Guusje ter Horst

Biography

Ter Horst attended gymnasium in The Hague and subsequently studied at University of Amsterdam where she obtained a MSc degree in psychology. In 1984 she received a PhD degree in social science on her thesis concerning the question how people who never go to the dentist can be made to do so. Between 1986 and 1994 she was associate professor of Social Dentistry at the subfaculty of Dentistry of the University of Amsterdam.

In 1984 Ter Horst joined the Labour Party (PvdA). In 1986 she was elected to the Amsterdam municipal council. In 1994 she became alderwoman, responsible for spatial planning, she initiated a major renovation of the city of Amsterdam.

In 2001 she became mayor of Nijmegen. During her six-year term, she moved to a new house every year, to get to know the city. In August 2006 Ter Horst was fined for drunk driving, strangely, without political consequence. On 1 January 2007 her term as mayor ended and she did not pursue a second one. She was succeeded by Thom de Graaf.

In 2010 Ter Horst received one of the Dutch Big Brother Awards for her lack of nuance in the privacy debate. Her project of a centrally organised fingerprint database for passports won an award as well. She resigned, together with all PvdA ministers, on the morning of 20 February 2010. The Queen accepted the resignation on 23 February 2010.

Ter Horst became policy driver for the government program Doe onbeperkt mee ("Participate without limits") to empower people with disabilities in December 2022. She stepped down from the position in July 2024, as she was unwilling to serve under incoming State Secretary for Long-term and Social Care Vicky Maeijer of the right-wing populist Party for Freedom (PVV) due to Maeijer's party affiliation.