Voormalig

Voormalig is a Dutch adjective meaning former or previous, used to indicate that something or someone no longer holds a stated status or role. It is commonly applied to people, offices, titles, or positions, and signals a change from what previously existed or occurred.

In usage, voormalig can modify a noun to show a former status. It is often placed before the noun in attributive position, as in voormalige burgemeester (former mayor) or voormalig minister van Financiën (former Minister of Finance). It can also appear predicatively after a linking verb, as in Hij is voormalig burgemeester (He is a former mayor). The word does not convey whether the status is recent or distant; it simply marks that the status was held at some point in the past.

The term is commonly used in news reports, biographies, and official communications to distinguish current roles from past ones. It is also used in historical or biographical contexts to describe past positions, titles, or affiliations of individuals and institutions.

Notes on nuance: voormalig does not imply any opinion about the value or merit of the person or role; it is a neutral descriptor of temporal relation. In many cases, Dutch speakers may replace it with a more specific term if the exact period or reason for the change is relevant.

See also: ex-, former positions in Dutch usage, Dutch titles and forms of address.