Dirk Uipko Stikker (5 February 1897 – 23 December 1979) was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the defunct Liberal State Party (LSP), co-founder of the defunct Freedom Party (PvdV) and of the

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( , VVD) is a Conservative liberalism, conservative-liberal List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. The VVD, whose forerunner was the Freedom Party (Netherl ...

(VVD), and businessman. Stikker was known for his abilities as a manager and negotiator. Stikker continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until his death. He holds the distinction as the first Secretary General of NATO from the Netherlands.

Biography

Early life

Born in Winschoten, he studied law at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; , abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen, Netherlands. Founded in 1614, th ...

. After his studies he began a career in the banking sector. In 1935, he became the director of Heineken International, the famous beer company. He held this post until 1948. In 1945, he was among the organizers of the Stichting van de Arbeid (Dutch Labour Foundation), thus helping to lay the foundation for post-war

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and labour rights, rights for ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Career

From 1922 until 1926, Stikker worked as an accountant for the Twentsche Bank, and then as Director of a

branch A branch, also called a ramus in botany, is a stem that grows off from another stem, or when structures like veins in leaves are divided into smaller veins. History and etymology In Old English, there are numerous words for branch, includ ...

of the bank from 1926 until 1928. Then in 1928 until 1935 Stikker worked as a regional manager for the Twentsche Bank. Stikker worked as member of the management board for Heineken N.V. from 1 July 1935 until 1 August 1948 and as chairman of that board from 1940 until 1948. Following the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Queen Wilhelmina ordered a Recall of Parliament and Stikker became a Member of the Senate taking the place of the deceased Samuel van den Bergh, on 20 November 1945. On 23 March 1946, the Liberal State Party was renamed as the Freedom Party. Stikker was one of the co-founders and became the Leader of the Freedom Party and

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

. On 24 January 1948, the Freedom Party (PvdV) and the '' Committee-Oud'' merged to form the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). Stikker was one of the co-founders and became the first Chairman of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy. After election of 1948 the Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and

Parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislature, legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. ...

of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy in the House of Representatives Pieter Oud opted to remain in the House of Representatives instead of accepting a ministerial post in the new Cabinet Drees–Van Schaik and endorsed Stikker who had been serving as the Deputy Leader as

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

, taking office on 7 August 1948. The Cabinet Drees–Van Schaik fell on 24 January 1951 and was replaced by the Cabinet Drees I with Stikker continuing as Minister of Foreign Affairs, taking office on 15 March 1951. In February 1952 Stikker announced that he would not stand for the election of 1952. The Cabinet Drees I was succeeded by the Cabinet Drees II on 2 September 1952. Stikker remained in active politics, he was appointed as the Ambassador of the Netherlands to the United Kingdom, serving from 10 September 1952 until 15 June 1958 when he was appointed as the Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

and the

. In April 1961 Stikker was nominated as the next Secretary General of NATO. He resigned as Permanent Representative on 21 April 1961 the day he was installed as Secretary General, serving from 21 April 1961 until 1 August 1964. After his retirement, Stikker occupied numerous seats as a corporate director and nonprofit director for supervisory boards in the business and industry world and for supervisory boards for several international non-governmental organizations and research institutes (

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

, Van Lanschot, Netherlands Atlantic Association, Carnegie Foundation, Trilateral Commission and the DSM Company) and as an advocate and lobbyist for

European integration European integration is the process of political, legal, social, regional and economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe, or nearby. European integration has primarily but not exclusively come about through the European Union ...

and serving on several commissions for the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation 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 Lisbo ...

and state commissions on behalf of the Dutch government. He served as the Secretary General of NATO from 21 April 1961 until 1 August 1964.

Politics

Stikker entered politics in 1945, when he was elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

of the States General. On 23 March 1946, he co-founded the Partij van de Vrijheid (PvdV, Freedom Party), together with some former members of the pre-war Liberale Staatspartij (LSP, Liberal State Party). On 24 January 1948, the PvdV was absorbed by the Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ( VVD, Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy), which is the country's most important Liberal party. Stikker was the VVD's first chairman.

Minister of Foreign Affairs

In 1948, Stikker became

minister of foreign affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

in the first government led by Willem Drees, holding that position until 1951. After his party adopted a no-confidence motion over the government's colonial policy in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

, Stikker resigned on 23 January 1951, prompting the cabinet's fall. He returned to that position less than two months later. The Netherlands played an important role in the creation of

and the

European Coal and Steel Community The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to integrate Europe's coal and steel industries into a single common market based on the principle of supranationalism which would be governe ...

during Stikker's time in office as minister of foreign affairs.

Ambassador

After his ministerial office, Stikker was ambassador to the United Kingdom (1952–1958) and head of the Dutch Permanent Representation to the North Atlantic Council and to the Organization for European Economic Co-operation, the predecessor of the

(1958–1961).

Secretary General of NATO

On 21 April 1961 he succeeded Paul-Henri Spaak to become the third Secretary General of NATO. He resigned due to poor health on 1 August 1964.

Personal

In 1964, Stikker was awarded an honorary doctorate by

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

. He died in Wassenaar in 1979, aged 82.

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
Mr. D.U. (Dirk) Stikker
Parlement & Politiek *
Mr. D.U. Stikker (VVD)
Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal {{DEFAULTSORT:Stikker, Dirk 1897 births 1979 deaths Ambassadors of the Netherlands to the United Kingdom Chairmen of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Cold War diplomats Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Dutch bankers Van Lanschot Kempen people Dutch chief executives in the finance industry Dutch corporate directors Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch male badminton players Dutch trade association executives Dutch people of World War II Dutch political party founders Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Grand Crosses of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece) Heineken people Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Ministers of foreign affairs of the Netherlands Secretaries general of NATO Liberal State Party politicians Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Permanent representatives of the Netherlands to NATO Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order People from Winschoten People from Wassenaar People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians Freedom Party (Netherlands) politicians University of Groningen alumni 20th-century Dutch businesspeople 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch diplomats 20th-century Dutch politicians 20th-century Dutch sportsmen

Biography

Early life

Career

Politics

Minister of Foreign Affairs

Ambassador

Secretary General of NATO

Personal

Further reading

Decorations

References

External links