Theodorus Hendrikus "Theo" Bot (20 July 1911 – 24 September 1984) was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist. Bot attended a Gymnasium in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Nethe ...

from May 1924 until June 1930 and applied at the

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollm ...

in June 1930

majoring An academic major is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits. A student who successfully completes all courses required for the major qualifies for an undergraduate degree. The word ''major'' (also called ''conc ...

in Law and obtaining a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of ...

degree in July 1932 before graduating with a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

degree in July 1936. Bot also applied at the Royal Military Academy in

Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda ...

in January 1933 to be trained as a reserve

Artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieg ...

Officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," ...

in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army graduating as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in September 1936. Bot worked as a civil servant for the Dutch East Indies Government in

West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Bante ...

from November 1936 until March 1942 in Purwakarta from November 1936 until August 1939 and in Sukabumi from August 1939 until March 1942. On 10 May 1940

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

invaded the Netherlands and the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...

fled to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to escape the

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 193 ...

. Bot was called to

active duty Active duty, in contrast to reserve duty, is a full-time occupation as part of a military force. In the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations, the equivalent term is active service. India The Indian Armed Forces are considered to be ...

and served in an air defense artillery platoon during the Dutch East Indies campaign. On 8 March 1942 Bot was captured following the Battle of Borneo and detained in the Japanese internment camp

Kampong Makassar Kampong Makassar was one several internment camps in the island of Java near Batavia (present-day Jakarta) in which the Japanese interned enemy civilians, mostly Dutch, after the Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Net ...

. Bot was later transferred to the internment camp Thanbyuzayat in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

to work on the

Burma Railway The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 ...

and was detained until 30 September 1945 and following the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

moved back to the Netherlands. Bot worked as a civil servant for the Ministry of Colonial Affairs from March 1946 until March 1949 as Deputy Director-General of the department for Constitutional Reform from March 1946 until June 1948 and as Deputy Director-General of the department for Political Affairs from June 1948 until March 1949. Bot worked as political advisor for the High Commissioner of the Dutch East Indies Tony Lovink from March 1949 until December 1949. Bot served as Deputy Secretary-General of the Netherlands-Indonesian Union and as a political consultant for the Ministry of Colonial Affairs from December 1949 tot March 1954. Bot worked as a civil servant for the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...

as Director-General of the department for

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and

Western European Union The Western European Union (WEU; french: Union de l'Europe occidentale, UEO; german: Westeuropäische Union, WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 ...

affairs from March 1954 until November 1959 After the election of 1959 Bot was appointed as State Secretary for the Interior in the Cabinet De Quay, taking office on 23 November 1959. Bot was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the election of 1963, taking office on 2 July 1963. Following the cabinet formation of 1963 Bot was appointed Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences in the Cabinet Marijnen, taking office on 24 July 1963. The Cabinet Marijnen fell on 27 February 1965 after a disagreement in the coalition about reforms to the public broadcasting system and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until the cabinet formation of 1965 when it was replaced by the Cabinet Cals with Bot appointed as Minister for Aid to Developing Countries, taking office on 14 April 1965. The Cabinet Cals fell on 14 October 1966 after the Leader of the Catholic People's Party Norbert Schmelzer had proposed a motion that called for a stronger austerity policy to further reduce the

deficit A deficit is the amount by which a sum falls short of some reference amount. Economics * Balance of payments deficit, when the balance of payments is negative * Government budget deficit * Deficit spending, the amount by which spending exceeds ...

was seen an indirect

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until the cabinet formation of 1966 when it was replaced by the caretaker Cabinet Zijlstra with Bot continuing as Minister for Aid to Developing Countries, taking office on 22 November 1966. In December 1966 Bot announced that he wouldn't stand for the election of 1967. Following the cabinet formation of 1967 Bot was not giving a cabinet post in the new

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

, the Cabinet Zijlstra was replaced by the Cabinet De Jong on 5 April 1967. Bot remained in active in national politics, in September 1967 he was nominated as Ambassador to Canada, taking office on 17 January 1968. In June 1973 Bot was nominated as Permanent Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Ambassador to Austria, he resigned as Ambassador to Canada the same day he was installed as Permanent Representative to the IAEA and Ambassador to Austria, serving from 1 July 1973 until 1 August 1976. Bot retired after spending 16 years in national politics and became active in the

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, in ...

and occupied numerous seats as a nonprofit director on several boards of directors and supervisory boards (

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid t ...

