Ernst Hirsch Ballin

Infobox_Politician
name =Ernst Maurits Henricus Hirsch Ballin


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birth_date =Birth date and age|1950|12|15|df=y
birth_place =Amsterdam, Netherlands
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office = minister of Justice
salary =
term_start = 2007
term_end = present
predecessor = Piet Hein Donner
successor = Incumbent
office2 = Minister of Justice
salary2 =
term_start2 = 1989
term_end2 = 1994
predecessor2 =
successor2 =
party = Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA)
religion = Roman Catholic
constituency =
majority =
spouse =
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website =
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Ernst Maurits Henricus Hirsch Ballin (born Amsterdam, December 15, 1950) is a Dutch politician, minister of Justice in the fourth cabinet Balkenende. He previously was minister of Justice in the third Lubbers cabinet (1989-1994), and successor of Piet Hein Donner as justice minister in the third Balkenende cabinet (2006). He is a member of the CDA, a Christian-democratic party.He was born to Jewish parents, but converted to Catholicism during his studies at Amsterdam University.

After a parliamentary inquiry (1994) into the investigative methods used by the Dutch interregional police force (IRT affair), Hirsch Ballin had to resign from his position. He then was respectively member of the Tindemans group 1994-1995, a member of the Dutch House of Representatives, member of the Dutch Senate, and from 2000, member of the Dutch Council of State.

The arrest of the satirical cartoonist Gregorius Nekschot on May 13 2008 caused (inter)national controversy.