IPAWorld News
Joost P. van Iersel
President Consultative Committee on Industrial Change, EESC
Joost P. van Iersel (1940) started his professional career in 1967 as a civil servant and as secretary of a Dutch Employers Association. From 1979 till 1994 van Iersel was MP (christian-democrat), in particular responsible for trade and industry and EC-matters. From 1992 till 2002 he was chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of The Hague with a special interest for regional infrastructural and spatial development in the Randstad. Van Iersel acted as commissioner in several companies. Since 2002 he is Member of the European Economic and Social Committee, and since 2007 he chairs the EESC Consultative Committee on Industrial Change. Besides industrial policies his main fields of interest are metropolitan areas, and good EU governance. Van Iersel writes articles and lectures on political economy and Europe.