100 Notable alumni of Radboud University

Dr. Wijnand Antonius Bernardus van der Sanden is a Dutch archaeologist and prehistorian.

Douwe Durk Breimer is a Dutch pharmacologist and was both rector magnificus and president of the Executive Board of Leiden University, The Netherlands.

Jan Hendrik Jozef Hoeijmakers is a Dutch molecular biologist, biochemist, and molecular geneticist.

Hylke Wybe Tromp was a Dutch polemologist.

Franciscus Wilhelmus Maria Broers was a Dutch writer, who published using the pseudonym Jacq Firmin Vogelaar. In 1992 he won the Ferdinand Bordewijk Prijs for his novel De dood als meisje van acht. In 2006 he won the Constantijn Huygens Prize for his collected works.

Harald E. L. Prins is a Dutch anthropologist, ethnohistorian, filmmaker, and human rights activist specialized in North and South America's indigenous peoples and cultures.

Antoon Arnold Marie "Teun" Struycken was a Dutch jurist and politician, co-founder of the Catholic People's Party (KVP).

Wil Roebroeks is the professor of Palaeolithic Archaeology at Leiden University in the Netherlands. He is widely considered to be the pre-eminent Dutch archaeologist. In 2001 he became a member of the influential Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2007 Roebroeks won the Spinozapremie, the most prestigious scientific award in the Netherlands.

Hans van Abeelen was the first Dutch behaviour geneticist. He obtained his M.Sc from the University of Groningen and his Ph.D. from the Catholic University of Nijmegen in 1965, where he stayed for the rest of his career as "wetenschappelijk hoofdmedewerker". He was a founding member of the Behavior Genetics Association and was a member-at-large of its executive committee from...

Jaap van Ginneken is a Dutch psychologist and communication scholar.

Theodorus "Theo" Henricus Maria Rasing is a Dutch professor of experimental physics at Radboud University Nijmegen. His expertise lies in the field of magneto-optics. He was a winner of the 2008 Spinoza Prize.

Santiago Garcia Granda, studied chemistry and graduated in 1980, and earned his PhD in 1984 at the University of Oviedo. He completed his academic training as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Nijmegen, Holland with Professor Paul T. Beurskens. He specialised in structural determination, crystallography, diffraction and methods of calculations. He is ex-president of the European Crystallographic Association (ECA)...

Don Kalb is a Dutch anthropologist, full professor of social anthropology at the University of Bergen, and an assistant professor of social sciences and cultural anthropology at Universiteit Utrecht. For many years, Kalb was a professor of sociology and social anthropology at the Central European University.

Frans Joseph Frits Maria "Frans-Jozef" van Thiel was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and lawyer.

Halleh Ghorashi is an Iranian-born anthropologist who lives in the Netherlands. From 2005 to 2012, she held the PaVEM chair in Management of Diversity and Integration in the Department of Organization Sciences at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. She won the 2008 Triumph Prize (Prize de Triomf).

Angelina Julietta Francisca Eichhorst is a European civil servant and since November 2024 the European Union Ambassador to Egypt and the League of Arab States.

Emmanuel Marie Joseph Antony "Maan" Sassen was a Dutch politician who served as European Commissioner for Competition in the Rey Commission from 1967 to 1971.

Pepijn van Erp is a Dutch mathematician and skeptical activist.

Louis Josephus Maria van de Laar was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and historian.

Lambertus Jacobus Jozef van Nistelrooij is a Dutch politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2004 till 2019. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal, part of the European People's Party.

Hubert J.M. Hermans is a Dutch psychologist and Emeritus Professor at the Radboud University of Nijmegen, internationally known as the creator of dialogical self theory.

Anna Sergeevna Akhmanova is a Russian-born professor of Cell Biology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. She is best known for her research regarding microtubules and the proteins, called TIPs, that stabilize one specific end of the tubules. Among the awards she has won, she was one of the recipients of the 2018 Spinoza Prize, the highest honor for Dutch...

Henricus Johannes Bernardus "Harry" Aarts was a Dutch politician. He served in the House of Representatives for the Catholic People's Party and later the Christian Democratic Appeal from 23 January 1973 until 1 October 1993.

Mark Retera is a Dutch cartoonist, best known for his absurd gag comic DirkJan. He is the winner of the 2004 Stripschapprijs. He also draws caricatures for the Dutch weekly Panorama.

Dr. Johan Kremers (born 10 May 1933) was the Queen's Commissioner of the Dutch province of Limburg from 1977 to 1990.

Cornelis Verhoeven was a Dutch philosopher and writer.

