999
Parliamentary group	Democrats 66
Minister of Justice
	In office; 22 August 1994 – 3 August 1998
Prime Minister	Wim Kok
Preceded by	Aad Kosto
Succeeded by	Benk Korthals
Personal details
Born	Winnifred Sorgdrager; 6 April 1948 (age 76); The Hague, Netherlands
Political party	Democrats 66 (from 1994)
Other political; affiliations	People's Party for ; Freedom and Democracy ; (1973–1983) ; Democrats 66 ; (1968–1971)
Residence(s)	The Hague, Netherlands
Alma mater	Leiden University ; (Bachelor of Medical Sciences ; University of Groningen ; (Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws)
Occupation	Politician · Civil servant · Jurist · Prosecutor · Judge · Researcher · Academic administrator · Nonprofit director · Author

Winnifred "Winnie" Sorgdrager (born 6 April 1948) is a retired Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. She was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 22 June 2018.^[1]

Biography

Sorgdrager studied law at the University of Groningen. Sorgdrager worked as researcher at the University of Twente from July 1971 until January 1979. Sorgdrager worked as a prosecutor for the Prosecution Service in Almelo from January 1979 until May 1986 and as solicitor general for the Prosecution Service in Arnhem from May 1986 until January 1991. Sorgdrager worked as Attorney General of the Courts of Appeal of Arnhem from January 1991 until January 1994 and as Attorney General of the Courts of Appeal of The Hague from January 1994 until 22 August 1994.

After the election of 1994, Sorgdrager was appointed Minister of Justice in the Cabinet Kok I, taking office on 22 August 1994. In April 1998, Sorgdrager announced that she would not stand for the election of 1998. Following the cabinet formation of 1998, Sorgdrager was not given a cabinet post in the new cabinet, The Cabinet Kok I was replaced by the Cabinet Kok II on 3 August 1998. In September 1998, Sorgdrager was a candidate as the next National Ombudsman, but had to retract her candidacy following criticism from the Prosecution Service. Sorgdrager was elected as a Member of the Senate after the Senate election of 1999, serving from 8 June 1999 until her resignation on 1 October 1999. In December 2005, Sorgdrager was nominated as a Member of the Council of State, serving from 1 January 2006 until 1 May 2018.^[2]

Sorgdrager is also a member of the Supervisory Board of the Leiden University Medical Center, a commissioner for the association for the preservation of historic houses of The Netherlands, Vereniging Hendrick de Keyser, and a member of the board of the Arbo Unie. She became an ethics counselor to the cabinet of the Netherlands in March 2024.^[3]

Sorgdrager has two sons, Ernest and Daniel, from her past marriage to Jan Willem Loot. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1977.^[4]

Decorations

Ribbon bar	Honour	Country	Date	Comment
Honours
	Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau	Netherlands	30 October 1998
	Commander of the Order of the Netherlands Lion	Netherlands	1 May 2018
Honorific Titles
Ribbon bar	Honour	Country	Date	Comment
	Minister of State	Netherlands	22 June 2018	Style of Excellency

References

^ "Benoeming minister van Staat" (in Dutch). Rijksoverheid. 21 December 2018. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
^ Graaf, Kars Jan (2007). Quality of decision-making in public law: studies in administrative decision-making in the Netherlands. Europa Law Publishing. pp. 121–. ISBN 978-90-76871-85-1.
^ "Oud-ministers Sorgdrager en De Hoop Scheffer vertrouwensfunctionarissen kabinetsleden" [Former ministers Sorgdrager and De Hoop Scheffer counselor to government members]. NOS (in Dutch). 15 March 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
^ Peter de Waard (22 February 2021). "De onverstoorbaarheid van orkestdirecteur Willem Loot (1943-2021) leverde hem de bijnaam Sfinx op". De Volksrant. Retrieved 22 July 2021.

External links

Official

(in Dutch) Mr. W. (Winnie) Sorgdrager Parlement & Politiek
(in Dutch) Mr. W. Sorgdrager (D66) Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal

Political offices
Preceded by Aad Kosto	Minister of Justice 1994–1998	Succeeded by Benk Korthals
Civic offices
Preceded by Jos van Kemenade	Chairwoman of the Supervisory board of the Raad voor Cultuur 2000–2006	Succeeded by Els Swaab

[1] "Benoeming minister van Staat" (in Dutch). Rijksoverheid. 21 December 2018. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.

[Graaf2007-2] Graaf, Kars Jan (2007). Quality of decision-making in public law: studies in administrative decision-making in the Netherlands. Europa Law Publishing. pp. 121–. ISBN 978-90-76871-85-1.

[3] "Oud-ministers Sorgdrager en De Hoop Scheffer vertrouwensfunctionarissen kabinetsleden" [Former ministers Sorgdrager and De Hoop Scheffer counselor to government members]. NOS (in Dutch). 15 March 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.

[4] Peter de Waard (22 February 2021). "De onverstoorbaarheid van orkestdirecteur Willem Loot (1943-2021) leverde hem de bijnaam Sfinx op". De Volksrant. Retrieved 22 July 2021.

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v t e First Kok cabinet (1994–1998)
Preceded by: Third Lubbers cabinet Succeeded by: Second Kok cabinet
Prime Minister	Wim Kok (General Affairs)
Deputy Prime Ministers	Hans Dijkstal (Interior) Hans van Mierlo (Foreign Affairs)
Ministers	Gerrit Zalm (Finance) (1994–1996) Hans Wijers (Finance) (Ad interim) Gerrit Zalm (Finance) (1996–1998) Winnie Sorgdrager (Justice) Hans Wijers (Economic Affairs) Joris Voorhoeve (Defence) Els Borst (Health, Welfare and Sport) Ad Melkert (Social Affairs and Employment) Jo Ritzen (Education, Culture and Science) Annemarie Jorritsma (Transport and Water Management) Jozias van Aartsen (Agriculture, Nature and Fisheries) Margreeth de Boer (Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment)
Minister without portfolios	Joris Voorhoeve (Netherlands Antilles and Aruba Affairs) Jan Pronk (Development Cooperation)
State Secretaries	Tonny van de Vondervoort (Interior) Jacob Kohnstamm (Interior) Michiel Patijn (Foreign Affairs) Willem Vermeend (Finance) Elizabeth Schmitz (Justice) Anneke van Dok-van Weele (Economic Affairs) Jan Gmelich Meijling (Defence) Erica Terpstra (Health, Welfare and Sport) Robin Linschoten (Social Affairs and Employment) (1994–1996) Frank de Grave (Social Affairs and Employment) (from 1996) Tineke Netelenbos (Education, Culture and Science) Aad Nuis (Education, Culture and Science) Monique de Vries (Transport and Water Management) Dick Tommel (Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment)

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