Atlantic Council

Biography

Rob de Wijk

In 2007 Dr. Rob de Wijk assumed the position of Director of the The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. He is also Professor in the field of International Relations at the Royal Netherlands Military Academy (RNMA), Breda (1999) and Professor of Strategic Studies at the University of Leiden (2000). From 2000 to 2003 he was Director of the Research Centre of the RNMA.

He is also Chairman of the National Security Think Tank, advising the Government on defense and national security issues, including contingency plans for crisis management.

Rob de Wijk started his career in 1977 as a freelance journalist. In 1980 he became editor-in chief of a publishing company specializing in journals and scientific publications.

From 1985 to 1989 he worked at the University of Leiden’s Political Science Department. He was a lecturer in international relations, focusing particularly on international security. At the same time he worked as a journalist.

In October 1989 Rob de Wijk was appointed Head of the Defense Concepts Division of the Defense Staff at the Netherlands Ministry of Defense. He advised the Chief of the Defense Staff and the minister of defense in matters relating to strategic plans and policy. At the national level he laid the foundation of the Defense White Paper 1991 and the Defense Priorities Review, published in 1993, as well as other policy guidelines. These white papers contain the plans for the reorganization and the reduction of the Netherlands armed forces and for restructuring them from regular and conscript forces into all-volunteer forces. He was also responsible for the development of strategic management methods at the Ministry of Defense.

In September 1997 he acquired a secondment with the Clingendael Institute for International Relations in The Hague to study security and defense. In 2003 he established the Clingendael Centre for Strategic Studies. Additionally, in 2005 he became the director of the Clingendael Security and Conflict Program. His main fields of expertise are (national and international) security, defense, and terrorism.