Background
Winsemius is the son of economist Albert Winsemius.
Winsemius is the son of economist Albert Winsemius.
Leiden University.
As a politician for the Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratic (People's Party for Freedom and Democracy), he has been Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment during two periods. Trained as a physics scientist, and active as partner in the business consultancy firm McKinsey, he was Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM) in the First Lubbers cabinet, on behalf of the Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratic (People's Party for Freedom and Democracy). As a young minister, he brought environmental laws to effect, including the rules for environmental impact assessments. After his ministerial period, he became chairman of the Vereniging Natuurmonumenten.
On 22 September 2006, he again became minister of VROM, temporarily succeeding Sybilla Dekker during the Third Balkenende cabinet, until a completely new government had been formed on 22 February 2007 and he was succeeded by Jacqueline Cramer.
Winsemius has written books about management and social issues, including Speel nooit een uitwedstrijd (1988), in which he compared managing to professional soccer. During the 1980s, Winsemius was co-host of the television show Aktua in bedrijf.
Since October 1999, Winsemius holds a professorate for Management of Sustainable Development, at the Tilburg University. On 7 March 2007, he was elected as most influential sustainable Dutchman in the De Duurzame 100 investigation by the daily magazine Trouw and broadcasting group LLink.