35 Notable alumni of Maastricht University
Updated: June 23, 2026 EliteDegrees
Maastricht University is ranked #309 in the world and #12 in Netherlands by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 35 notable alumni from Maastricht University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Maastricht University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Charles van Rooy
1912-1996 (aged 84)
jurist
politician
Charles Joan Marie Adriaan van Rooy was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP), which is now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA).
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2. Sandra Escher
1947-2021 (aged 74)
psychiatrist
Alexandre Dorothée Marie Adriaan Charlotte Escher was a Dutch mental health advocate and researcher, known for her work with the hearing voices movement.
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3. Carlos Cadena Gaitan
1983-. (aged 43)
journalist
urban activist
Carlos Cadena Gaitan is a Colombian sustainability expert, professor, research and urban activist. Cadena Gaitan holds a Ph.D. from the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, and is an affiliated researcher with the United Nations University (UNU-MERIT). He has served as Transport Commissioner of Medellín, Colombia and is a full-member of the State of Antioquia Scientific Committee for the Climate...
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4. Harold Bekkering
1965-. (aged 61)
university teacher
psychologist
Harold Bekkering is a Dutch professor of cognitive psychology at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour of the Radboud University Nijmegen. His research has covered many different ways of learning, ranging from basic sensorimotor learning to complex forms of social learning. Lately, he aims to implement knowledge about human learning in educational settings.
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5. Jean Pieters
1962-. (aged 64)
university teacher
biochemist
Jean Pieters is a Dutch biochemist and Professor at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel, Switzerland.
6. Gabriel Fragnière
1934-2015 (aged 81)
university teacher
philosopher
Gabriel Fragnière was a Swiss university professor, philosopher and scientific researcher.
7. Navaan-Yundengiin Oyundari
politician
Navaan-Yundengiin Oyundari is a Mongolian politician and the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.
8. Harm Kuipers
1947-. (aged 79)
university teacher
physician
speed skater
Harm Kuipers is a former speed skater from the Netherlands.
9. Mark van Vugt
1967-. (aged 59)
university teacher
psychologist
Mark van Vugt is a Dutch evolutionary psychologist who holds a professorship in evolutionary psychology and work and organizational psychology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Van Vugt has affiliate positions at the University of Oxford, Institute for Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology (ICEA).
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10. Jeroen Lenaers
1984-. (aged 42)
politician
Jeroen Lenaers is a Dutch politician who has served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2014. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), part of the European People's Party (EPP).
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11. Luc Mercelina
1964-. (aged 62)
surgeon
politician
Luc F. E. Mercelina is a surgeon and politician from Sint Maarten and the current prime minister as of 3 May 2024. He is the founder and leader of the Unified Resilient St. Maarten Movement (URSM). He was also a member of the United Democrats (UD) and the United People's Party (UP).
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12. John Rwangombwa
minister
accountant
politician
John Rwangombwa is a Rwandan accountant, politician and banker. He is the former governor of the National Bank of Rwanda, the central bank and national banking regulator. He held that position from 25 February 2013 until February 25, 2025.
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13. Pim van Strien
1977-. (aged 49)
politician
Pim Johannes Thomas van Strien is a Dutch politician of the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) who served as a member of the House of Representatives. He previously worked as a press officer for the VVD and Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy.
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14. Toine Manders
1956-. (aged 70)
politician
Antonius Jozef Maria "Toine" Manders is a Dutch lawyer and politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in the periods 1999–2014 and 2019–2024.
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15. David Levy
1945-. (aged 81)
writer
entrepreneur
chess player
artificial intelligence researcher
David Neil Laurence Levy is an International Master of chess who plays for Scotland, and a businessman. He is noted for his involvement with computer chess and artificial intelligence, and as the founder of the Computer Olympiads and the Mind Sports Olympiads. He has written more than 40 books on chess and computers.
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16. Roland van Vliet
1969-. (aged 57)
jurist
politician
Rudolf Aleida "Roland" van Vliet is a Dutch independent politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives between 17 June 2010 and 23 March 2017. A member of the Party for Freedom (PVV) until he left it on 20 March 2014, he became a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) on 1 June...
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17. Dennis Gyllensporre
1964-. (aged 62)
military personnel
political scientist
Lieutenant General Tage Dennis Gyllensporre KmstkSO (born Öztürkmen; 14 July 1964) is a Swedish military officer with extensive experience in defense planning, international operations, and strategic leadership. He was commissioned in 1987 and began his career at the Norrland Signal Regiment, later holding various command and staff positions within the Swedish Armed Forces, NATO, and the United Nations.
