Willem Frederik "Wim" van Eer (19 December 1927 – 2 July 2011) was a Surinamese diplomat and educator. He served as

Minister Plenipotentiary of Suriname The Minister plenipotentiary (Netherlands), Minister Plenipotentiary of Suriname () represented the constituent country of Suriname in the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has existed from 1954 until the Independence of Su ...

from 1 April 1974 until the

Independence of Suriname The early history of Suriname dates from 3000 BCE when Native Americans first inhabited the area. The Dutch acquired Suriname from the English, and European settlement in any numbers dates from the 17th century, when it was a plantation colony u ...

on 25 November 1975. Subsequently, he was appointed first Ambassador of Suriname to the Netherlands and served until 20 May 1980.

Biography

Van Eer was born on 19 December 1927 in

Paramaribo Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's p ...

. He studied

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

at the Nuts Academy in Rotterdam, and subsequently at the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of 39,769 students, a ...

. Van Eer was one of the founders of the Surinamese in Rotterdam Foundation. In 1964, he returned to Suriname and became the principal of the ''kweekschool'' ( normal school) in Paramaribo. He became a member of the

National Party of Suriname The National Party of Suriname (, NPS) is a political party in Suriname, founded in 1946, and since June 2012 led by Gregory Rusland. For a long time it was the largest ruling party in the country, and it has been in government for a total of ove ...

Henck Arron Henck Alphonsus Eugène Arron (25 April 1936 – 4 December 2000) was a Surinamese politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Suriname after it gained independence in 1975. A member of the National Party of Suriname, he served from 24 ...

appointed van Eer as

on 1 April 1974. He played an important role in the negotiations for

. On 25 November 1975, his function became obsolete, and he was appointed as first Ambassador of Suriname to the Netherlands. On 25 February 1980,

Desi Bouterse Desi ( or or ; Hindustani: देसी , , ) also Deshi, is a loose term used to describe the peoples, cultures, and products of the Indian subcontinent and their diaspora, derived from Sanskrit (), meaning 'land' or 'country'. Desi trace ...

committed a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

On 11 March, van Eer returned to Suriname to negotiate with the new regime. He was honourably discharged effective 20 May 1980, and reassigned to the

Ministry 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 relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

. On 24 December,

Hans Prade Hans Orlando Prade (23 July 1938 – 3 April 2020) was a Surinamese diplomat and politician. After graduating from Leiden University, Prade returned to Suriname, and founded the short lived Nationale Volkspartij together with Ronald Venetiaan. L ...

was appointed as his successor. Van Eer died on 2 July 2011 in Paramaribo, at the age of 83.

Honours

* Commander of the Honorary Order of the Palm.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eer, Wim van 1927 births 2011 deaths People from Paramaribo Ambassadors of Suriname to the Netherlands Government ministers of Suriname Surinamese educators Utrecht University alumni Ministers plenipotentiary (Suriname)