Former Dutch CDA leader and ex-minister Elco Brinkman dies at 78 in Leiden

Elco Brinkman, the former Dutch minister and leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), died on Monday in Leiden after a short and intense illness, his family told the ANP news agency. He was 78.
Brinkman served as minister of Welfare, Public Health and Culture, where he implemented significant austerity measures in healthcare and introduced market-based reforms. He later became the CDA’s parliamentary leader in the Lower House during the Lubbers III cabinet (1989–1994), positioning himself as a potential successor to Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers. However, his 1994 election campaign faltered after he proposed freezing state pension payments, drawing widespread criticism. Lubbers’ public endorsement of another candidate, Ernst Hirsch Ballin, further undermined Brinkman’s bid. The CDA suffered a historic defeat, losing 20 seats, and Brinkman resigned as faction leader the same year, leaving the Lower House in 1995.
He returned to politics in 2011 as the CDA’s leader in the Upper House. Between 1995 and 2013, he chaired Bouwend Nederland, the Dutch construction industry association, and held supervisory roles at Philip Morris and pension fund ABP. In 2019, he left politics for good, citing disillusionment with The Hague’s focus on incidents and clientelism .
Also on Monday, Hungarian historian Berend T. Iván, the former president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, died at his Los Angeles home at 95, his wife, Radics Katalin, announced on his Substack. Iván survived the Dachau concentration camp at 14 and later became a member of multiple academies, including the American, British, Austrian, and European scientific bodies. He served as the academy’s president from 1985 to 1990 and held professorships at Budapest’s Karl Marx University of Economics and the University of California, Los Angeles .
Croatian writer Slobodan Šnajder, known for works like *Der kroatische Faust* and *Engel des Verschwindens*, died unexpectedly in Zagreb at 78, the Zsolnay Verlag publisher confirmed. Šnajder had recently completed the middle volume of a trilogy and was working on the final installment. His publisher, Herbert Ohrlinger, recalled a call three weeks ago in which Šnajder, though weakened after a traffic accident, insisted on presenting the last book, *Maria Leib*, at a November festival in Pula. Ohrlinger called him “a stubborn, courageous writer whose work will endure” .
Tanja Koen, the first television announcer for Dutch broadcaster NCRV, died on Aug. 24 at 100, her family announced via KRO-NCRV. A private funeral has already been held .
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