Quick Facts
Biography
Luuk Johannes van Middelaar (born 9 May 1973 in Eindhoven) is a Dutch historian and political philosopher. From December 2009 to 2014 Van Middelaar was member of the cabinet of Herman Van Rompuy, the first President of the European Council.
He is best known for his book The Passage to Europe (originally published in 2009; widely translated). Van Middelaar studied history and philosophy at the University of Groningen and the Centre Raymond Aron of the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociale in Paris. In 1999 his master's thesis (doctoraalscriptie in Dutch) "Politicide" was published and awarded the Prix de Paris (Prize of Paris). He became for a time the political adviser and speechwriter of Frits Bolkestein (2002-2004) and Jozias van Aartsen (2004-2006). In 2009 he got his Ph.D from the University of Amsterdam with a cum laude distinction.
In 2012 he was awarded the European Book Prize and the Prix Louis Martin for The Passage to Europe and Socrates Prize in 2010 for the best philosophy book written in Dutch. Since early 2015, he has a weekly political column in NRC Handelsblad, taking up a position he also held previously (2008-2009). In 2015 Van Middelaar was appointed Professor of Foundations and Practice of the European Union and its Institutions at Leiden University in the Netherlands. He also holds the "European Values" chair at the French-speaking Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium. Since 2018, he is member of the Dutch Advisory Council on International Affairs.
Selected articles
Van Middelaar writes for various European journals and newspapers including Le Débat, Le Monde.
- Three things the EU must do to survive, The Guardian, March 27, 2017.
