Education
Vrije Universiteit; University of Michigan. University of Michigan Law School.
Vrije Universiteit; University of Michigan. University of Michigan Law School.
He is the Vice President of the Council of State since February 1, 2012. He became Minister of Justice serving from 22 July 2002 until 21 September 2006 in the Cabinets Balkenende I, II and III. He and Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment Sybilla Dekker resigned in the wake of a Dutch Safety Board enquiry into a fire at a cell block near Schiphol Airport. The Donner family has produced a number of Calvinist judges.
Piet Hein Donner"s father, André Donner, was a judge at the European Court of Justice in 1958-1979 and was part of the government commission that looked into Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands"s dealing with the Lockheed Corporation.
Piet Hein Donner studied Law at the Free University of Amsterdam, obtaining a degree in 1974. During his study, he joined the student society L.A.N.X. in 1968.
Politics
lieutenant was a reply to a song by Gerd Leers, Mayor of Maastricht, (with punk band Heideroosjes), which called for a more progressive policy which would not only regulate the selling of soft drugs, but also legalise their production. On 13 September 2006, Donner was the subject of controversy when he suggested Islamic law could be established in the Netherlands by democratic means.
He responded by a clarification that he was not advocating such a scenario but warning against lieutenant
That same month, a report of the investigative commission into a fire at Schiphol Airport jail was released, condemning Dutch government officials. Donner, as responsible justice minister, resigned in aftermath of the report"s conclusions. His successor was Ernst Hirsch Ballin, who had been justice minister in the third Lubbers cabinet.
Four months later, Donner was appointed Minister of Social Affairs and Employment in the new Cabinet, Balkenende IV.
In 2006, Piet Hein Donner recorded a rap song together with Meester G to explain his point of view on the Dutch soft-drug policy.
Donner previously served as the Director of the Scientific Council for Government Policy from 1 January 1993 until 22 December 1997 when he became a Member of the Council of State serving from 22 December 1997 until 22 July 2002. He then became a Member of the House of Representatives, serving from 30 November 2006 until 22 February 2007 when he became Minister of Social Affairs and Employment in the Cabinet Balkenende IV, serving until 14 October 2010 when he became Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations in the Cabinet Rutte I. He resigned on 16 December 2011 after he was elected the new Vice President of the Council of State succeeding Herman Tjeenk Willink, he was replaced as Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations by fellow Christian Democratic Appeal party member Liesbeth Spies.