Sylvius Gerard Marie "Boy" Rozendal (4 July 1928 – 10 June 2003) was an Curaçao politician and journalist. He served as

Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles Below is a list of prime ministers of the Netherlands Antilles from 1951 to 2010. In 2010 the position of Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles was abolished, together with the Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, dissolution of the cou ...

from 1971 until 1975, Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister from 1969 until 1971, and Minister Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands Antilles from 1971 until 1975.

Biography

Rozendal was born on 4 July 1928 in

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

. After graduating high school, he went to the Netherlands to study at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

, and in 1957, obtained his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in political and social sciences at the

Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (, abbreviated IHEID), commonly referred to as Geneva Graduate Institute, is a graduate-level research university in Geneva, Switzerland dedicated to international relations, dev ...

in Genève, Switzerland. Rozendal returned to Curaçao and in 1958 joined the Democratic Party. In 1959, he was first elected to the island council of Curaçao. In 1966, he was first elected to the Estates of the Netherlands Antilles. The

1969 Curaçao uprising The 1969 Curaçao uprising (, ) was a series of riots on the Caribbean island of Curaçao, then part of the Netherlands Antilles, a semi-independent country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The uprising took place mainly on 30 May but continue ...

resulted in a collapse of the government. On 12 December 1969, Rozendal was appointed Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister. On 12 February 1971, he was appointed

Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

. and served until 1 December 1975. In 1973, he became chairperson of the Democratic Party. A major issue for the

1977 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1977. Africa * 1977 Afars and Issas Constituent Assembly election * 1977 Algerian legislative election * 1977 Gambian general election * 1976–1977 Guinea-Bissau legislative election * 1977 Malagasy ...

was the ''

status aparte ''Status aparte'' (Latin for "separate state") refers to the special status of Aruba between 1986 and 2010 as a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, separate from the Netherlands Antilles to which it belonged until 1986. Wi ...

'' for

Aruba Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...

which would make the island a constituent country within the

Kingdom of the Netherlands The Kingdom of the Netherlands (, ;, , ), commonly known simply as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state. The re ...

, and no longer subordinate to Curaçao. The Democratic Party was opposed to a special status, and won a clear victory in the elections. On 14 October 1977, Rozendal became

. His tenure was marred by demonstrations and riots in Aruba organised by

Betico Croes Gilberto François "Betico" Croes (; 25 January 1938 – 26 November 1986) was an Aruban political activist who was a proponent for Aruba's separation from the Netherlands Antilles. This eventually occurred in 1986, but following a car accident ...

. Rozendal turned in his resignation effective 6 July 1979. On 1 January 1986, Aruba became a constituent country. Rozendal retired from politics and became an editor and a journalist. He would return to the Estates between 1990 and 1994. On 10 June 2003, Rozendal died in

Willemstad Willemstad ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that is a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was the cap ...

, Curaçao at the age of 74.

Honours and legacy

* Knight of the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (, ) is a Dutch honours system, Dutch order of chivalry founded by William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. The Order of the Netherlands Lion wa ...

* Commander of the Order of the Liberator

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rozendal, Boy 1928 births 2003 deaths Prime ministers of the Netherlands Antilles Government ministers of the Netherlands Antilles Ministers plenipotentiary (Netherlands Antilles) Curaçao politicians Curaçao journalists Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion University of Amsterdam alumni Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni

Biography

Honours and legacy

See also

References