Frank Johannes Maria Houben was a Dutch politician who was the Queen's Commissioner for the province of North Brabant between 22 April 1987 and 1 October 2003, when he retired after 16 years of service for Beatrix of the Netherlands. His successor was Hanja Maij-Weggen. Previously he had been mayor of Luyksgestel, Vessem, Wintelre en Knegsel, and Etten-Leur.

Alphonsus Petrus Johannes Mathildus Maria "Fons" van der Stee was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) and later the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and economist.

Roelof Johannes Nelissen was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and businessman.

Valeriu Pantazi was a Romanian poet, writer, and painter.

Maria Johanna Geertruda "Anne-Marie" Spierings is a Dutch politician of Democrats 66 (D66). She has served as the party's chairperson since 6 October 2018 until 2021, and has been a member of the Provincial Council of North Brabant since 22 January 2021.

Louis Reijtenbagh is a Dutch businessman and investor, as well as a retired general practitioner. He is the founder and chief executive officer of The Plaza Group (“Plaza”), a family office exclusively formed to manage the capital of its founder and his direct family members.

Cornelia Maria "Corrie" van Brenk-van Barneveld is a Dutch politician, who served as a Member of Parliament for the 50Plus party. She advocates introducing compulsory licenses for drivers of motor scooters.

Maria Johanna Theodora Martens is a Dutch politician. She is a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal. From 2011 until 2019 she was a member of the Dutch Senate.

Josephus Johannes Maria van der Lans (born 2 April 1954, in Breda) is a cultural psychologist, journalist and writer. Between 1999 and 2007 he was member of the Dutch Senate for GreenLeft

Bart Groothuis is a Dutch politician serving as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2020. He is a member of the Dutch conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party, which are both part of the European political group Renew Europe.

Baron Berend-Jan Marie van Voorst tot Voorst was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist.

Marcus Leonardus "Mark" Verheijen is a Dutch politician of the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). He served in municipal and provincial politics in Limburg, and he was vice chairman of the VVD. He was a member of the House of Representatives from September 2012 until February 2015, when he resigned over an expense scandal.

Gerard Francisco Parco Timoner III OP is a Filipino Catholic priest who has served as the 88th Master of the Order of Preachers, better known as the Dominicans, since 13 July 2019. He is the first Asian to hold the position.

Stephanie "Step" Vaessen is a Dutch broadcast journalist, currently working as a Berlin correspondent for Al Jazeera English.

Johannes Henricus Antonius Driessen (born 4 June 1981 in Cuijk en Sint Agatha) is a Dutch politician and former lawyer. He was an MP for the Party for Freedom (PVV) from 17 June 2010 to 19 September 2012. He focused on matters of development aid.

Theodorus Engelbertus "Tjerk" Westerterp was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and businessman.

Henricus Petrus Johannes "Henk" van Gerven is a Dutch politician and general practitioner. As a member of the Socialist Party (Socialistische Partij) he was an MP from 30 November 2006 to 23 March 2017. He focused on matters of health care (especially physicians, hospitals and medications), natural environment and public expenditure.

Wilhelmus Johannes Gerardus Maria "Wim" van de Camp is a Dutch politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) between 2009 and 2019. He was the leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) delegation, part of the European People's Party (EPP Group), from 2009 to 2014. He was previously a member of the House of Representatives of...

J. H. H. Mans (9 April 1940, Heerlen – 18 February 2021, Meerssen) was a Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA).

Petrus Leonardus Bastiaan Antonius "Pieter" van Geel is a retired Dutch politician Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and urban planner.

Josephus Antonius van Kemenade was a Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and sociologist. He was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 5 April 2002.

Alan Hirsch is an Australian author, serial entrepreneur, thought leader in the missional church movement, key missions strategist for churches around the world, and founder of numerous global organizations.

Otwin Evert Theodoor van Dijk (born 22 April 1975 in Rhenen) is a Dutch politician and former civil servant. A member of the Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid), his political career started in the municipality council of Duiven. From 2005 to 2012 he served as alderman (a member of the local government) in Doetinchem. From 20 September 2012 to...

Martina Hermina Antonia "Tineke" Strik is a Dutch politician. From 2007 to 2019 she was a member of the Senate for GreenLeft. Since 2019 she is a member of the European Parliament sitting with the Greens–European Free Alliance group.

Norbert Pieter Marie Klein was a Dutch politician. As a member of 50PLUS, he was an MP between 20 September 2012 and 23 March 2017. He left 50PLUS in 2014 and continued as an independent. As a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) he was a member of the municipal council of Nijmegen from 1982 to...

Theodorus Jozef Franciscus Marie "Theo" Bovens is a Dutch politician who has served as leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal in the Senate since 13 June 2023. He previously served as the King's Commissioner of Limburg from 30 June 2011 until 19 April 2021. He was acting mayor of Enschede from 2 October 2021 until 1 February 2022.

