Bibi de Vries

"Bibi de Vries" (born March 15, 1963 in Egmond aan Zee) was a member of the Dutch liberal VVD (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie] party ("fraction") in the Lower House of the Dutch Parliament, the Tweede Kamer ("Second Chamber"). She was a member of Parliament from 1994 till 2006.

She was the vice-chairwoman of the VVD party in the Lower House from 2003 till 2006. In that year, the chairman of the Lower House VVD party, Jozias van Aartsen, stepped down because of the poor VVD election results in the 2006 Dutch municipal election. She followed his example because she felt "connected" to him. Fellow VVD Parliament member Edith Schippers succeeded her as vice-chairwoman.

In the Lower House, she was associated for her party with economical and financial affairs like pensions, unemployment, and so forth. She was chairwoman of the Lower House Commission for Government Expenses, and was part of the Srebrenica Commission, which investigated the errors made by the Dutch UN army unit regarding the Srebrenica massacre in the Bosnian Srebrenica enclave.

When the second Balkenende Cabinet fell, and new general elections were announced, she declared she wouldn't return to Parliament after the elections, and has left Parliament. Shortly before the elections, she published a book about her experiences as vice-chairwoman.

External links

* [http://www.bibidevries.nl/ Bibi de Vries] official site
* [http://www.parlement.com/ Dutch Political and Parliamental information site.]