NIMD is very pleased to welcome Eimert van Middelkoop as the new President of our Supervisory Council. Eimert, a longstanding member of the Council, will take over from Bernard Bot who has stepped down this month.

The Supervisory Council consists of independent professionals, many of whom are from the political or academic sectors. They oversee NIMD’s activities, and enrich our work with their specific expertise and experience.

Eimert van Middelkoop

Eimert van Middelkoop is a Dutch politician; he has been a Member of Parliament and the Senate and is a former Minister of Defence (2007-2010). He has been on many missions during his years on the Supervisory Council. Most recently, in July 2017, Eimert shared his insights with young politicians as the keynote speaker at NIMD’s Digital Democracy Forum in Georgia.

Eimert’s vast experience, along with a genuine belief in the vision and work of NIMD, makes him ideally placed to oversee the support that the Supervisory Council provides to the organization.

“Dutch foreign politics is characterized by idealism. NIMD is proof that democratic ideals can be turned into practice in complex political and fragile environments where few organizations dare to work. That’s what I find appealing about the organization. I’m proud that NIMD has accepted the many challenges working with difficult political structures in developing democracies around the world.”

Eimert van Middelkoop is very happy to be taking up the new role. In his role as President of the Supervisory Board, he looks forward to using his specific background and experience to advise the organization on how to continue to ensure that our approaches enable fragile countries to really embed multiparty democracy in their society.

Bernard Bot

As well as looking forward to our continuing priorities, this is also a time to say goodbye to the former President of the Supervisory Council, Bernard Bot, who has been involved in NIMD’s work for over 10 years.

A Dutch diplomat, Bernard Bot served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2003 until 2007. His previous roles included Secretary General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels, Dutch Ambassador to Turkey and Permanent representative of the Netherlands to the European Union.

His wealth of experience and international portfolio have been a valuable asset to our work, as well as the dedication he has always shown to our mandate.

“I very much believe in NIMD’s work and objective. Supporting democracy and democratization in young and fragile democracies is important, now more than ever. Solid democratic governance within stable structures is a prerequisite for prosperity, development, human rights and accountability. It needs our attention.”

As Supervisory Council President, Bernard Bot also took part in many visits to programme countries. During his most recent visit, he helped launch our new School of Politics in Jordan. On these trips, his ability to connect with politicians, building our network and sharing ideas on the importance of democracy, always shone through.

Ultimately, Bernard Bot will be missed for his broad knowledge and experience, his dedication to NIMD and a strong sense of pride in his work.

“I’m proud that NIMD is doing well and is growing. We have also had difficult times, times of uncertainty. I’m proud that we were able to get through those periods together and have come out stronger on the other side.”

NIMD’s staff and Supervisory Council would like to express our deep gratitude to Bernard for his commitment and wish him all the best in his future endeavours.