Ernst Hirsch Ballin

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Ernst Maurits Henricus Hirsch Ballin
minister of Justice
In office 2007 – present
Preceded by	Piet Hein Donner
Minister of Justice
In office 1989 – 1994
Born	15 December 1950 (1950-12-15) (age 57) Amsterdam, Netherlands
Political party	Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA)
Religion	Roman Catholic

Ernst Maurits Henricus Hirsch Ballin (born Amsterdam, December 15, 1950) is a Dutch politician, minister of Justice in the Fourth cabinet Balkenende. He previously was minister of Justice in the third Lubbers cabinet (1989-1994), and successor of Piet Hein Donner as justice minister in the third Balkenende cabinet (2006). He is a member of the CDA, a Christian-democratic party. He was born to jewish parents, but converted to catholicism during his studies at Amsterdam University.

After a parliamentary inquiry (1994) into the investigative methods used by the Dutch interregional police force (IRT affair), Hirsch Ballin had to resign from his position. He then was respectively a member of the Dutch House of Representatives, member of the Dutch Senate, and from 2000, member of the Dutch Council of State.

The arrest of the satirical cartoonist Gregorius Nekschot on May 13 2008 caused (inter)national controversy. Many Dutchmen crave for Hirsch Ballin's resignation and the downfall of the current government.

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