Max van der Stoel
Max van der Stoel | |
---|---|
Max van der Stoel in 1981 | |
High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe | |
In office 1 January 1993 – 1 July 2001 | |
Preceded by | Office created |
Succeeded by | Rolf Ekeus |
Member of the Council of State of the Netherlands | |
In office 1 August 1986 – 1 January 1993 | |
Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the United Nations | |
In office 1 July 1983 – 1 August 1986 | |
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands | |
In office 11 September 1981 – 29 May 1982 | |
Prime Minister | Dries van Agt |
Preceded by | Chris van der Klaauw |
Succeeded by | Dries van Agt |
In office 11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977 | |
Prime Minister | Joop den Uyl |
Preceded by | Norbert Schmelzer |
Succeeded by | Chris van der Klaauw |
Member of the European Parliament for the Netherlands | |
In office 22 September 1971 – 11 May 1973 | |
State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands | |
In office 22 July 1965 – 22 November 1966 Serving with Leo de Block | |
Prime Minister | Jo Cals |
Preceded by | Isaäc Nicolaas Theodoor Diepenhorst |
Succeeded by | Leo de Block |
Member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands | |
In office 16 January 1978 – 11 September 1981 | |
In office 8 June 1977 – 8 September 1977 | |
In office 23 February 1967 – 11 May 1973 | |
In office 5 June 1963 – 22 July 1965 | |
Member of the Senate of the Netherlands | |
In office 27 September 1960 – 5 June 1963 | |
Personal details | |
Born |
Maximilianus van der Stoel 3 August 1924 Voorschoten, Netherlands |
Died |
23 April 2011 86) The Hague, Netherlands | (aged
Nationality | Dutch |
Political party | Labour Party |
Spouse(s) |
Maria Johanna Aritia de Kanter (m. 1953–1976; divorced) |
Children | 4 daughters and 1 son |
Alma mater | Leiden University (Master of Laws) |
Occupation |
Politician Diplomat Professor |
Maximilianus "Max" van der Stoel (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌmɑksimiliˈjaːnɵs ˈmɑks fɑn dɛr ˈstul];[note 1] 3 August 1924 – 23 April 2011) was a Dutch politician and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. He served as the first High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
On 17 May 1991, he was granted the honorary title of Minister of State.[1]
Career
Van der Stoel studied law at Leiden University where he obtained an LL.M. degree. From 1953 to 1958 he worked for the Wiardi Beckman Stichting, the scientific bureau of the Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA, the Dutch labour party) and became international secretary for the PvdA in 1963. From 1973 to 1977 and 1981 to 1982 he was the Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs. In 1977, during his visit to communist Czechoslovakia, he met with philosopher and dissident Jan Patočka, and they discussed Charter 77 and human rights in Czechoslovakia.[2][3] This provoked harsh criticism by the Czechoslovak authorities and president Gustáv Husák cancelled scheduled meeting with van der Stoel.[2]
He was appointed as the first High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in December 1992 and took up his functions in January 1993. He remained in office until 2000. Max van der Stoel was a member of the Bilderberg Group.
In 2001, following his intervention as High Commissioner in the ongoing problem of equitable access to higher education by members of the Albanian ethnic group in the Republic of Macedonia, he became the founding President of the International Foundation for the South East European University, raising some 35m Euros from the international community. He later served as President of the University Board until 2004. He was awarded the University's first honorary Doctorate and the University named its Library in his honour.
Van der Stoel was a member of the Advisory Board of the European Association of History Educators (EUROCLIO).
Honours and awards
Honours of the Netherlands
- Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion (5 December 1966)
- The Honorary medal for Initiative and Ingenuity of the Order of the House of Orange (19 September 1974)
- Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau (11 April 1978)
- Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau (9 September 1982)
- Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau (31 August 1999)
Foreign honours
- Grand Cordon of the Honorary Order of the Palm (1977, Suriname)
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Phoenix (1977, Greece)
- Grand Officier of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1996, Czech Republic)[4]
- Cross (or 1st Class) of the Order of the White Double Cross (2001, Slovakia)[5]
- Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise of the Fourth Class (2001, Ukraine) [6]
- Knight Commander (KCMG) of the Order of St Michael and St George (2006, United Kingdom)
Freedom awards
- Freedom of Speech of the Four Freedoms Award (1982)
- Helène de Montigny award (December 1991)
- Dr. J.P. van Praag award (1 June 1993, Netherlands)
- Geuzenpenning (1993, Netherlands)
- Wateler Peace award (30 oktober 1996)
Honorary appointments
- Minister of State (17 May 1991, Netherlands)
Honorary degrees
- Honorary doctorate in Law, University of Athens (1977, Greece)
- Honorary doctorate in Law, Utrecht University (1994, Netherlands)
- Honorary Doctor, South East European University (2005, Republic of Macedonia)
Other
In 2014, a new park in Prague (in Jan Patočka street) was named in van der Stoel's honour.[3]
Notes
- ↑ In isolation, van is pronounced [vɑn].
References
- ↑ (Dutch) Mr. M. van der Stoel
- 1 2 Tůma, Oldřich (2008). "Snídaně s Mitterandem" [Breakfast with Mitterand]. Dějiny a současnost. Nakladatelství Lidové noviny (2). Retrieved 27 January 2015.
- 1 2 "Park for Everybody". Praha.eu. 2014-09-29. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
- ↑ "State decorations - Tomas Garrigue Masaryk Order - List". hrad.cz. Office of the President of the Republic. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
- ↑ Slovak republic website, State honours : 1st Class in 2001 (click on "Holders of the Order of the 1st Class White Double Cross" to see the holders' table)
- ↑ Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 885/2001
External links
- Media related to Max van der Stoel at Wikimedia Commons