Former minister and former DSM president Atzo Nicolaï (60) has passed away. At the beginning of this century he was Secretary of State for European Affairs on behalf of the VVD and Minister for Administrative Reform and Kingdom Relations under Prime Minister Balkenende.
As minister, Nicolaï was responsible for, among other things, the introduction of the citizen service number and the digital passport for the DigiD government. After that he was a member of the Lower House for the VVD for several years.
After his political career, Nicolaï went into business. From 2011 to 2019 he was president of the chemical group DSM in Limburg. There he was involved in, among other things, the establishment of the Chemelot Campus chemical business park.
Additional positions
He also had a number of additional positions. He was chairman of the supervisory boards of the University of Amsterdam and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, chairman of Bird Protection Netherlands, chairman of the De Balie cultural center in Amsterdam and board member of the employers’ organization VNO-NCW.
Nicolai was terminally ill. This forced him this month to leave his job at the port business organization Deltalinqs, a position he held since the beginning of this year.
Prime Minister Rutte responded with reports to the death of his party member:
–
