Dirk Fock (19 June 1858 – 17 October 1941) was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the defunct

Liberal State Party The Liberal State Party, "the Freedom League" ( nl, Liberale Staatspartij "de Vrijheidsbond", LSP), was a conservative liberal political party in the Netherlands from 1921 to 1948. It is historically linked to the People's Party for Freedom a ...

(LSP) now merged into the

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party i ...

(VVD). He served as Governor of Suriname (1908–1911), Speaker of the House of Representatives (1917–1921) and

Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies ( nl, gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands Indië) represented Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949. Occupied by Japanese ...

(1921–1926).Mr.dr. D. (Dirk) Fock
''Parlement & Politiek''. Retrieved on 17 January 2015.

Biography

Fock was born on 19 June 1858 in

Wijk bij Duurstede Wijk bij Duurstede () is a municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. Population centres * Cothen *Langbroek *Wijk bij Duurstede Topography ''Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Wijk bij Duurstede, 2013.'' City The city ...

. After attending

Gymnasium Haganum The Gymnasium Haganum is one of the oldest public schools in the Netherlands, located in the city of The Hague. First mentioned in 1327, the school is currently housed in a monumental Renaissance Revival architecture building, built in 1907. It ...

, Fock studied law at Leiden University from 1875 to 1880. After graduating, Fock went to the Dutch East Indies (now: Indonesia) were he worked as a lawyer and prosecutor in Batavia until 1898. In 1899, Fock returned to the Netherlands and started practising law in Rotterdam. On 17 September 1901, he was first elected to the

States General of the Netherlands The States General of the Netherlands ( nl, Staten-Generaal ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The States ...

for the

. On 17 August 1905, he was appointed Minister of Colonial Affairs in the De Meester cabinet. During his tenure, he enhanced and extended education in the colonies, and served until 12 February 1908. On 10 Augustus 1908, Fock was appointed

Governor-General of Suriname This is a list of colonial governors of Suriname, a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north. Suriname was first colonized by the Bri ...

. During his tenure, he tried to stimulate the economy by developing the banana industry. There was increased immigration of

indentured An indenture is a legal contract that reflects or covers a debt or purchase obligation. It specifically refers to two types of practices: in historical usage, an indentured servant status, and in modern usage, it is an instrument used for commercia ...

workers from British India and Java. Plans to further develop the healthcare and educational system were blocked by the States General. He served until 1 July 1911. In 1913, Fock was re-elected to the States General, and became the Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1917. On 3 April 1919, he temporarily resigned from the States General, after Governor van Limburg Stirum of the Dutch East Indies pleaded for radical changes in the colony which was at odds with Fock's view of a gentle evolution. On 14 October 1920, he permanently resigned. On 24 March 1921, Fock was appointed

succeeding his former adversary van Limburg Stirum. He arrived in the colony during a severe financial crisis, and the books were finally balanced in 1925. In 1923, he passed article 161bis of the Criminal Law, which criminalised incitements of

strikes Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

. In 1925, he passed the ''Wet op de Staatsinrichting'' (Constitutional Act) which allowed the Dutch East Indies to pass internal legislation without the approval of the States General. He served until 6 September 1926. On 17 September 1929, Fock 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 e ...

, and became Parliamentary leader on 20 September 1932. He retired on 17 September 1935. In 1930, he was a member of the Dutch delegation to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide Intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by ...

and in 1931, he was in charge of creating the Dutch pavilion of the

Paris Colonial Exposition The Paris Colonial Exhibition (or "''Exposition coloniale internationale''", International Colonial Exhibition) was a six-month colonial exhibition held in Paris, France, in 1931 that attempted to display the diverse cultures and immense resour ...

. Fock died on 17 October 1941 in The Hague, at the age of 83.

Honours

* Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands ( nl, De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, french: L'Ordre du Lion Néerlandais) is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on ...

. * Knight Grand Cross of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. * Knight Grass Cross of the Order of the Crown.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fock, Dirk 1858 births 1941 deaths Dutch expatriates in Indonesia Dutch jurists Governors of Suriname Governors-General of the Dutch East Indies Leiden University alumni Liberal State Party politicians Liberal Union (Netherlands) politicians Ministers of Colonial Affairs of the Netherlands Ministers of State (Netherlands) Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the Provincial Council of South Holland Speakers of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion People from Wijk bij Duurstede Politicians from The Hague 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch diplomats 20th-century Dutch East Indies people 20th-century Dutch lawyers 20th-century Dutch politicians Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur