Former Dutch PM Kok passes away
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E-mail Xinhua, October 21, 2018
Former Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok died at the age of 80 on Saturday in Amsterdam after a period of illness.
Kok served as Prime Minister from 1994 until 2002, in two coalition governments with his own party PvdA (Labor), the VVD (rightist liberals) and D66 (leftist liberals). He made name with his "poldermodel" politics, a consensus-based economic and social policy.
From 1976 until 1986 Kok was chairman of the Dutch trade union FNV, after which he left to enter the Dutch House of Representatives as a Labor politician. On Dec. 15, 2001, Kok announced his retirement from national politics and stood down as leader of the PvdA.
From 1989 until 1994 Kok also was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in the cabinet of Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers.
"Wim Kok was a man to look up to," current Prime Minister Mark Rutte reacted in a statement. "For decades both architect and contractor of our 'polder model'. As Minister of Finance and later Prime Minister, he stood above the parties. Completely reliable, perfectly honest and always focused on a solution."
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