Early Life and Career
Samsom was born in Groningen and raised in Leeuwarden. His father worked as an internist and his mother as a physiotherapist. Between 1983 and 1989, he attended the Municipal Gymnasium (Dutch: Stedelijk Gymnasium) in Leeuwarden. There he became interested in physics, so he went on to study Applied Physics (Dutch: "Technische Natuurkunde") at Delft University of Technology. Samsom specialised in nuclear physics and became a level three radiation expert. He graduated in May 1997, obtaining a Dutch Engineer's degree (In Dutch: Ingenieur). He was also on the board of the National Students' Union LSVb and edited a yearly edition of the Poenboek, a students' guide concerning monetary issues.
Samsom had been involved in environmentalism long before entering politics. Samsom joined environmental organisation Greenpeace Netherlands in September 1995 as a volunteer. He led several campaigns and projects until he quit in December 2001, when the PvdA approached him offering a career in politics. He also worked as the CEO of Real Energy (Dutch: Echte Energie), a small green energy trading company, from August 2002 until January 2003.
Read more about this topic: Diederik Samsom
Famous quotes containing the words early, life and/or career:
““next to of course god america i
love you land of the pilgrims” and so forth oh
say can you see by the dawn’s early my
country ‘tis of centuries come and go
and are no more what of it we should worry
in every language even deafanddumb
thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorry
by jing by gee by gosh by gum”
—E.E. (Edward Estlin)
“If it were possible to have a life absolutely free from every feeling of sin, what a terrifying vacuum it would be!”
—Cesare Pavese (1908–1950)
“In time your relatives will come to accept the idea that a career is as important to you as your family. Of course, in time the polar ice cap will melt.”
—Barbara Dale (b. 1940)