At the age of 24, Jacques Wallage became chairman of the PvdA-group in the city council of Groningen before becoming alderman there. After that, he continued his career in The Hague as a member of the house of representatives for eight years. During his time in The Hague, he was Secretary of State twice, first of education and science and then of social affairs and employment. Following this period in the government, he returned to parliament as leader of the PvdA parliamentary party. In 1998, Jacques returned to Groningen to become the mayor. He resigned the mayorship in 2009 and then became a special professor at RUG on migration and government policy. Moreover, he was for eight years the chairman of the national council for public administration, chaired the negotiations between the government, industry, fishery and non-governmental organizations that led to the North Sea Agreement, and was a member of PostNL’s board of supervisors for ten years. He is 75 now and focuses on sharing experiences and transferring knowledge, for example as guest professor at the University of Groningen. This also leaves more time for hobbies, such as gardening, writing and walking the dog.