Marius Job Cohen (born 18 October 1947) is a retired Dutch politician and jurist who served as Mayor of Amsterdam from 2001 to 2010 and Leader of the Labour Party (PvdA) from 2010 to 2012. Job Cohen: echte held of slapjanus?, Algemeen Dagblad, 4 October 2005. Cohen stopt bemiddeling Westermoskee, Algemeen Dagblad, 12 April 2007. Job Cohen wil liever thee drinken dan azijn pissen, Limburger.nl, 20 February 2016.
Cohen studied Law at the University of Groningen obtaining a Master of Laws degree. Cohen worked as researcher at the Leiden University before finishing his thesis and graduated as a Doctor of Law in Jurisprudence. Cohen worked as a professor of jurisprudence at the State University of Limburg from September 1983 until June 1993, he also served as rector magnificus of the State University of Limburg from January 1991. Cohen was appointed as State Secretary for Education and Sciences in the Cabinet Lubbers III following a cabinet reshuffle taking office on 9 June 1993. In February 1994 Cohen announced that he would not stand for the election of 1994. Cohen continued to be active in politics and after the Senate election of 1995 was elected as a Member of the Senate on 13 June 1995 and served as a frontbencher and spokesperson for Justice, Education and Science. Cohen also returned to State University of Limburg and again worked as professor of Jurisprudence and served as rector magnificus from January 1995 until August 1998. Following the resignation of Parliamentary leader Cohen was selected as his successor on 1 August 1996.
After the election of 1998 Cohen was appointed as State Secretary for Justice in the Cabinet Kok II taking office on 3 August 1998. In December 2000 Cohen was nominated as the next Mayor of Amsterdam serving from 15 January 2001 until his resignation on 12 March 2010. Shortly before an upcoming election Labour Leader Wouter Bos unexpectedly announced his retirement and Cohen announced his candidacy and was anonymously selected as his successor on 25 April 2010. For the election of 2010 Cohen served as Lijsttrekker (top candidate) and was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives and became Parliamentary leader on 17 June 2010. In January 2012 Cohen announced his retirement and that he was stepping down as Leader and Parliamentary leader on 20 February 2012 but continued to serve in the House of Representatives as a backbencher until his resignation on 29 February 2012. Job Cohen: 'Mensen vonden mij veel te soft', Het Parool, 26 October 2014. Job Cohen over de complexiteit van de vluchtelingenopvang, Sleutelstad.nl, 15 January 2016.
Cohen retired from active politics at 64 and became active in the public sector as a non-profit director and served on several and councils on behalf of the government, and worked as a distinguished professor of Constitutional law and Governmental studies at his alma mater in Leiden from April 2014 until January 2019. Job Cohen in bestuur Bibliotheek Amsterdam, Nu.nl, 9 January 2013 Job Cohen benoemd tot bijzonder hoogleraar Universiteit Leiden, NRC Handelsblad, 26 March 2014.
Biography Family and education Marius Job Cohen was born in Haarlem. He is the second child (of two) of Adolf Emile "Dolf" Cohen (1913–2004) and Henriëtte "Hetty" Koster (1913–1996). His elder brother is Floris Cohen (born 1946). Joodsch Lyceum en huwelijk . Leiden University. Retrieved 30 August 2010. Heemsteedse herinneringen aan Job Cohen (deel 1). De Heemsteder. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
His parents both studied history and became high school teachers of history. Studie geschiedenis te Leiden . Leiden University. Retrieved 30 August 2010. They were secular Jews, and were forced into hiding until the end of World War II. His paternal grandparents Hendrik Cohen and Flora Polak both were murdered in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945. Jeugdjaren in Rotterdam . Leiden University. Retrieved 30 August 2010. After the war, his father worked at the Dutch Institute for War Documentation. Altijd en nooit echt geweest . Leiden University. Retrieved 20 December 2010. Later he became a professor of medieval history and a rector magnificus at Leiden University. Hoogleraar middeleeuwse geschiedenis te Leiden . Leiden University. Retrieved 30 August 2010. Rector magnificus I: het waarnemen van de verandering . Leiden University. Retrieved 30 August 2010. His mother became a member of the city council of Heemstede. His parents were both early members of the Labour Party.
Cohen attended public primary school in Heemstede. He attended the secondary school Stedelijk Gymnasium in Haarlem from 1960 to 1966. He studied Dutch public law at the University of Groningen from 1966 and obtained his Master of Laws degree in 1971. During his student years, he was a member of the student association Vindicat atque Polit.
Cohen married Lidie Lodeweges on 2 July 1972 in Groningen. She studied Dutch language in Groningen and was a high school teacher. She had multiple sclerosis and needed a wheelchair. Cohen and his wife had two children, son Jaap (born 1980) and daughter Lotje (born 1983). Goos gaat... (Lidie Cohen) . Esta. Retrieved 30 August 2010. Lidie Cohen died on 4 August 2015. Mirjam Remie, "Lidie Cohen op 67-jarige leeftijd overleden", NRC Handelsblad, 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
Academic career Between 1 September 1971 and 1 September 1981, Cohen held a scientific position at the Bureau Research of Education at Leiden University. He obtained a doctorate (PhD) from this university in June 1981, with a dissertation on the rights of university students. M.J. Cohen, Studierechten in het wetenschappelijk onderwijs (review of the dissertation). Jan Tom Bos & Marc Groenhuijsen. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
On 1 September 1981, he joined the State University of Limburg in a higher scientific capacity, and was chairman of the commission that prepared the establishment of a faculty of law. On 1 September 1983, Cohen became professor of methods and techniques at the faculty of law; on 1 January 1991 he also became rector magnificus of the State University of Limburg. He resigned from this position to become State Secretary for Education and Sciences in 1993.
