Ciro Domenico Kroon (31 January 1916 – 9 June 2001) was an Curaçao politician and businessman. He served as Minister of Social and Economic Affairs from 1957 until 1968, and

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 1968 until 1969. 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 ...

caused the collapse of his government.

Biography

Kroon was born on 31 January 1916 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 finishing high school, he worked in trade. In 1942, he joined the civil service in the Department of Social and Economic Affairs. In 1944, he was one of the founders of the Democratic Party of Curaçao. In 1945, he was a candidate for the Estates of Curaçao and Dependencies, but did not get elected. In 1949, Kroon was elected to the Estates. On 16 June 1951, he became a member of the island council of Curaçao, and served until 1957. In 1956, he first served as acting Lieutenant governor of Curaçao. In November 1957, he was appointed Minister of Social and Economic Affairs.

Prime minister

In January 1968, prime minister

Efraïn Jonckheer Efraïn Jonckheer (20 October 1917 – 30 March 1987) was a businessman and politician of the Netherlands Antilles. Jonckheer served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles from 8 November 1954 until 14 February 1968. He served as Minister ...

announced his intention to retire from active politics, and named Kroon as his successor. On 15 February, Kroon became

. The same day, he wanted to drive to the airport to say goodbye to Jonckheer, however he was involved in a traffic accident with a bus, and was hospitalised with a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

. On the outside, Curaçao appeared to be in great shape. It had one of the highest per capita incomes, a 99.5% literacy rate, a tourist friendly capital with luxury hotels and many

duty-free shops A duty-free shop or store is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who will ...

, however

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New ...

, the largest employer, had laid off 2,000 workers. About 20% of the population, mainly of African descent, was unemployed, and many were living in slums on the edge of

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 ...

. On the other hand, the mainly Caucasian management was living in the segregated and gated villa wards of Julianadorp and

Emmastad Groot Kwartier is a neighbourhood of Willemstad, Curaçao, a Lesser Antilles island in the Dutch Caribbean. It is better known as Emmastad, a villa ward built by Royal Dutch Shell for its employees. Emmastad is officially part of Groot Kwartier. ...

. Royal Dutch Shell announced using plumbers of subcontractor

Werkspoor Werkspoor N.V. was the shortened, and later the official name of the Nederlandsche Fabriek van Werktuigen en Spoorwegmaterieel. It was a Dutch machine factory, known for rolling stock, (ship) steam engines, and diesel engines. It was a successo ...

Caribbean (WESCAR), where the employees received significant lower wages. A strike was called for the end of May by the unions. On 30 May 1969, the strikers were joined by disgruntled personnel of

Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American multinational semiconductor company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It is one of the top 10 semiconductor companies worldwide based on sales volume. The company's focus is on developing analog ...

, and a march was organised to the centre of Willemstad which escalated in a riot where houses were set on fire, and shops were looted. The police were unable to handle the situation, prime minister Kroon could not located, governor Cola Debrot was in New York, therefore, Ronchi Isa, Minister of Justice, called in the

Netherlands Marine Corps The Royal Netherlands Marine Corps () is the elite naval infantry corps of the Royal Netherlands Navy, one of the four Netherlands Armed Forces, Armed Forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The marines trace their origins to the establishme ...

. The riot ended when it was announced that Shell and WESCAR had given into the demands, and the marines left on 6 June. The riot had resulted in two deaths, 69 wounded, 53 buildings were destroyed, and 190 looted. Damages were estimated at US$40 million. The government of the Netherlands Antilles announced its resignation, and an ''ad interim'' government was formed headed by which would act as a place holder until the 1969 elections. Ernesto Petronia was later elected as the first Prime Minister of African descent, however the Democratic Party would remain the largest party in the coalition.

Later life

In July 1970, Kroon founded the party ''Movimento pa adelanto Social Antiyano'' (Movement for Antillian Social Advancement). In 1971, he was re-elected to the Estates. On 20 November 1973, he became Minister of Economic Affairs, Sports and Culture in the Evertsz cabinet, and served until 14 October 1977. After retiring from politics, Kroon became president of the Curaçao branch of Mercantil Banco, and in December 1985, he was appointed

formateur A formateur (French for "someone who forms, who constitutes") is a politician who is appointed to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur i ...

of a new government which resulted in the Don Martina government.

Honours

* 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 Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

Order of the Liberator The Order of the Liberator was the highest distinction of Venezuela and was appointed for services to the country, outstanding merit and benefits made to the community. For Venezuelans the order ranks first in the order of precedence from other o ...

* Order of San Carlos

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kroon, Ciro 1916 births 2001 deaths Prime ministers of the Netherlands Antilles Government ministers of the Netherlands Antilles Curaçao politicians Curaçao businesspeople Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Members of the Estates of the Netherlands Antilles

Biography

Prime minister

Later life

Honours

See also

References