As Deputy Secretary-General, Mr. Aart de Geus is in charge of the Political Economy of Reform and preparations for the Ministerial Council Meeting and the Executive Committee in Special Session.

Mr. de Geus, a Dutch national, was Minister of Social Affairs and Employment in the Netherlands from 2002 until 22 February 2007. As Minister, Mr. de Geus introduced major reforms in the Dutch social security system, notably by turning it into an activating system where citizens, employers and local authorities take their own responsibilities. During the four years of his tenure, he concluded major national agreements with social partners on wages, reforms of social security and tax-facilities for early retirement. He chaired the OECD Social Policy Ministerial Meeting in 2005 and has served in various functions at local, national and international level.

From 1998 until 2002, Mr. de Geus was a partner in an Amsterdam-based company for strategy and management, where he worked in the fields of health care, pensions and human resource development.

Mr. de Geus served as vice-chairman of the executive board of the National Federation of Christian Trade Unions from 1993 to 1998, where he focused on social security, health care, pensions, labour market policy, income policy and education. He had been member of the Trade Union’s executive board since 1988. Prior to that, Mr. de Geus worked as a lawyer in the industry sector of the Christian Trade Union.

Mr. de Geus has a law degree from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and post-graduate studies in labour law from Nijmegen University.

Mr. de Geus took up his functions on 5 March 2007.