Early Life and Career
Frederik Bolkestein was born on 4 April 1933 in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. His father was president of the Court in Amsterdam. His grandfather, Gerrit Bolkestein, was Minister of Education, Arts, and Sciences to the Dutch government-in-exile of 1939 to 1945. Bolkestein's mother was of Indo heritage.
Bolkestein attended the Barlaeus Gymnasium in Amsterdam from 1945 to 1951, where he majored in both arts and sciences. Upon completing his gymnasium education, he was an undergraduate in mathematics at Oregon State College from 1951 to 1953. Subsequently he returned to Amsterdam, where he received a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics in 1955. In 1959 he received a master's degree in philosophy and Greek. Bolkestein subsequently received a BSc from The London School of Economics in 1963, and an LL.M. from Leiden University in 1965.
During his studies in Amsterdam, Bolkestein was editor for the satirical student magazine Propria Cures. He was also a member of the board of the student union ASVA.
Before entering Dutch politics, Bolkestein worked for the oil company Royal Dutch Shell from 1960 to 1975. During this period he was assigned to postings in East Africa, Honduras and El Salvador, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, and France. In Paris, he served on the board of the Shell Chimie from 1973 to 1975. During his tenure with Shell, he completed the first part of the economics program at the London School of Economics in 1964 and he also completed a law degree at Leiden University, graduating in 1965.
In 1976, Bolkestein wrote an English language play named Floris, Count of Holland, under the anagrammatic pseudonym of Niels Kobet.
Read more about this topic: Frits Bolkestein
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