Aise Johan de Jong is a Dutch mathematician and professor of mathematics at Columbia University. His research interests include arithmetic geometry and algebraic geometry. He maintains the Stacks Project.

Johannes Cornelis "Co" Verdaas is a Dutch politician of the Labour Party. He served as State Secretary for the Ministry of Economic Affairs, dealing with agriculture, nature, food quality, tourism and postal affairs in the Rutte II cabinet from 5 November 2012 until his resignation on 6 December 2012. He previously served as a Member of the House of Representatives...

Hendrica Wilhelmina Petronella Maria Agatha "Herna" Verhagen is a Dutch business executive and the CEO of PostNL from 2012 to 15 April 2025. Verhagen is one of two women leading publicly listed companies in the Netherlands.

Lilian Maria Johanna Sibertha Helder is a Dutch politician and former lawyer.

Gerardus Bernardus Maria "Gerd" Leers is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party. He is the acting Mayor of Brunssum since 1 January 2018.

Johanna Maria "Annemarie" Penn-te Strake is a Dutch jurist and politician. She was mayor of Maastricht from 1 July 2015 until 1 July 2023.

Thomas Rosenboom, is a Dutch author of novels and short stories. His novels Gewassen vlees and Publieke werken won him the Libris Prize in 1995 and 2000; he is the only author to have won it twice.

Lianne Tan is a Belgian badminton player. She competed for Belgium at the 2012 London, 2016 Rio, 2020 Tokyo, and 2024 Paris Olympics. She was selected to participate in the 2012 Summer Olympics, together with her brother Yuhan. In 2015, she won the silver medal in the European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Hubertus Petrus Maria "Ben" Knapen is a Dutch historian and politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 24 September 2021 to 10 January 2022. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), he previously was State Secretary for Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2012 and parliamentary leader in the Senate from 2019 to 2021.

Laurens Jan Brinkhorst is a Dutch retired politician and diplomat of the Democrats 66 (D66) party.

Bernard Victor Aloysius "Bert" Röling was a Dutch jurist and founding father of polemology in the Netherlands. Between 1946 and 1948 he acted as the Dutch representative for the International Military Tribunal for the Far East.

Thomas Olde Heuvelt is a Dutch horror writer. His short stories have received the Hugo Award for Best Novelette, the Dutch Paul Harland Prize, and have been nominated for two additional Hugo Awards and a World Fantasy Award.

Erik Meijer is a Dutch computer scientist and entrepreneur. From 2000 to early 2013, he was a software architect for Microsoft where he headed the Cloud Programmability Team. He then founded Applied Duality Inc. in 2013. Before that, he was an associate professor at Utrecht University. From 2015 to 2024, he was a Senior Director of Engineering at Facebook (now...

Bas Eickhout is a Dutch politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since the 2009 elections. He is a member of the GreenLeft, part of the European Green Party.

Jozef Maria Laurens Theo "Jo" Cals was a Dutch politician of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 14 April 1965 until 22 November 1966.

Thomas Carolus de Graaf is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. He has been the Vice-President of the Council of State since 1 November 2018.

Agnes Catharina Kant is a retired Dutch politician of the Socialist Party (SP). She was an MP from 1998 to 2010. She was also the parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives from 20 June 2008 until 4 March 2010. After suffering major losses in the municipal elections of 3 March 2010, she stepped down as parliamentary group leader and...

Louis Joseph Maria Beel was a Dutch politician of the Roman Catholic State Party (RKSP) and later co-founder of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 3 July 1946 until 7 August 1948 and from 22 December 1958 until 19 May 1959.

Ingrid Katharina van Engelshoven is a Dutch politician who served as Minister of Education, Culture and Science in the Third Rutte cabinet from 26 October 2017 until 10 January 2022.

Hubertus Maria Franciscus "Hubert" Bruls is a Dutch politician who has served as Mayor of Nijmegen since 2012. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), he has also served as chairman of the Dutch Security Council since 2016.

Elisabeth Marij "Lisa" Westerveld is a Dutch politician serving as a member of GroenLinks in the House of Representatives of the Netherlands since 2017. Between 2014 and 2017 she was a member of the municipality council of Nijmegen.

Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva "Hans" van Mierlo was a Dutch politician and journalist who co-founded Democrats 66 (D66).

Louis Marie Lucien Henri Alphonse "Loek" Hermans is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businessman.

Andreas Antonius Maria "Dries" van Agt was a Dutch politician, jurist and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 19 December 1977 until 4 November 1982. He was a prominent leader of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) and later its successor party, the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA).

Sir Konstantin Sergeevich Novoselov is a Russian–British physicist. His work on graphene with Andre Geim earned them the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010. Novoselov is a professor at the Centre for Advanced 2D Materials, National University of Singapore and is also the Langworthy Professor of the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manchester.

