Norbert Schmelzer

Norbert Schmelzer   (Politician, Civil servant)
Born	Wilhelm Klaus Norbert Schmelzer 22 March 1921 Rotterdam, Netherlands
Died	14 November 2008 (Age 87) Sankt Ingbert, Germany
Nationality	Dutch
Alma mater	Tilburg University
Children	3 sons and 2 daughters
Spouse	Carla Mutsaerts
Party	Christian Democratic Appeal
Dutch politician, diplomat and economist who attended the 1969 Bilderberg meeting and then became Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1971 to 1973.  Netherlands/Minister/Foreign Affairs In office 6 July 1971 - 11 May 1973 Preceded by Henri de Koster  Netherlands/Member of Senate In office 11 May 1971 - 6 July 1971  Party leader of the Catholic People's Party In office 7 December 1963 - 28 April 1971  Parliamentary leader of the Catholic People's Party in the House of Representatives In office 7 December 1963 - 28 April 1971  Netherlands/Member of the House of Representatives In office 2 July 1963 - 11 May 1971 Succeeded by Berend Udink  Netherlands/State Secretary for General Affairs In office 19 May 1959 - 24 July 1963  Netherlands/Member of the House of Representatives In office 20 March 1959 - 19 May 1959  Netherlands/State Secretary for Interior In office 26 October 1956 - 19 May 1959

Wilhelm Klaus Norbert Schmelzer was a Dutch politician, diplomat and economist who was party leader of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) from 1963 to 1971, and intensely involved in European affairs. He attended the 1969 Bilderberg meeting and then became Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1971 to 1973.

Early career

Schmelzer attended the gymnasium of the Jesuit Sint Aloysius College in The Hague from June 1933 until July 1939 and applied at the Tilburg Catholic Economic University in July 1939 majoring in Economics. During the German occupation in World War 2 Schmelzer continued his study obtaining a Bachelor of Economics degree in June 1941 before graduating with a Master of Economics degree in September 1945.

Career

Schmelzer worked as a civil servant for the Ministry of Economic Affairs from February 1947 until October 1956 for the department for Financial and Economic Policy from February 1947 until August 1951 and the department for European and International Policy from August 1951 until October 1956.

Schmelzer began his political career as State Secretary for the Interior from 1956 to 1959 in the cabinets of Willem Drees and Louis Beel. In the cabinet of Jan de Quay, he was Secretary of State for General Affairs from 1959 to 1963.

Subsequently, Schmelzer was chairman of the Catholic People's Party (CPP) faction in the Second Chamber (Tweede Kamer). The night of October 13-14, 1966 has gone down in Dutch history as "Nacht van Schmelzer" - Schmelzer's night. The Catholic-Social Democratic cabinet under CPP Prime Minister Jo Cals had introduced a draft budget that the (right-wing) opposition (CHU, VVD, SGP, BP and GPV) did not find economical enough. The majority of the CPP deputies under the leadership of Schmelzer also voted for an amendment. Cals regarded this as a vote of no confidence and resigned on the 22.

Foreign minister

Schmelzer sat in Barend Biesheuvel's cabinet as Foreign Minister from July 6, 1971 to May 11, 1973, succeeding Joseph Luns. In this capacity, he was also President of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 1972.

Bilderberg

With the election campaigns in full swing, Bilderberg steering committee member Ernst van der Beugel urged Henry Kissinger in the spring of 1971 to receive the up-and-coming leader of the Dutch Catholic People’s Party (KVP) Norbert Schmelzer – a likely candidate to succeed Joseph Luns as Minister of Foreign Affairs – in the White House. While Ernst van der Beugel liked Schmelzer, he was also a bit "worried about the possibility that he gets Foreign Affairs" since Schmelzer was more European than Atlanticist in his orientation and he believed that a chat with Kissinger was "extremely important for Schmelzer’s education."The American ambassador to The Hague, John William Middendorf II, also recommended Kissinger to receive the up-and-coming KVP politician. This was not Ernst van der Beugel’s first attempt to familiarize Schmelzer with the Western foreign policy establishment. He had also made sure that he got introduced to the Atlantic elite by inviting him to the 1969 Bilderberg Conference.

In addition, Van der Beugel had already introduced Schmelzer to Kissinger during one of the renowned dinners at his own home in The Hague, where he brought many members of the Dutch establishment in contact with prominent Americans and Europeans. Upon his return from the United States, Schmelzer was enthusiastic about his meeting with Kissinger and sent Ernst van der Beugel an elaborate report on his American trip. Kissinger made it very clear to the up-and-coming politician that he believed that a reduction of Dutch brigades, as proposed by some of Schmelzer’s fellow Catholic Party members, would be very difficult to digest for the American Congress.

Israel

In 1972, foreign minister Norbert Schmelzer assured his Israeli allies that he would continue to oppose European countries' intent to recognise the Palestinians' right to self-determination and would redouble his efforts "to let" such European recognition "fade away in an acceptable manner".

 

Event Participated in

Event	Start	End	Location(s)	Description
Bilderberg/1969	9 May 1969	11 May 1969	Denmark Hotel Marienlyst Elsinore	The 18th Bilderberg meeting, with 85 participants

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