summary
The role of the psychiatrist as administrator was first defined in the psychiatrist profile of the Dutch Psychiatric Association (1996). According to that profile the psychiatrist was the 'playing captain' of a multidisciplinary team. However, this phraseology was no longer used in the revised profile (2005); there the psychiatrist had become primarily a medical specialist. As a result of the broad acceptance of the Canmeds competence-based training, the management of psychiatry has now become one of the seven core skills of the psychiatric profession. Competence-based training in the future will put more emphasis on management skills, the psychiatrist will once more become a 'playing captain' and there will again be a future for administrative psychiatry.