Maarten van Rossem


Maarten van Rossem is a Dutch historian. He specializes in the history and politics of the United States. As an expert on America, he is a frequent guest on television political talk shows. His public career started when he was asked to comment on the 1984 vice presidential elections. He still makes regular TV appearances and gives frequent public lectures.

Early life

Born in 1943 in Zeist, Van Rossem grew up in Wageningen. In his youth he became fascinated with the United States through a visit from his three American cousins. When they came to visit his parents, they each had their own photo camera with them. This led him to think all Americans were rich.
He attended the grammar school in Wageningen, graduating in the exact sciences. Initially he studied pharmacy at Utrecht University, because of his high marks for chemistry. Because he disliked the subject, he secretly switched to studying history. His family opposed this decision, stating that this would only lead to unemployment.
As a student in the 1960s, he was expected to be leftist and radical, but he chose not to go in that direction. He thought it would be very unlikely that there would be a revolutionary revolt against capitalism. Despite being brought up in a liberal environment, he joined the Labour Party in 1967.
He continued to be intrigued by the United States, collecting newspaper clippings on Martin Luther King, president Kennedy and the Chicago riots.
After eight years he graduated cum laude. He wrote his senior thesis about the historiography of the Cold War with Hermann von der Dunk as his thesis advisor. Through his thesis he discovered the joy of writing: "You can say that at that point I became a historian".
His PhD thesis on the Partisan Review was also counseled by Von der Dunk, who allowed him to change the subject twice. It took him 12 years to finish it.

Career

In 1984, he published his best selling book The United States in the 20th century. Due to the acclaim and success of the book, he became a regular guest on various Dutch television channels to comment on American presidential elections. Since then he is often asked to speak at events concerning Dutch-American relations.
In 1996, he became a tenured professor occupying the endowed chair of modern history at the Utrecht University. This appointment allowed him to speak on a wider range of subjects. He was forced to retire from this position in 2008, in order to comply with the law as he had reached Dutch retirement age at the time. He derided this action, saying "Yesterday I had a normal working day; today my activities are seen as nothing more than occupational therapy for the elderly, focused on stimulating the brain, in order to prevent its precipitate decline after receiving the first state pension cheque", he said on his first day of retirement. He continues to give public lectures all around the country.
The first issue of his own magazine, the Maarten!, was published in the summer of 2008. Initially a one time addition to the Historic Newspaper, the glossy magazine has since grown into its own, circulating on a bimonthly basis. Even though the format parodies personality magazines like Oprah Magazine, its content is serious, running editorials on current events and putting them against a historic background.
In the summer of 2012 he toured the United States in preparation of a documentary series on the 2012 presidential elections. During the 2012 Dutch general elections he was a "lijstduwer" for the Labour Party, which earned them 5.929 votes, ranking him the 16th most popular candidate.