Uri Rosenthal

یوری رزنتال

Uriël "Uri" Rosenthal (born July 19, 1945) is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet Rutte I from October 14, 2010 until November 5, 2012. He previously served as a Member of the Senate from June 8, 1999 until October 14, 2010 and the Parliamentary leader in the Senate from May 5, 2005 until October 14, 2010. A professor of political science and public administration by occupation, he taught from 1980 until 2010 at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and the Leiden University.

Uriël Rosenthal was born on July 19, 1945 in Montreux, Switzerland to Jewish parents who during World War II fled the Netherlands from the German occupation of the Netherlands. After attending school in The Hague he went to study political science at the University of Amsterdam where he obtained his M.A. in 1970. In 1978 he received his PhD in social sciences at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. In 1980 he became a professor of political science and public administration at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. And from 1987 until 2011 a professor of public administration at the Leiden University.

He was elected Member of the Senate as a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and took office on June 8, 1999. He became the Parliamentary leader in the Senate on May 5, 2005. On 12 June 2010, Queen Beatrix nominated Rosenthal as first informateur in the 2010 Dutch cabinet formation. On June 26 the Queen replaced Rosenthal with Herman Tjeenk Willink, the Vice President of the Council of State as the new informateur. On July 5 he became informateur a second time together with Jacques Wallage of the Labour Party. But on July 21 the Queen again replaced him and Wallage with Minister of State and former Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers.

On September 28, the negotiations were finished. A coalition agreement was reached between People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and Christian Democratic Appeal to form a minority coalition, supported by the Party for Freedom to obtain a majority. Formateur Mark Rutte asked Rosenthal as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the new cabinet. Because a member of the States-General of the Netherlands can not serve in the cabinet he resigned as a Member of the Senate and Parliamentary leader on October 14, 2010, the same day he took office as the new Minister of Foreign Affairs.

He has been married since January 4, 1973. He lives in Rotterdam with his wife, an Israeli native. They have two children. His oldest sister lives in Ashkelon. and his younger sister in Nesher, a suburb of Haifa.

• Order of Orange-Nassau
  • Officer (April 29, 1985)

• Operation Red Coalition Conspiracy