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Jan de Wit

b. 1945

Dutch former politician and lawyer

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About Jan de Wit

Born 1945. Jan de Wit is a Dutch politician and lawyer.

Johannes Marijnus Antonius Maria "Jan" de Wit (born 10 May 1945) is a former Dutch politician and lawyer. As a member of the Socialist Party (Socialistische Partij) he was an MP from 19 May 1998 to 1 April 2014. He focused on matters of judiciary and aliens policy. From 1995 to 1998, he was a Senator.

Biography de Wit studied public law at Tilburg University. For a brief time, he worked as a lawyer in Eindhoven and thereafter for many years in Maastricht and Heerlen.

In 1972, he joined the Socialist Party, which had just been founded in 1971. From 1972 to 1996, he was a local party executive, and from 1988 to 1992, he was also a party executive on the national level. Furthermore, he was an SP councillor of Heerlen from 1982 to 1995 and chairman of SP's think tank foundation until 1997.

In 1995, de Wit was elected into the Dutch Senate; he was the sole representative of the SP until 1998. In 1998, he exchanged the Senate for the Dutch House of Representatives.

As an MP, de Wit was a member of the parliamentary inquiry on construction, a member of the Presidium and former chairman of the standing committee for social affairs and employment. Since 2010, he has been chairman of the parliamentary inquiry on the financial system.

From 24 June 2009 to October 2010, de Wit was the chairman of the , which was to investigate the causes of the 2008 financial crisis.

Personal life de Wit is married to , who is an SP alderwoman in Heerlen. They have three children. Raised as a Catholic, he turned non-religious later on.

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Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Education
Tilburg University
Positions held
Member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, Member of the Senate of the Netherlands, Municipal councillor of Heerlen
Also known as
J.M.A.M. de Wit

Family & relationships

Spouse
Riet de Wit

People in Jan de Wit's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Jan de Wit's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Jan de Wit?

Dutch former politician and lawyer

When was Jan de Wit born?

Jan de Wit was born on 10 May 1945 in Zevenbergen.

What is Jan de Wit's occupation?

Jan de Wit is a politician and lawyer.

What nationality is Jan de Wit?

Jan de Wit is Dutch.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Jan de Wit

· Wikidata: Q2712913

· DBpedia: Jan de Wit

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Jan de Wit. https://biography.guide/jan-de-wit/

MLA: "Jan de Wit." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/jan-de-wit/.

Chicago: "Jan de Wit." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/jan-de-wit/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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