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18. Kartika Liotard
1971-2020 (aged 49)
jurist
lawyer
politician
Kartika Tamara Liotard was a Dutch politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2004 to 2020. She was formerly a member of the Socialist Party, was vice-chair of the EUL–NGL group, and sat on the European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.
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19. Ron Meyer
1981-. (aged 45)
politician
Ron Meyer is a Dutch politician and former trade unionist. He was the chairman of the Dutch Socialist Party from November 2015 to December 2019 and is a city councillor in Heerlen. Meyer became known after leading strikes in the cleaning industry and the distribution centres of Albert Heijn.
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20. Mina Andreeva
1983-. (aged 43)
spokesperson
Mina Andreeva is a Bulgarian-German political scientist and lawyer. She is the chief spokesperson for the European Commission.
21. Pieter van den Hoogenband
1978-. (aged 48)
swimmer
Pieter Cornelis Martijn van den Hoogenband is a Dutch retired swimmer. He is a triple Olympic champion and former world record holder.
22. Mark Jansen
1978-. (aged 48)
composer
guitarist
singer
musician
Markus Hubertus Johannes Jansen is a Dutch guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. A prominent figure in the symphonic metal subgenre, he is known for his work with the bands After Forever (1995–2002), Epica (2002–present), and MaYaN (2010–present).
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23. Kelly Weekers
1989-. (aged 37)
model
beauty pageant contestant
Kelly Weekers is a beauty pageant contestant. She was crowned Miss Nederland 2011.
24. Hanna Novosad
1990-. (aged 36)
politician
community leader
Hanna Ihorivna Novosad is a Ukrainian educational activist, civil servant and politician. The Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine in the Honcharuk Government.
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25. Virginijus Sinkevičius
1990-. (aged 36)
politician
economist
Virginijus Sinkevičius is a Lithuanian politician who served as European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries in the first von der Leyen Commission from 2019 to 2024. In the 2024 European elections he was elected and became a member of the European Parliament. He was previously a Member of the Seimas and Minister of Economy and Innovation.
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26. Muhammad Hasan Mahmud
1963-. (aged 63)
politician
Hasan Mahmud is a politician from Bangladesh Awami League. He is a former minister of foreign affairs for the fifth Hasina ministry, and a former member of parliament from Chittagong-7. Mahmud has been accused as one of the main perpetrators of the July massacre by the Interim Government of Bangladesh following the resignation and ousting of Sheikh Hasina as the...
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27. Sabine Uitslag
1973-. (aged 53)
singer
teacher
politician
Albertje Sabine Uitslag is a former Dutch politician. As a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (Christen-Democratisch Appèl) she was (again) an MP from 3 September 2008 to 19 September 2012. She focused on matters of social care, and addiction and youth policy.
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28. Felipe Neto
1988-. (aged 38)
YouTuber
television producer
Felipe Neto Rodrigues Vieira is a Brazilian YouTuber, businessman, actor, comedian, writer and philanthropist, currently having 44.7 million subscribers and more than 15 billion accumulated views. He is also the brother of YouTuber Luccas Neto. Currently, his videos focus on general entertainment.
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29. Antal van den Bosch
1969-. (aged 57)
researcher
director
linguist
university teacher
Antal P.J. van den Bosch is a Dutch-language researcher. He has been director of the Meertens Institute since January 2017. He previously was a professor at Tilburg University and Radboud University Nijmegen.
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30. Henk Leenders
1955-. (aged 71)
politician
director
Henk Leenders is a Dutch politician.
31. Mailis Reps
1975-. (aged 51)
lawyer
politician
Mailis Reps is an Estonian politician, a member of the Estonian Centre Party. She served as the Minister of Education and Research from 2002 to 2003, 2005 to 2007 and 2016 to 2020.
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32. Marcus Optendrenk
1969-. (aged 57)
politician
military service
Marcus Optendrenk is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as Minister of Finance of North Rhine-Westphalia since 29 June 2022. He was first elected to the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia in 2012.
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33. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed
1960-. (aged 66)
politician
minister
Ismaïl Ould Cheikh Ahmed is a Mauritanian diplomat and politician. He served as a United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen and was therefore head of the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen from 25 April 2015 to 26 February 2018.
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34. Lode Vereeck
1965-. (aged 61)
university teacher
economist
politician
Lode Vereeck is a Belgian economist, professor and politician of the Vlaams Belang party, and formerly of the Open VLD and Lijst Dedecker.
35. Reine Alapini-Gansou
1956-. (aged 70)
lawyer
judge
Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou is a Beninese jurist who has been a judge of the International Criminal Court since March 2018.