In 1995 Cohen returned to his position in Maastricht as professor and rector magnificus at Maastricht University (the former State University of Limburg). From 1 January 1998, he took a sabbatical year, but he resigned in August 1998 when he became State Secretary for Justice.
Cohen has received two honorary degrees for his contributions to law and society, one in 2007 from the University of Windsor87th Convocation Webcast . University of Windsor. Retrieved 20 December 2010. and one in 2008 from the Radboud University Nijmegen. . Radboud University Nijmegen. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
Political career
State Secretary for Education and Sciences On 2 July 1993, Cohen became State Secretary (deputy minister) for Education and Sciences in the third cabinet of Ruud Lubbers, under education minister Jo Ritzen. In Cohen's portfolio were higher and academic education, science policy, and adult education. The term of this post expired after a year and Cohen returned to his academic post in Maastricht.
Member of the Senate From 13 June 1995, Cohen was a member of the Senate of the Netherlands. Between 1 August 1996 until he resigned from the Senate on 3 August 1998, he was also the parliamentary group leader of the Labour Party in the Senate.
During his period in the Senate, he also worked for the Maastricht University, where he began a sabbatical year on 1 January 1998. In February 1998 however, he took on the function of interim-director of the broadcasting organization VPRO, lasting until 15 August.
State Secretary for Justice On 3 August 1998, he resigned from the Senate to take up the position of State Secretary for Justice in the second cabinet of Wim Kok, dealing chiefly with immigration. In this capacity he was responsible for a new immigration law, intended to restrict entry of refugees to "genuine cases".
Mayor of Amsterdam He resigned his position as State Secretary on 31 December 2000 in order to take up the position of Mayor of Amsterdam (burgemeester) on 15 January 2001. Mayors of Dutch cities are appointed by the cabinet in the name of the monarch.Profile: Mayor Job Cohen
At midnight on 1 April 2001, Cohen became the first public official to wed same-sex couples, following the passing of legislation opening up marriage to people of the same gender (see same-sex marriage in the Netherlands).
On 2 February 2002, Job Cohen performed the civil marriage of Prince Willem-Alexander and Máxima Zorreguieta in the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam.Marriage and family . The Dutch Royal House. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
In November 2004, controversial film maker Theo van Gogh was killed in Amsterdam by a Muslim extremist. Time awarded Cohen the title "European Hero" in 2005, for his inclusive approach towards the Muslim community after the murder, defusing tension in the city.
Cohen found himself thrown into the role of mediator between the city's Muslims, the original Dutch population and other groups in the cultural and racial mix. Almost half Amsterdam's residents are of non-Western descent, a majority of them Muslims."Islam is here to stay, in this country, in this city (...) We have to deal with Islam as a fact, not whether we like it. So the real question is how to get on with each other." Cohen took pride in the fact that in Amsterdam no violence or arson occurred in response to the killing."In Amsterdam, mayor is a job for a mediator" By his visiting ethnic groups, organizing debates among religious leaders and his listening and promoting dialogue, he received from opponents the mocking nickname of "tea drinker" – an image that would be exploited by them when he returned in the Dutch national politics in 2010."New Labour leader Cohen: hard man, soft touch"
On 27 January 2006, Cohen announced he would be willing to serve a second term as mayor of Amsterdam. On 12 July 2006, the municipality of Amsterdam almost unanimously (Democrats 66 opposed, being in favour of an elected mayor) supported Cohen to prolong his career as a mayor after 15 January 2007 when his first term ended.
Cohen's politics towards ethnic minorities in Amsterdam was characterized by the slogan "keeping things together" (de boel bij elkaar houden). On 2 May 2006, Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk of the centre-right VVD accused Amsterdam of becoming a "banana republic" with a lax safety policy; she cited the criminal liquidations and the disturbance caused by young people as examples of this. However, in the yearly crime meter of the Algemeen Dagblad Amsterdam did not perform particularly badly in safety policy and crime fighting. One of the reasons for this was Cohen's targeted approach towards those who commit multiple crimes (veelplegers). Cohen stated that his policy which combines soft and hard approaches, fighting crime and fighting the causes of crime, was the key to his successful safety policy.
In 2006 Cohen was the runner-up in the award for World Mayor of 2006, behind Melbourne mayor John So, and ahead of Harrisburg mayor Stephen R. Reed. World Mayor praised Cohen's leadership following the murder of Theo van Gogh in 2004, and his efforts at bringing together the diverse population of Amsterdam."Amsterdam closes a window on its red-light tourist trade" by Anushka Asthana, The Observer, 23 September 2007.