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Dutch politician (1938–2006)

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Ria Beckers
Ria Beckers in 1981

Leader of GroenLinks
In office 14 September 1989 – 20 April 1993
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Peter Lankhorst
Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives
In office 14 September 1989 – 20 April 1993
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Peter Lankhorst
In office 25 May 1977 – 14 September 1989
Preceded by	Bas de Gaay Fortman
Succeeded by	Office discontinued
Leader of the Political Party of Radicals
In office 25 May 1977 – 14 September 1989
Preceded by	Bas de Gaay Fortman
Succeeded by	Office discontinued
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 8 June 1977 – 20 April 1993
Chairwoman of the Political Party of Radicals
In office 30 November 1974 – 10 December 1976
Leader	Bas de Gaay Fortman
Preceded by	Wouter van Dam
Succeeded by	Herman Verbeek

Personal details
Born	Maria Brigitta Catherina de Bruijn (1938-11-02)2 November 1938 Driebergen, Netherlands
Died	22 March 2006(2006-03-22) (aged 67) Wadenoijen, Netherlands
Cause of death	Terminal illness
Political party	GroenLinks (from 1989)
Other political affiliations	Political Party of Radicals (1970–1989)
Spouse	Karel Beckers (m. 1965)
Children	2 daughters and 1 son
Alma mater	Utrecht University (Bachelor of Letters, Master of Letters)
Occupation	Politician · Teacher · Nonprofit director · Academic administrator · Activist

Maria Brigitta Catherina "Ria" Beckers-de Bruijn (2 November 1938 – 22 March 2006) was a Dutch politician of the Political Party of Radicals (PPR) and later co-founder of the GroenLinks (GL) party and teacher.

Career before politics

In 1956, Beckers completed the gymnasium, in which she took all courses and did not major in either sciences or arts. She continued to study Latin and Greek at the University of Utrecht. From 1962 she taught these languages at high schools in Haarlem and Leiden. Her thesis concerned the position of women in Greek Tragedy.

In the 1970s she had become active in the progressive Christian political party Politieke Partij Radicalen (PPR). Beckers had a Catholic background. She became a member of the PPR board in 1973 as vice-chairperson. In 1974 she was elected chairperson of the PPR.

Political career

In 1977, Beckers was elected lijsttrekker of the PPR. This was remarkable because she was not a member of parliament at the time. The young Beckers was expected to perform better under young voters than the then political leader Bas de Gaay Fortman. She was the first female lijsttrekker in Dutch politics. In the 1977 elections the PPR lost four of its seven seats. Beckers nonetheless remained political leader and led the PPR in the 1981, 1982 and 1986 elections. In these elections the party got between two and three seats. Under her leadership the PPR broke its links with the PvdA and oriented itself to the more left-wing parties PSP, CPN and EVP. The PPR was no longer interested in governing but instead chose to testify to its ideals.

In 1989, the PPR merged with these left-wing parties to become the GroenLinks. Beckers was elected lijsttrekker of the new formation. In the 1989 elections the GroenLinks got a disappointing six seats. Beckers remained political leader of the GroenLinks until 1993, when she stood down for a new generation. She had been political leader of her party for sixteen years. When she left parliament in 1993 prime-minister Lubbers praised her by saying "you gave us (the government) a lot of trouble".

In parliament Beckers took special interest in promoting organic farming and peace.

Later career

After leaving politics Beckers became involved in green NGOs: she was chairperson of the Platform Biologica, which promotes organic agriculture, from 1993 to 2004. She was chairperson the Foundation for Nature and the Environment since 1994 for ten years. After she left these positions in 2004 she was made Officer in the Order of Orange Nassau. After that she held several positions in advisory boards, for instance of the green Triodos-bank and Research Centre of Wageningen University.

In 2006, Beckers died after a long illness. After her death she was praised for being an authentic, compassionate and idealistic politician, who stood far from the televised political theater of today.

Personal life

Beckers was married and had three children, one of whom was adopted.

Beckers lived most of her life in Wadenoijen, which is near the Linge river. For years she protested against the creation of bigger dikes against the river. Ironically, in 1995, she had to be evacuated from her house, because the dikes were expected to be not strong enough to hold back the river.

Decorations

Ribbon bar	Honour	Country	Date
Honours
	Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion	Netherlands	30 April 1989
	Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau	Netherlands	30 April 2004

References

"Getuigenispoliticus met een groot hart" (Compassionate testimonial politician ) (in Dutch). de Volkskrant, 24 March 2006.

External links

Official

(in Dutch) Drs. M.B.C. (Ria) Beckers-de Bruijn Parlement & Politiek

Party political offices
Preceded byWouter van Dam	Chairwoman of the Political Party of Radicals 1974–1976	Succeeded byHerman Verbeek
Preceded byBas de Gaay Fortman	Lijsttrekker of the Political Party of Radicals 1977, 1981, 1982, 1986	Party merged into GroenLinks
	Leader of the Political Party of Radicals 1977–1989
	Parliamentary leader of the Political Party of Radicals in the House of Representatives 1977–1989
New political party	Lijsttrekker of GroenLinks 1989	Succeeded byIna Brouwer
	Leader of GroenLinks 1989–1993	Succeeded byPeter Lankhorst
	Parliamentary leader of GroenLinks in the House of Representatives 1989–1993	Succeeded byPeter Lankhorst

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