Jan Kleijssen obtained Master’s Degrees in International Law (Utrecht) and in International Affairs (Ottawa) and performed military service as an officer in the Royal Netherlands Navy. Jan joined the Council of Europe in 1983 as a Lawyer with the European Commission of Human Rights. Subsequently, he served for some 9 years as Secretary to the Political Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly, playing a major role in the accession procedure for new member states.
As a Director of the Private Office, from 1999 until 2004, Jan was responsible for major reforms, political initiatives and crisis management.
Until February 2023 as Director of Information Society – Action against Crime he led some 200 highly qualified and motivated international staff, responsible for standard-setting, monitoring and co-operation activities on a wide variety of issues, such as Freedom of Expression, Data Protection, Artificial Intelligence, Internet Governance, Cybercrime, Terrorism, Criminal Law, Prison Management, Fighting Corruption and Money Laundering.
He served as the Council of Europe Internet Governance coordinator since 2018. On his initiative, the Council of Europe gave a partnership status to a still growing number of major global and regional private companies and associations. The marketing software platform, Onalytica, included Jan among the 2019 Top 100 influencers on the regulation of new technologies.
Since his retirement from the Council of Europe in February 2023, Jan has been working as an independent consultant. He was appointed as a member of the Advisory Board of ALLAI, a Foundation for Responsible AI. The Center for AI and Digital Policy awarded Jan the 2023 AI Policy Award Government in Washington DC.