De Boer attended a
Lyceum in
Velsen from May 1949 until June 1955. De Boer worked as a
farmworker in Velsen from May 1953 until July 1960. De Boer worked as a trade association executive for the
Christian Farmers and Gardeners association (CBTB) from July 1960 until February 1972 and served as General-Secretary from August 1970 until February 1972. De Boer served on the
Provincial Council of North Holland from June 1966 until February 1972 and served on the
municipal council of
Velsen from April 1971 until April 1974 and served as an Alderman in Velsen from September 1971 until September 1973. De Boer became a member of the
House of Representatives after the resignation of
Joop Bakker, taking office on 16 February 1972 serving as a
frontbencher chairing the special parliamentary committee for Gambling Reforms and the special parliamentary committee for Fishing Zones Establishments and
spokesperson for small business, the civil service, fisheries, culture, media and military personnel. De Boer also served as
Chairman of the Anti-Revolutionary Party from 13 December 1975 until 27 September 1980. After the
1977 general election, the Christian Democratic Appeal and the
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) formed the
Van Agt–Wiegel cabinet. De Boer and several other CDA members of the House of Representatives were critical of the coalition agreement and formed an informal
caucus in their own
parliamentary group called the '''' that supported the cabinet only with
confidence and supply. After the
1981 general election, De Boer was appointed
State Secretary for Culture, Recreation and Social Work in the
Van Agt II cabinet, taking office on 11 September 1981. The cabinet fell just seven months into its term on 12 May 1982 after months of tensions in the coalition and continued to serve in a
demissionary capacity until the
first cabinet formation of 1982, when it was replaced by the
caretaker Van Agt III cabinet, with De Boer appointed
Minister of Culture, Recreation and Social Work, taking office on 29 May 1982. After the
1982 general election, De Boer returned to the House of Representatives, taking office on 16 September 1982. De Boer took a medical leave of absence on 11 October 1982 after which
Minister of Health and Environment Til Gardeniers-Berendsen served as acting Minister of Culture, Recreation and Social Work. Following the
second cabinet formation of 1982, De Boer was not giving a cabinet post in the new cabinet, the Van Agt III cabinet was replaced by the
Lubbers I cabinet on 4 November 1982 and he continued to serve in the House of Representatives as a frontbencher and spokesperson for welfare, sport, social work and culture. In February 1983 De Boer was nominated as mayor of
Haarlemmermeer, and he resigned as a member of the House of Representatives the same day he was installed as mayor, taking office on 13 March 1983. In September 1985 De Boer was appointed as Secretary-General of the
Ministry of Welfare, Health and Culture; he resigned as mayor on 1 October 1985 and was installed as secretary-general, serving from 1 January 1986 until 16 October 1995. In October 1995 De Boer was nominated as chairman of the executive board of the
Nederlandse Vereniging van Ziekenhuizen (NVZ), he resigned as secretary-general the same day he was installed as chairman on 16 October 1995. De Boer retired from active politic and became active in the
private sector and
public sector and occupied numerous seats as a corporate director and nonprofit director on several boards of directors and supervisory boards (
Stork B.V.,
Stichting Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn,
European Cultural Foundation,
Intertrust Group Transnational Institute,
Max Havelaar Foundation and the
World Press Photo) and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government (
Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP,
Advisory Council for Spatial Planning,
Environmental Assessment Agency and the
Social and Economic Council). ==Decorations==