Willem Frederik "Wim" van Eekelen (born 5 February 1931) is a retired

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 ...

politician, diplomat, and political scientist.

Early life and education

Van Eekelen attended a Gymnasium in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

from June 1943 until June 1949 and applied at the

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

in June 1949 majoring in

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and obtaining a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

degree in July 1951. Van Eekelen attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

and graduated in 1952 with an A.B. in politics after completing a senior thesis titled " The Marshall Plan and Its Significance for the Netherlands." Van Eekelen graduated with an

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mo ...

degree from the University of Utrecht in November 1954. Van Eekelen was

conscripted Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...

in the

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army ( nl, Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised – making the Dutc ...

serving in the cavalry

Regiment Huzaren van Boreel The Regiment Huzaren van Boreel is an armoured regiment of the Royal Netherlands Army, named for . It currently serves in the armoured Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, Reconnaissance ( ISTAR) role; the regiment provides armoured ...

as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

from July 1956 until August 1957. Van Eekelen worked as a civil servant for the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...

from September 1957 until June 1977 for the

Diplomatic service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

from September 1957 until May 1974 as an

Attaché In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accord ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

from September 1957 until January 1960 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

from January 1960 until February 1964. Van Eekelen later returned to the Utrecht University in February 1964 for another postgraduate education where he worked as a researcher and got an

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

as an

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in Political science on 18 November 1964.

Career

Van Eekelen worked as Attaché in

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

from November 1964 until October 1966 and as a senior attaché for the Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

from October 1966 until May 1971 and as a

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

for the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lis ...

from May 1971 until August 1974. Van Eekelen worked as Director-General for the department of Atlantic Cooperation and Security Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from August 1974 until June 1977. Van Eekelen was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the election of 1977, taking office on 8 June 1977. Following the cabinet formation of 1977 Van Eekelen was appointed as State Secretary for Defence in the Cabinet Van Agt–Wiegel, taking office on 20 January 1978. After the election of 1981 Van Eekelen returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 25 August 1981. The Cabinet Van Agt–Wiegel was replaced by the Cabinet Van Agt II following the cabinet formation of 1981 on 11 September 1981. After the election of 1982 Van Eekelen was appointed State Secretary for Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet Lubbers I, taking office on 5 November 1982. After the election of 1986 Van Eekelen once again returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 3 June 1986. Following the cabinet formation of 1986 Van Eekelen was appointed as

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

in the Cabinet Lubbers II, taking office on 14 July 1986. On 6 September 1988 Van Eekelen resigned following the conclusions of a parliamentary inquiry report into a

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

fraud investigation that was mishandled by him during the time he serves as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs in the previous

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

, his successor as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs René van der Linden subsequently resigned on 9 September 1988. Van Eekelen remained active in national politics, in April 1989 he was nominated as Secretary General of the Western European Union, serving from 15 May 1989 until 15 November 1994. Van Eekelen was elected as a Member of the Senate after the Senate election of 1995, taking office on 13 June 1995 serving as a

frontbencher In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then kn ...

chairing several

parliamentary committees A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

. In January 2003 Van Eekelen announced his retirement from national politics and that he wouldn't stand for the Senate election of 2003 and continued to serve until the end of the parliamentary term on 10 June 2003.

After retirement

Van Eekelen retired after spending 26 years in national politics and became active in the

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

and

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, inf ...

and occupied numerous seats as a corporate director and nonprofit director on several boards of directors and supervisory boards ( Institute for Multiparty Democracy,

Achmea Achmea Holding N.V. is one of the largest suppliers of financial services (mainly insurance) in the Netherlands. The company was formed by a merger of Zilveren Kruis and Avéro Centraal Beheer Groep on January 1, 1995. The roots of Achmea date ...

, Netherlands Atlantic Association,

Transnational Institute The Transnational Institute (TNI), is an international non-profit research and advocacy think tank that was founded in 1974, Amsterdam, Netherlands. According to their website, the organization promotes a "... just, democratic and sustainable ...

, Carnegie Foundation and the Institute of International Relations Clingendael) and served as an diplomat and lobbyist for several economic delegations on behalf of the government and as an advocate and lobbyist for

Democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose g ...

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

and

European integration European integration is the process of industrial, economic, political, legal, social, and cultural integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integration has primarily come about through the European Union and its ...

. Van Eekelen is known for his abilities as a negotiator and consensus builder. Van Eekelen continues to comment on political affairs as of and holds the distinction as the only Dutchman that served as Secretary General of the Western European Union.

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
Dr. W.F. (Wim) van Eekelen
Parlement & Politiek *
Dr. W.F. van Eekelen (VVD)
Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal {{DEFAULTSORT:Eekelen, Wim van 1931 births Living people Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Commanders of the Order of the Star of Romania Dutch corporate directors Dutch democracy activists Dutch expatriates in Belgium Dutch expatriates in England Dutch expatriates in India Dutch expatriates in Ghana Dutch expatriates in the United States Dutch lobbyists Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Dutch officials of the European Union Dutch political consultants Dutch political scientists European Union lobbyists Foreign policy writers Geopoliticians Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Grand Officers of the Order of Leopold II Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Ministers of Defence of the Netherlands Politicians from Utrecht (city) People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians Political realists Princeton University alumni Royal Netherlands Army officers State Secretaries for Defence of the Netherlands State Secretaries for Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Utrecht University alumni Utrecht University faculty Western European Union people 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch diplomats 20th-century Dutch jurists 20th-century Dutch male writers 20th-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch civil servants 21st-century Dutch diplomats 21st-century Dutch male writers 21st-century Dutch politicians