Consular Conversations: Luncheon Interview With Dutch Consul General Ard van der Vorst

Global Atlanta’s monthly Consular Conversations luncheon series sponsored by Miller & Martin PLLC continues as the editorial team interviews Ard van der Vorst, the newly arrived consul general of the Netherlands.

Potential Topics of Discussion:  

• US-Netherlands relations and trade ties
• The consul general’s objectives for his recently started term
• Enhancing Georgia-Netherlands business links
• Looking back on fintech, cybersecurity and logistics collaborations
• Recap of Dutch outreach at Atlanta Pride Festival in October
• Dutch American Heritage week events

• Lunch catered by WIN Indonesian Grill and Gastrobar in Buckhead. Read more about the restaurant here.
• One-on-one conversation with the Global Atlanta editorial team, followed by moderated audience Q&A
• Discussion covered by Global Atlanta and published in a later article

Ard van der Vorst took up his appointment in Atlanta as Consul General for the Kingdom of the Netherlands in January 2019. Ard is the senior Netherlands government representative in the Southeast United States responsible for relations with the states of Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama. He leads a team, which works to promote NL-US trade and investment, support Dutch nationals, conduct public diplomacy on key issues, and build scientific and research co-operation.

Before taking up his posting in Atlanta, Ard served as Head of the Spokesman Office and Newsroom at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague. He was also Dutch Consul in San Francisco from 2012 to 2015. Throughout both of these postings, Ard’s main focus was on communication, economic and foreign policy ties between the Netherlands and the US.

Prior to his posting in San Francisco, he was Head of Development Cooperation at the Netherlands Representative Office in Ramallah, Political coordinator on Western Balkan Affairs in The Hague and working on a range of issues linked to development cooperation, security policy, trade and European Union. Ard joined the NL’s diplomatic service in 1997. He has also served overseas in Nigeria and Albania.

Ard was born in Breda, the Netherlands. He has a master degree in Public Administration at the University of Leiden. His husband, Pieter, accompanies him in Atlanta.

Cost: $15, or $40 for an annual pass to all monthly Consular Conversations