page_title: Henk Kamp
section_title: Politics
hierarchical_section_title: Henk Kamp / Politics
caption_attribution_description: Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and Minister of Defense Henk Kamp of the Netherlands chat as they arrive inside the Pentagon on March 17, 2004. The two leaders are meeting to discuss defense issues of mutual interest. DoD photo by Helene C. Stikkel.
context_page_description: Henricus Gregorius Jozeph "Henk" Kamp is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and nonprofit director.
  Kamp studied Customs at the Civil Service Academy in Utrecht. Kamp worked as a tax collector for the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service of the Tax and Customs Administration from April 1980 until May 1994. After the election of 1994 Kamp was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives on 17 May 1994 and served as a frontbencher and spokesperson for Integration. After the election of 2002 Kamp was appointed as Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in the Cabinet Balkenende I taking office on 22 July 2002. The Cabinet Balkenende I fell just 87 days into its term and shortly thereafter was appointed as Minister of Defence following the resignation of Benk Korthals taking office on 12 December 2002. After the election of 2003 Kamp continued as Minister of Defence in the Cabinet Balkenende II. The Cabinet Balkenende fell on 30 June 2006 was replaced with the caretaker Cabinet Balkenende III with Kamp retaining his position.
context_section_description: From 1976 to 1994 he was a member of the municipal council in Borculo. From 1986 he was in also alderman in Borculo. From 1987 to 1994 he was a member of the Provincial Council of Gelderland. He became a Member of the House of Representatives on 17 May 1994. On 22 July 2002, Kamp became Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment. He was Minister of Defence from December 12, 2002 till 22 February 2007. After early elections where held as a result of parliamentary agreements following the formation of the  minority cabinet Balkenende III. As part of his "farewell tour" as Minister of Defence, Henk Kamp visited the Dutch troops in Afghanistan and paid his respects to president Hamid Karzai. President Karzai awarded Henk Kamp the High State Medal of Ghazi Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan.
  Kamp left the House of Representatives on 1 January 2009 to head the transformation of Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius to special municipalities within the Netherlands.
  On 13 September 2012, the day after the parliamentary elections, Kamp was asked to prepare for the formation of a new cabinet and had exploratory conversations with several parties. Already on that very day the Parliamentary leaders in the House of Representatives met with the President of the House of Representatives Gerdi Verbeet. His opinion after the talks was to start a formation on a coalition with the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and the Labour Party with himself and former Leader of the Labour Party Wouter Bos as informateurs. The formation resulted in the forming of the Cabinet Rutte II and Kamp became Minister of Economic Affairs and took office on 5 November 2012. After the resignation of Minister of Security and Justice Ivo Opstelten on 10 March 2015, Kamp became the senior member of the Council of Ministers and the third highest-ranking member after Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Deputy Prime Minister Lodewijk Asscher.
  Early February 2016 Kamp announced his retirement from national politics as of the 2017 elections.
caption: United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Minister Henk Kamp at The Pentagon on 17 March 2004.
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