His Excellency Wim Geerts
Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Canada
Wim Geerts was born in the Netherlands on August 10, 1963. After completing his secondary education he studied English Language, Literature and Human Rights at Nijmegen University and Boston College, graduating in 1986. He went on to work as an English teacher from 1986 until 1988. In 1988 Mr. Geerts joined the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and entered the Netherlands Foreign Service. His first posting abroad was at the Netherlands Embassy in Singapore. Between 1991 and 2002 he worked in the Prime Minister's Office, where he held a number of positions, becoming Foreign Policy and Defence Advisor to the Prime Minister in 1995. In 2002, he became the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Netherlands Embassy in Washington DC where he stayed until 2006. Mr. Geerts returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague in 2006 to assume the position of Deputy Director General for Political Affairs. In 2008 he was appointed Her Majesty's Ambassador to Canada and presented his credentials to the Governor General of Canada on September 15, 2008. Mr. Geerts and his wife, Thea, have two daughters, Lisa (16) and Suzanne (14), who currently attend high school in Ottawa. Mr. Geerts' personal interests include music, running, travelling and reading.
(February 2010)