Hendrik Jan Schoo (born 10 November 1945; died 9 September 2007), also known as HJ Schoo, was a Dutch author, journalist, essayist and magazine editor. He served as the editor-in-chief of Elsevier magazine and was the deputy editor of de Volkskrant newspaper for which he wrote columns.
Biography Schoo was born in Amsterdam. His father was a sales representative and his mother a nurse. He was a brother of politician and government minister Eegje Schoo. He initially trained as a teacher before going to study social sciences at the University of Chicago. He later worked at an African-American primary school before returning to the Netherlands.
Career Schoo began his career as an editor and writer for Montessori Communications, a publication of the Dutch Montessori Association.I. Haagsma, H. de Haan, A. de Haas en H.J. Schoo, Amsterdamse gebouwen 1880-1980, Utrecht/Antwerpen, Het Spectrum, 1981. He then worked for a psychology publication before joining Elsevier in 1991 as a columnist, rising up to become deputy editor and then chief editor from 1993 to 1999.Tino van Os: Oud-hoofdredacteur H.J. Schoo (61) overleden, Elsevier 5 september 2007 Politically, Schoo took on a conservative slant and was critical of multiculturalism in his opinion columns.Oudenampsen (2018), p. 180-182 One of Schoo's most notable acts as editor was appointing sociology professor Pim Fortuyn as a columnist in 1993. Both Schoo and Fortuyn would influence each other's beliefs, and the column helped Fortuyn to gain more public exposure in the Netherlands before he embarked on a political career.Oudenampsen (2018), p. 180-182 At the end of 1999, Schoo resigned from Elsevier to become deputy editor-in-chief of de Volkskrant.Martin Sommer: Een stoemper die nooit afstapte, de Volkskrant 5 september 2007
Personal life Schoo was married twice, first to Dutch writer by whom he had a son."Xandra Schutte: 'Van zelfbeklag word je niet beter'" in Cornald Maas (2006) Op de helft : Bespiegelingen van (bijna)veertigers. Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Prometheus. He died following complications after heart surgery in 2007.
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