He previously served as Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Estonia from September 2010 to September 2012
From 2005 to 2010, Maurits Jochems was on secondment to NATO by the Dutch Foreign Ministry with the personal title of Ambassador, and held the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Plans in the Operations Division of NATO's International Secretariat.
In his position at NATO Maurits Jochems dealt with civil emergency planning, exercise and crisis management policy and conceptual issues with regard to operations. He was also NATO's Senior Civilian Representative in Pakistan during NATO's disaster relief operation in support of the Pakistani government's earthquake relief efforts in 2005-2006. He was NATO's Senior Civilian Representative for contacts with the African Union and from January-July 2008, he was NATO's Resident Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan.
From 2001-2005 he was for four years the Director International Security Policy at the Dutch Foreign Ministry, dealing with participation in international peacekeeping operations and policies with regard to NATO, EU/ESDP, OSCE, conventional and UN related arms control and disarmament, as well as arms export policy issues.
Before 2001, Ambassador Jochems held positions at Dutch embassies abroad in Kingston (Jamaica), Bonn, Beirut, Brussels and Rome as well as at the Ministry in The Hague.
Ambassador Jochems started his career at the Royal Military Academy in Breda where he graduated in 1972. In 1977, after having obtained a Masters Degree in International law at the University of Utrecht, he joined the Dutch Foreign Service and retired as a career military officer.
Maurits Jochems is married to Irma de Ridder, a psychologist-psychotherapist, and has two adult daughters, who live and work in the Netherlands.
