Editing Gerrit Zalm (section)

==Biography==
===Early life===
Gerrit Zalm was born on 6 May 1952 in [[Enkhuizen]], Netherlands. Following his graduation from high school ("HBS-A" level) in Enkhuizen, Zalm began a study in economics at the [[Vrije Universiteit]] in Amsterdam, from which he graduated in 1975. In the same year he joined the [[Ministry of Finance (Netherlands)|Ministry of Finance]]. From 1983 he worked for the [[Ministry of Economic Affairs (Netherlands)|Ministry of Economic Affairs]], where he eventually became a director. In 1988 he was appointed deputy director of the [[Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis|Centraal Planbureau]], a state institution that, among other things, calculates the financial effects of government plans. In 1989 he became director of this institute. In that capacity Zalm had, although not formally a politician, a significant influence on politics. From 1990 he also gave lectures at the [[Vrije Universiteit]].

[[File:Directeuren, commissies, Bestanddeelnr 934-4592.jpg|thumb|left|Director of the Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis Gerrit Zalm during a press conference in The Hague on 24 May 1989.]]

===Politics===
Between 22 August 1994 and 22 July 2002, Zalm, member of the [[People's Party for Freedom and Democracy]], was Minister of Finance in the first and second [[Wim Kok]] administrations. The Dutch economy being very healthy during those years, he did not experience large difficulties. However, he did introduce certain standards that are in effect until now, among which the Zalmnorm (Zalm standard) which describes a state policy by which the state does not respond extremely to economic fluctuations but just counteracts them. During the first, short [[Jan Peter Balkenende|Balkenende]] administration, Zalm was the acting leader of the [[People's Party for Freedom and Democracy]] group in parliament. On 27 May 2003 he started his third term as [[Ministry of Finance (Netherlands)|Minister of Finance]], in the second Balkenende administration, also serving as Deputy Prime Minister. On 30 June 2006, he succeeded [[Laurens Jan Brinkhorst]] as Minister of Economic Affairs, ad interim, with most tasks delegated to Undersecretary [[Karien van Gennip]]. On 7 July 2006 [[Joop Wijn]] was appointed as the new [[Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Environment (Netherlands)|Minister of Economic Affairs]].

===Banking===
On 26 November 2006, Zalm announced in the Sunday morning talk show ''Buitenhof'' that he would step down from politics and would probably seek employment in the private sector. Three months after his 2007 retirement from politics, Zalm went to work for [[DSB Bank]], a company that he had criticized in his earlier role as finance minister for what he considered misleading advertising for consumer credit. He initially held the position of chief economist, but quickly became CFO of the faltering bank after the Dutch central bank [[De Nederlandsche Bank|DNB]] had threatened to curtail DSB's financial autonomy.

On 21 November 2008 it was announced by Prime minister [[Jan Peter Balkenende]] that Zalm will be the new CEO of the bank resulting from the merger of ABN and Fortis Netherlands, two recently nationalized banks. This new position came under scrutiny after Zalm's previous employer DSB went bankrupt in 2009. The [[Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets]] (AFM) and the central bank both investigated Zalm's role in DSB's final years, with AFM concluding that he was "not competent" and should be dismissed from ABN AMRO's board, while DNB decided to keep Zalm in his position.

===Personal===
Zalm is a fan of the game of [[pinball]] and during his second term as [[Ministry of Finance (Netherlands)|Minister of Finance]] he had a pinball machine in his department. He is an honorary member of the Dutch Pinball Association.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.trouw.nl/home/twintig-jaar-pinball-in-de-polder~a03ceb02/|title=Twintig jaar pinball in de Polder|date=8 October 2012|publisher=Trouw|access-date=10 December 2012|language=nl}}</ref> In 2004 he had a [[cameo appearance]] in the movie ''[[:nl:Cool!|Cool!]]'' by [[Theo van Gogh (film director)|Theo van Gogh]]. In January 2019, in an episode of the Dutch version of ''[[Who Do You Think You Are? (UK TV series)|Who Do You Think You Are?]]'', it became known that Zalm is related to rebel leader and pirate [[Pier Gerlofs Donia]], through his mother's family.