Thijs Berman

President | Executive Director – NIMD

Thijs Berman has been Executive Director of NIMD since January 2019. He has more than 30 years of experience in media, politics, and international development. Mr. Berman began his career as a journalist working as a radio correspondent in Paris and Moscow, working for several prominent Dutch radio stations, television channels and print publications. He then became a Member of the European Parliament for the Dutch Labour Party, as well as taking up the role of Chair of the Dutch social democratic delegation in Brussels. As an MEP he was a member of several committees, including on Development Cooperation and the Subcommittee on Human Rights. Mr. Berman has also headed several European election observation missions to Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Senegal, and worked as team leader of a European election support programme in the Central African Republic. In the two years before joining NIMD, Thijs worked as the Principal Advisor to the OSCE Representative of Freedom of the Media.