Efraïn Jonckheer (20 October 1917 – 30 March 1987) was a businessman and politician of the

Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles (, ; ), also known as the Dutch Antilles, was a constituent Caribbean country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands consisting of the islands of Saba (island), Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten in the Lesser Antilles, ...

. Jonckheer 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 8 November 1954 until 14 February 1968. He served as Minister Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands Antilles from 1968 until 1971, Ambassador of the Netherlands to

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

from 1971 until 1976, and to

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

from 1976 until 1982. As of 2022, Jonckheer was the longest serving Prime Minister in the history of 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 ...

Biography

Jonckheer was born on 20 October 1917 in Curaçao. In 1933, he obtained his '' mulo'' (junior high school) diploma, and became director of several businesses. During

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 ...

, he became politically active, and desired autonomy for the islands. In 1944, he was one of the founders of the Democratic Party, and was elected to chair the party. In 1945, Jonckheer was first elected to the Estates of the Netherlands Antilles. In 1948 and 1952 until 1954, he was the representative of the Netherlands Antilles in the Round Table Conference about the future of the Dutch empire. On 8 November 1954, Jonckheer was elected

. On 15 November, he signed the

Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands (in Dutch: ''Statuut voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden''; in Papiamentu: ''Statuut di Reino Hulandes'') is a legal instrument that sets out the political relationship among the four countries that ...

which resulted in the Netherlands Antilles becoming a constituent country within the

. Jonckheer would serve until 14 February 1968 when he was succeeded by Ciro Kroon. He would subsequently serve as Minister Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands Antilles until 1971. In 1969, Jonckheer was nominated by the Estates of Netherlands Antilles as successor of Cola Debrot as Governor of Netherlands Antilles, however the

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

voted against the nomination. In March 1971, Jonkcheer was appointed Ambassador of the Netherlands to

, and served until 1976. In 1976, he became Ambassador of the Netherlands to

, and served until 1982. On 30 March 1987 Jonkcheer died in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, at the age of 69.

Honours

Honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

in law at the

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam The (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public university, public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in ...

(1965). * Commander 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 ...

. * Grand Officer of the Order of Vasco Núñez de Balboa. On 15 December 1994, a statue of Jonkcheer was revealed on the Rif Fort in

Otrobanda Otrobanda is one of the historic quarters of Willemstad, located at the southwest side of the city, in Curaçao, a Lesser Antilles island in the Dutch Caribbean. Otrobanda was founded in 1707, and has been designated a Unesco World Heritage Site. ...

, Curaçao.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jonckheer, Efrain 1917 births 1987 deaths Curaçao politicians Curaçao businesspeople Members of the Estates of the Netherlands Antilles Prime ministers of the Netherlands Antilles Ministers plenipotentiary (Netherlands Antilles) Ambassadors of the Netherlands to Costa Rica Ambassadors of the Netherlands to Venezuela Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion

Biography

Honours

See also

Notes

References