, United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD), Oxfam Novib and the Transnational Institute) and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government ( Cadastre Agency, Public Pension Funds PFZW, National Insurance Bank and KPN) and served as an diplomat and lobbyist for several economic delegations on behalf of the government. Bot was known for his abilities as a negotiator and consensus builder. Bot continued to comment on political affairs until his is death at the age of 73 and holds the distinction as the first serving Minister for Development Cooperation. His eldest son Ben is also a politician and diplomat and who served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...

from 3 December 2003 until 22 February 2007.

Biography

Early life

Theodorus Hendrikus Bot was born on 20 July 1911 in

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

in the

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...

in a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

family as one of three sons of Maria Theresia Frederica Creemers and Lourens Bot, a German language teacher. From 1923 to 1930 he went to the "Gemeentelijk Gymnasium" high school in

Apeldoorn Apeldoorn (; Dutch Low Saxon: ) is a municipality and city in the province of Gelderland in the centre of the Netherlands. It is located about 60 km east of Utrecht, 60 km west of Enschede, 25 km north of Arnhem and 35 km south of Zwolle. The ...

, and studied Indonesian law at

from 1930 to September 1936. He also followed an education at the "School voor Reserve-Officieren der Bereden-Artillerie" ( English: ''School for Reserve-Officers of the Horse-Artillery'') in Ede.

Civil service

From 1936 to 1942 Bot was sent out for the civil service to the Dutch East Indies and would serve with the east-Asian service in Batavia, Purwakarta and Soekaboemi. During

he was in active service from 1940 to 8 March 1942 in the rank of reserve-first lieutenant of the horse-artillery. Afterwards he was a Japanese warprisoner at camps in Java, Birma and Thailand, until 30 September 1945, and worked on the

. After the war he returned to the Netherlands in 1946, where he functioned in several functions related to the Dutch East Indies.

Politics

Bot served as State Secretary of

the Interior , settlement_type = Region of British Columbia , image_skyline = , nickname = "The Interior" , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivi ...

, in charge of matters concerning

Netherlands New Guinea Dutch New Guinea or Netherlands New Guinea ( nl, Nederlands-Nieuw-Guinea, id, Nugini Belanda) was the western half of the island of New Guinea that was a part of the Dutch East Indies until 1949, later an overseas territory of the King ...

, from 23 November 1959 until 24 July 1963 in the De Quay cabinet. He was shortly a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from 2 July until 24 July 1963 when he became Minister of Education, Culture and Science in the Marijnen cabinet. He finally served as

Minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet ...

in charge of matters concerning

development aid Development aid is a type of foreign/international/overseas aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political development of developing countries. Closely-related concepts include: develop ...

, from 14 April 1965 until 5 April 1967, in the Cals and Zijlstra cabinets. After his membership of the cabinet he was appointed Dutch ambassador in

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

in September 1967, serving from 17 January 1968 until July 1973. Consequently, he became ambassador in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, and permanent representative to the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1 ...

from July 1973 until 1 August 1976.

Other functions

* Chairman "Academie Leken Missie Actie" ( English: ''Academy Non-religious Mission Action''), 1959 * Honorary national advisor for development aid, since 1976 * Chairman National Committee in preparation of the UN-conference on Science and Technology for Development * Chairman Dutch delegation at the board of

* Chairman Foundation National Committee international year of the child 1979

Personal

In 1936 he married Elisabeth W. van Hal. They had seven children. He is the father of Ben Bot, who would become minister of foreign affairs.

Decorations

References

External links

*
Mr. Th.H. (Theo) Bot
Parlement & Politiek {{DEFAULTSORT:Bot, Theo 1911 births 1984 deaths Ambassadors of the Netherlands to Austria Ambassadors of the Netherlands to Canada Burma Railway prisoners Cold War diplomats Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Dutch expatriates in Austria Dutch expatriates in Canada Dutch expatriates in Indonesia Dutch expatriates in the United States Dutch expatriates in Switzerland Dutch lobbyists Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Dutch officials of the United Nations Dutch people of World War II Dutch political consultants Dutch prisoners of war in World War II Dutch Roman Catholics Graduates of the Koninklijke Militaire Academie Grand Officers of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) International Atomic Energy Agency officials Knights of the Holy Sepulchre Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Ministers for Development Cooperation of the Netherlands Ministers of Education of the Netherlands Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) People from Batavia, Dutch East Indies People from Dordrecht Recipients of the Grand Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria Royal Netherlands East Indies Army officers Royal Netherlands East Indies Army personnel of World War II State Secretaries for the Interior of the Netherlands Utrecht University alumni World War II prisoners of war held by Japan 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch diplomats 20th-century Dutch jurists 20th-century Dutch politicians