Earlier this week, the President of Romania, mr. Klaus-Werner Iohannis, awarded ESL professor and former Dutch Prime Minister prof. Jan Peter Balkenende the National Order of the ‘Star of Romania’ in the rank of Grand Cross. Balkenende received this honour as a sign of appreciation for the support he offered Romania during his tenure as Prime Minister.
During a special ceremony at the Romanian Embassy in The Hague, Romanian Ambassador Mrs. Brândușa Predescu pinned the decoration on Jan Peter Balkenende’s lapel. Prof. Balkenende was lauded for his role during the Romanian accession negotiations with the EU and for his support for the development of relations between the Netherlands and Romania on multiple levels.
Since December 2010, Jan Peter Balkenende is Professor Governance, Institutions and Internationalisation at Erasmus School of Law and Erasmus School of Economics. Between 2002 and 2010, he served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands. Before that, he was leader of the CDA (Christian Democratic Appeal) party in the Dutch House of Representatives.