Guusje ter Horst

Guusje ter Horst
Ter Horst in 2012
Member of the Senate
In office 7 June 2011 – 9 June 2015
Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations
In office 22 February 2007 – 23 February 2010
Prime Minister	Jan Peter Balkenende
Preceded by	Johan Remkes
Succeeded by	Ernst Hirsch Ballin
Mayor of Nijmegen
In office 15 April 2001 – 1 January 2007
Preceded by	Joop Tettero (ad interim)
Succeeded by	Thom de Graaf
Personal details
Born	Guus ter Horst (1952-03-22) 22 March 1952 Deventer, Netherlands
Political party	Labour Party (from 1984)
Residence(s)	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Alma mater	University of Amsterdam (Bachelor of Social Science, Master of Social Science, Doctor of Philosophy)
Occupation	Politician · Civil servant · Psychologist · Corporate director · Nonprofit director · Researcher · Academic administrator · Professor

In this Dutch name, the surname is ter Horst, not Horst.

Guus "Guusje" ter Horst (born 22 March 1952) is a retired Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and psychologist. She is a member of the supervisory board of Royal Dutch Shell since 1 January 2013 and chairwoman of the supervisory board of the Institute for Sound and Vision since 11 July 2011.

Biography

Ter Horst attended gymnasium in The Hague and subsequently studied at University of Amsterdam where she obtained a MSc degree in psychology. In 1984 she received a PhD degree in social science on her thesis concerning the question how people who never go to the dentist can be made to do so. Between 1986 and 1994 she was associate professor of Social Dentistry at the subfaculty of Dentistry of the University of Amsterdam.

In 1984 Ter Horst joined the Labour Party (PvdA). In 1986 she was elected to the Amsterdam municipal council. In 1994 she became alderwoman, responsible for spatial planning, she initiated a major renovation of the city of Amsterdam.

In 2001 she became mayor of Nijmegen. During her six-year term, she moved to a new house every year, to get to know the city. In August 2006 Ter Horst was fined for drunk driving, strangely, without political consequence. On 1 January 2007 her term as mayor ended and she did not pursue a second one. She was succeeded by Thom de Graaf.

In 2010 Ter Horst received one of the Dutch Big Brother Awards for her lack of nuance in the privacy debate. Her project of a centrally organised fingerprint database for passports won an award as well. She resigned, together with all PvdA ministers, on the morning of 20 February 2010. The Queen accepted the resignation on 23 February 2010.

Ter Horst became policy driver for the government program Doe onbeperkt mee ("Participate without limits") to empower people with disabilities in December 2022. She stepped down from the position in July 2024, as she was unwilling to serve under incoming State Secretary for Long-term and Social Care Vicky Maeijer of the right-wing populist Party for Freedom (PVV) due to Maeijer's party affiliation.

Decorations

Honours

Ribbon bar	Honour	Country	Date	Comment
	Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau	Netherlands	3 December 2010

External links

Official

• Dr. G. (Guusje) ter Horst Parlement & Politiek (in Dutch)
• Dr. G. ter Horst (PvdA) Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal (in Dutch)