Gerrit Jan van Heuven Goedhart (19 March 1901 – 8 July 1956) was a Dutch politician, diplomat and journalist. A member of the Labour Party (PvdA), he was

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

from 1944 to 1945 under Prime Minister Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy. He later served as the first

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, l ...

from 1951 until 1956.

Biography

Early life

Van Heuven Goedhart was born on 19 March 1901 in

Bussum Bussum () is a commuter town and former municipality in the Gooi region in the south east of the province of North Holland in the Netherlands near Hilversum. Since 2016, Bussum has been part of the new municipality of Gooise Meren. Bussum had a ...

North Holland North Holland (, ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht (province), Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevola ...

. His father, Gijsbert Willem Goedhart, was a Protestant vicar. His mother was Francina Dingena Helena van Heuven. Van Heuven Goedhart was initially called Goedhart, but in 1933 he received permission to add his mother's maiden name to his surname. Van Heuven Goedhart studied law at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

and graduated in 1926. The year before, he had already become a reporter for newspaper ''

De Telegraaf ''De Telegraaf'' (; ) is the largest Netherlands, Dutch daily morning newspaper. Haro Kraak,Gaat Paul Jansen de crisis bij De Telegraaf oplossen?, ''de Volkskrant'', 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015. Paul Jansen has been the editor-in-chief since ...

''. On 1 January 1930, at the age of 28, he was promoted to editor in chief. He was fired on 1 June 1933 because he refused to publish an article that called the newly elected German leader

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

"a great statesman". He became editor in chief of regional newspaper Utrechts Nieuwsblad, where he would stay in office until the German invasion of the Netherlands.

Politics

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 ...

, Van Heuven Goedhart worked as a reporter and editor in chief for the illegal resistance newspaper '' Het Parool''. In 1944 he fled to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he was appointed

in the

government in exile A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovereign state or semi-sovereign state, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usu ...

. After the World War II, Van Heuven Goedhart returned to Het Parool, where he once again become editor in chief. In 1947, he also became

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

for the Labour Party. In 1951, he gave up both occupations to become the first High Commissioner for Refugees of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. Under Van Heuven Goedhart, the UNHCR was awarded the 1954 Nobel Peace Prize. Van Heuven Goedhart was also the first chairman of the "state committee for the coordination of government information" (), the predecessor of the

Netherlands Government Information Service The Netherlands Government Information Service (''Dutch:'' Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst, abbrev.: RVD) is a Dutch government agency. The RVD is the official information service of the Dutch government and is the spokesbody for the prime minister, th ...

().

Personal

Van Heuven Goedhart married Francis Becht (1899–1987) in 1924. The marriage was dissolved in 1931. In 1932, Van Heuven Goedhart married Norwegian Erna Hauan (1899–1991). Van Heuven Goedhart had two children from his second marriage, Karin Sophie and Bergliot Halldis. Van Heuven Goedhart died in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

on 8 July 1956, while being United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
Mr.Dr. G.J. (Gerrit-Jan) van Heuven Goedhart
Parlement & Politiek *
Mr.Dr. G.J. van Heuven Goedhart (PvdA)
Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal {{DEFAULTSORT:Heuven Goedhart, Gerrit Jan van 1901 births 1956 deaths Dutch expatriates in England Dutch expatriates in Switzerland Dutch expatriates in the United States Dutch jurists Dutch magazine editors Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church Het Parool editors Dutch officials of the United Nations Dutch political writers Dutch reporters and correspondents Dutch resistance members Dutch war correspondents Engelandvaarders Independent politicians in the Netherlands Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Labour Party (Netherlands) politicians Leiden University alumni Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Ministers of justice of the Netherlands People from Bussum Politicians from Utrecht (city) United Nations High Commissioners for Refugees 20th-century Dutch diplomats 20th-century Dutch male writers 20th-century Dutch politicians 20th-century Dutch journalists Nansen Refugee Award laureates