Frank Paauw (born, 10 November 1958) has been a Dutch president of the KNVB since 2024. Before this, he was the head of the Rotterdam police force for 9 years and then the Amsterdam police force for 5 years.
Career After studying Public Administration at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Paauw joined the police as an inspector at age 24.
Between 1999 and 2003, Frank Paauw was responsible for security surrounding Feyenoord football matches. Major international football matches were also part of his responsibilities; for instance, he was ultimately responsible for security around De Kuip during the 2000 European Championship.
After developing internally as a police officer in various forces, Paauw was appointed Chief Commissioner of the Rotterdam-Rijnmond force in 2010. His predecessor, Aad Meijboom, resigned following the beach riots in Hoek van Holland. Paauw led the Rotterdam force's obsessive focus on curbing high-impact crimes. In cooperation with local municipalities and the Public Prosecution Service, Paauw achieved a halving of the number of robberies and burglaries and a significant increase in the chance of apprehension.
In mid-2019, Paauw transferred to the Amsterdam regional unit. In the capital, he succeeded Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg, who took up the position of National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security. Frank Paauw was succeeded in Rotterdam by Fred Westerbeke.
On May 27, 2024, Paauw was elected president of the KNVB. He succeeded Just Spee, who stepped down from his presidency for health reasons. Deputy Chief of Police Peter Holla succeeded Paauw as head of the Amsterdam police on October 1, 2024.
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