Dick Benschop

Dirk Anne "Dick" Benschop (Dutch: [ˈdɪk ˈbɛnsxɔp]; born 5 November 1957) is a Dutch corporate executive and politician of the Labour Party (PvdA). He served as State Secretary for European Affairs in the second Kok cabinet. After studying history at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, he started his career as personal assistant of former prime minister Joop den Uyl in 1986, the year before Den Uyl's death. Benschop subsequently advised parliamentary leaders Wim Kok and Thijs Wöltgens. He did some consulting work before being sworn in as State Secretary for European Affairs in August 1998. He led the Labour Party's campaign in the May 2002 general election, in which Ad Melkert was lead candidate and in which the party lost 22 of its 45 seats in the House of Representatives. Benschop was elected, but he left parliament in August 2002. He started working for Royal Dutch Shell the following year, and he served as president-director of Shell Netherlands from 2011 until 2015. Benschop became chief executive officer (CEO) of Royal Schiphol Group in 2018, leading the largest airport in the Netherlands. He resigned from his position in September 2022 after a personnel shortage had resulted in months of reduced capacity and long lines of passengers.