Ministry of Finance (2000-2002)
As I was not a real diplomat and did not want to
work abroad every 3 years, I moved on. Between 2000 and 2002 I was lucky enough to
be part of the Euroteam in the ministry of Finance. A small group of people was working
on the introduction of the Euro in the Netherlands under Finance minister Gerrit
Zalm. All citizens had to be informed and all shops, organisations and government
levels had to be prepared in time for 1-1-2002. I was responsible for introduction
by municipalities and some security issues.
We celebrated the introduction on old
years eve in Maastricht and later on also with a big party in the Knights hall (Ridderzaal).
See pictures below.
Read how the team was working, including my role in Introduction
of the Euro in the NL, 2001 in Dutch.
Other publications in Dutch on the progress of municipalities and lessons that could
be drawn for other projects can be found here and here.