Dan van Holst Pellekaan


Daniel Cornelius van Holst Pellekaan is an Australian politician, representing the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Stuart for the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia since the 2010 state election. Van Holst Pellekaan has served as the Minister for Energy and Mining in the Marshall Ministry since 22 March 2018.

Early life and education

Van Holst Pellekaan was born in Canberra, to a Dutch father who had emigrated to Australia at the age of two. The family moved to Washington D.C. when his father was offered a position at the World Bank, and Dan attended the Maret School. He was active in sport, playing American football and basketball for Maret, and later moved to Canada to study and play basketball at the University of Toronto.
He moved back to Australia when he was recruited by the Hobart Devils basketball team in Tasmania, where he played for four years while studying for a Bachelor of Economics degree.
After graduating, van Holst Pellekaan moved to Melbourne to work for BP. He later moved to the outback where he and some friends bought Spud's Roadhouse in Pimba, South Australia. After seven years, he worked in other tourism ventures, then moved to Wilmington after meeting his wife, Rebecca.

Political career

In Wilmington, following the announcement of the retirement of Graham Gunn, van Holst Pellekaan gained Liberal Party endorsement for the seat of Stuart; and was elected at the 2010 state election.
Following the 2018 state election, van Holst Pellekaan was appointed as the Minister for Energy and Mining.

Interests

Van Holst Pellekaan was listed as a “bronze sponsor” of the 2018 Kapunda Rodeo in the event programme.