Jan Schaefer

Johannes Lodewijk Nicolaas "Jan" Schaefer (16 March 1940 – 30 January 1994) was a Dutch politician and community organiser who served as State Secretary for Housing and Spatial Planning from 1973 to 1977 under Joop den Uyl's cabinet.^[1] He was a member of the Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN) until 1965, before he joined the Labour Party (PvdA) in 1969. Schaefer was first elected to the House of Representatives in the 1971 general election, where held a seat with interruptions until 1990, dealing with matters around urban renewal, urban planning, spatial planning, public housing and community development. He also served as an alderman in the municipal executive of Amsterdam from 1978 to 1986, in charge of housing. His utterances on these issues "In gelul kan je niet wonen" ("You can't live in bullshit") and "Is dit beleid of is hierover nagedacht?" ("Is this policy or has this been thought through?") became catchphrases.

Jan Schaefer
Schaefer in 1971
State Secretary for Housing and Spatial Planning
In office 11 May 1973 – 8 September 1977 Serving with Marcel van Dam
Prime Minister	Joop den Uyl
Preceded by	Werner Buck
Succeeded by	Gerrit Brokx
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 3 June 1986 – 23 February 1990
In office 8 June 1977 – 6 September 1978
In office 11 May 1971 – 11 May 1973
Personal details
Born	Johannes Lodewijk Nicolaas Schaefer (1940-03-16)16 March 1940 Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died	30 January 1994(1994-01-30) (aged 53) Amsterdam, Netherlands
Cause of death	Diabetes mellitus
Political party	Labour Party (from 1969)
Other political affiliations	Communist Party of the Netherlands (1960–1965)
Spouse	Alberdina Grootes ​ (m. 1964)​
Children	1 son and 1 daughter
Occupation	Politician · Pastry chef · Community organiser · Activist

Legacy

Bridge 2000 or Jan Schaeferbrug in Amsterdam's Eastern Docklands, built from 1999 to 2001, was named after him in 2000. Jan Schaeferpad, a street in Amsterdam-Zuidoost, also bears his name since 2000.