Addeke Hendrik Boerma (3 April 1912 8 May 1992) was a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

civil servant who served as the first Executive Director of the

World Food Programme The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, برنامج الأغذية العالمي, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: Всемирная продовольствен� ...

from 1962–1967 and as the Director General of the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

from 1967 until December 1975.

Early life and education

Boerma was born in

Annerveenschekanaal Annerveenschekanaal is a village in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Aa en Hunze, and lies about 18 km east of Assen. The statistical area "Annerveenschekanaal", which can also include the surrounding country ...

on 3 April 1912 in a farming family. He went to school in

Veendam Veendam () is a town and municipality with a population of 27,752 in the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. Veendam was established in 1648 as a peat colony by Adriaan Geerts Wildervanck. A Holland America Line cruise ship ...

. From 1929 to 1934, Boerma studied horticulture and agricultural economics at the

Wageningen University and Research Wageningen University & Research (also known as Wageningen UR; abbreviation: WUR) is a public university in Wageningen, Netherlands, specializing in life sciences with a focus on agriculture, technical and engineering subjects. It is a globally ...

Career

After university, Boerma became a government commissioner for arable farming and

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...

and, in 1938, went to work for the National Agency for Wartime Food Supply on preparations for food supply in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in wartime. In October 1944, he went to the already liberated south of the Netherlands to prepare the food supply and the sending of relief supplies. For his services during and after the war, Boerma was made a Knight in the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands ( nl, De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, french: L'Ordre du Lion Néerlandais) is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on ...

and a Commander in the Order of Leopold.

World Food Program

Beginning in 1947, Boerma held various positions at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

. He also became the first Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Program in 1962. In 1967, he was elected Director General of the FAO. He initiated a reorganization of the NGO and focused on poverty issues. He retired from civil service on 1 January 1976. Boerma spent his final years in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

before his death in 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boerma, Addeke Hendrik 1912 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Dutch politicians Executive Directors of the World Food Programme Food and Agriculture Organization officials United Nations officials People from Aa en Hunze Wageningen University and Research alumni