Franciscus Bernardus Maria de Waal was a Dutch-American primatologist and ethologist. He was the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Primate Behavior in the Department of Psychology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, director of the Living Links Center at the Emory National Primate Research Center, and author of numerous books including Chimpanzee Politics (1982) and Our Inner Ape (2005). His...

Lilian Marie Corneel Marijnissen is a Dutch politician who served as Leader of the Socialist Party and as its parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives from December 2017 to December 2023. She was first installed as a member of the House of Representatives on 23 March 2017 following the general election of 15 March.

Maria Cornelia Frederika "Rita" Verdonk is a Dutch politician and businesswoman formerly affiliated with the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and later Proud of the Netherlands (TON), which she founded in 2007. Since 2022, she has been a municipal councillor of The Hague, elected on the list led by Richard de Mos.

Rob Arnoldus Adrianus Jetten is a Dutch politician who is the incoming prime minister of the Netherlands and will assume office on 23 February 2026. He has served as the leader of the Democrats 66 (D66) and as a member of the House of Representatives since 2023. He previously served in the fourth Rutte cabinet as Minister for Climate and...

Hendrikus Wilhelmus Maria "Dick" Schoof is a Dutch politician and civil servant serving as the prime minister of the Netherlands of the Schoof cabinet since 2 July 2024.

Marius Job Cohen is a retired Dutch politician and jurist who served as Mayor of Amsterdam from 2001 to 2010 and Leader of the Labour Party (PvdA) from 2010 to 2012.

Karla Maria Henriëtte Peijs is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA).

Aura Timen is a Romanian medical doctor based in the Netherlands. She is head of the department of primary care and professor of primary and community care at Radboud University Nijmegen.

Aart Jan de Geus is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and businessman. He served as Minister of Labor and Social Affairs from 2002 to 2007. Then he worked as Deputy Secretary-General for the OECD. From 2012 to 2019, De Geus was Chairman and CEO of the Bertelsmann Stiftung. From January 2020 to 2023, he...

Victor Gerard Marie Marijnen was a Dutch politician of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 24 July 1963 until 14 April 1965.

Monique Anne Maria "Micky" Adriaansens is a Dutch politician, lawyer and administrator who served as Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy in the fourth Rutte cabinet from January 2022 until July 2024. A member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), she was previously a member of the Senate (2019–2022).

Eric Eleterius Coralie van Damme is a Dutch economist and Professor of Economics at the Tilburg University, known for his contributions to game theory.

Bernardo Kastrup is a Dutch philosopher and computer engineer whose work centres on consciousness studies and analytic idealism, a form of metaphysical idealism developed within the analytic tradition. He questions physicalism and argues that consciousness lies at the foundation of reality.

Habbo Siebold "Hayke" Veldman is a Dutch politician, he was a member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands for the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy from 25 June 2014 until 30 March 2021.

Gommarus Adrianus "Gom" van Strien is a Dutch politician, he has been a member of the Senate for the Party for Freedom since 7 June 2011. He has served as deputy parliamentary leader since 25 September 2012. He was named formation scout after the 2023 Dutch general election but resigned within days, after he was linked to a fraud case...

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).

Wilhelmus Bernhard Henricus Josephus "Wim" van de Donk is a Dutch former politician and former academic, who served as the King's Commissioner of North Brabant from 1 October 2009 to 1 October 2020. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (Christen-Democratisch Appèl, CDA). He has been presiding Tilburg University since 19 November 2020.

Karin Straus is a Dutch politician and former human resource management employee and management consultant. As a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie) she was an MP between 26 October 2010 and 23 March 2017. She focused on matters of financial arrangements for children (among others child care), social and psychiatric care,...

Renzo Martens is a Dutch artist who currently lives and works in Amsterdam and Kinshasa. Martens became known for his controversial work, including Episode III: Enjoy Poverty (2008), a documentary that suggests that the Congo markets its poverty as a natural resource. In 2010 Renzo Martens initiated the art institute Human Activities that postulates a gentrification program on a palm...

Mireille Gingras Gillings, is a US-based Canadian neurobiologist and entrepreneur. She founded HUYA Bioscience International, a biotech consulting firm in 2004, and is the San Diego, California, company's CEO and Executive Chair. The company has offices in Pudong, Shanghai, China.

Wim E. Crusio is a Dutch behavioral neurogeneticist and a directeur de recherche (research director) with the French National Centre for Scientific Research in Talence, France.

Franciscus Cornelis Gerardus Maria "Frans" Timmermans is a Dutch politician who was the leader of GroenLinks–PvdA in the House of Representatives from 2023 to 2025.