Willem van Eekelen
 Willem van Eekelen    ( politician, diplomat) | ||||||||||
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| Born | 5 February 1931 Utrecht, Netherlands | |||||||||
| Nationality | Dutch | |||||||||
| Founder of | JASON Institute | |||||||||
| Member of | JASON Institute | |||||||||
| Interests | Marshall Plan | |||||||||
| Party | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | |||||||||
Dutch Defence Minister who founded the JASON Institute. Ardent supporter of both NATO and EU.
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Dr Willem Frederik "Wim" van Eekelen is a retired Dutch politician, diplomat, and political scientist.[1] Van Eekelen was an ardent supporter of both Atlantic and European cooperation.[2]
Education
Van Eekelen attended a school in Utrecht and applied at the Utrecht University in June 1949 majoring in Law and obtaining a degree in July 1951. Van Eekelen attended Princeton University and graduated in 1952 with an A.B. in politics after completing a senior thesis titled "The Marshall Plan and Its Significance for the Netherlands."[3] Van Eekelen graduated with a Master of Laws] degree from the University of Utrecht in November 1954.
Van Eekelen was conscripted in the Royal Netherlands Army serving in the cavalry Regiment Huzaren van Boreel as a Lieutenant from July 1956 until August 1957.
Career
Van Eekelen worked as a civil servant for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from September 1957 until June 1977 for the Diplomatic service from September 1957 until May 1974 as an Attaché in New Delhi, India from September 1957 until January 1960 in London, England from January 1960 until February 1964. Van Eekelen later returned to the Utrecht University in February 1964 for another postgraduate education where he worked as a researcher and got a doctorate in political science on 18 November 1964.
Career
Van Eekelen worked as Attaché in Accra, Ghana from November 1964 until October 1966 and as a senior attaché for the Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the European Union from October 1966 until May 1971 and as a Consul for the European Economic Community from May 1971 until August 1974. Van Eekelen worked as Director-General for the department of Atlantic Cooperation and Security Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from August 1974 until June 1977.
Van Eekelen was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives in 1977. Following the cabinet formation of 1977 Van Eekelen was appointed as State Secretary for Defence, in charge of legal affairs and materiel policy.[2] After the election of 1981 Van Eekelen returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 25 August 1981. After the election of 1982 Van Eekelen was appointed State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, taking office on 5 November 1982. After the election of 1986 Van Eekelen once again returned as a Member of the House of Representatives. Van Eekelen was appointed as Minister of Defence , taking office on 14 July 1986. On 6 September 1988 Van Eekelen resigned following the conclusions of a parliamentary inquiry report into a passport fraud investigation that was mishandled by him during the time he was State Secretary for Foreign Affairs in the previous cabinet, his successor as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs René van der Linden subsequently resigned on 9 September 1988.
Van Eekelen remained active in national politics, in April 1989 he was nominated as Secretary General of the Western European Union, serving from 15 May 1989 until 15 November 1994. Van Eekelen was elected as a Member of the Senate after the Senate election of 1995, taking office on 13 June 1995, chairing several [parliamentary committees. In January 2003 Van Eekelen announced his retirement from national politics and that he wouldn't stand for the Senate election of 2003 and continued to sit until the end of the parliamentary term on 10 June 2003.
Event Participated in
| Event | Start | End | Location(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilderberg/1978 | 21 April 1978 | 23 April 1978 | US New Jersey Princeton University | The 26th Bilderberg, held in the US |
