the Interior, Kingdom Relations, European Affairs, Defence and Immigration and Asylum Affairs. After the Senate election of 2015 De Graaf was selected as Parliamentary leader of the Democrats 66 in the Senate, taking office on 9 June 2015. In June 2018 De Graaf was nominated as Vice-President of the Council of State, he resigned as Parliamentary leader on 26 June 2018 and as a Member of the Senate on 20 September 2018 and was installed as Vice-President of the Council of State, taking office on 1 November 2018. Early life and education De Graaf was born in Amsterdam and studied law at the Catholic University Nijmegen where he obtained his LL.M. in 1981. He was a member of the House of Representatives in the period 1994-2003, where he also held the post of party leader and faction chairperson for D66 from 1997 onward. He sat as vice-chairman in the parliamentary inquiry commission that looked into the investigative methods used by the Dutch inter-regional police force, leading to the resignation in 1994 of the Minister for Internal Affairs, Ed van Thijn. Political career De Graaf served in the second Balkenende cabinet as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Government Reform and Kingdom Relations from 23 May 2003 until 23 March 2005. In 2005, de Graaf resigned, after the introduction of democratically elected mayors had been rejected in the Senate, with a deciding vote cast by the Labour Party faction under guidance by Ed van Thijn. The proposal was especially important as it had become a symbol of the government reform that D66 had wanted since its creation. Alexander Pechtold took his place in the cabinet. From 8 January 2007 until 1 February 2012, De Graaf was mayor of Nijmegen, as successor of Guusje ter Horst. De Graaf's father, Theo de Graaf, was a Catholic People's Party member of parliament and from 1968 until 1977 mayor of Nijmegen. Since 1 February 2012 Thom de Graaf is President of the HBO-raad. Decorations References External links Official Mr. Th.C. (Thom) de Graaf Parlement & Politiek Mr. Th.C. de Graaf (D66) Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal 1957 births Living people Democrats 66 politicians Deputy Prime Ministers of the Netherlands Dutch management consultants Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Dutch Roman Catholics Dutch school administrators Dutch sports executives and administrators Dutch trade association executives Knights of the Holy Sepulchre Academic staff of Koninklijke Militaire Academie Leaders of