Mark Harbers
Markus Gerardus Jozef "Mark" Harbers is a Dutch politician who served as State Secretary for Justice and Security in the Third Rutte cabinet from 26 October 2017 until 21 May 2019. He is a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy.Career
Harbers, a former communication employee, was born in Ede, Gelderland. He studied economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam but dropped out before graduation. He served as a member of the district council of Kralingen-Crooswijk from 1992 to 1998 and municipal councillor of Rotterdam from 2002 until 2007. He was an alderman from 2007 to 2009, in charge of Economic Affairs, the Port of Rotterdam and the Environment.
During the 2006 general election, Harbers occupied the 26th place on the list of VVD candidates; the party obtained 22 seats. On 1 December 2009, he entered the House of Representatives following the resignation of Arend Jan Boekestijn. He was reelected in 2010, 2012 and 2017.
On 26 October 2017, he resigned from the House of Representatives to become State Secretary at the Ministry of Justice and Security, dealing with Asylum and Migration Affairs under the supervision of Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus.
Effective 21 May 2019, he resigned from his position following the publication of a report minimising the crimes committed by asylum seekers in the Netherlands. He was replaced by Senate President Ankie Broekers-Knol and returned to the House of Representatives shortly thereafter.
