 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
Johan Witteveen | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Witteveen in 1984 | |
| Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund | |
| In office 1 September 1973 – 18 June 1978 | |
| Preceded by | Pierre-Paul Schweitzer |
| Succeeded by | Jacques de Larosière |
| Minister of Economic Affairs | |
Acting | |
| In office 7 January 1970 – 14 January 1970 | |
| Prime Minister | Piet de Jong |
| Preceded by | Leo de Block |
| Succeeded by | Roelof Nelissen |
| Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands | |
| In office 5 April 1967 – 6 July 1971 Serving with Joop Bakker | |
| Prime Minister | Piet de Jong |
| Preceded by | Jan de Quay Barend Biesheuvel |
| Succeeded by | Roelof Nelissen Molly Geertsema |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 5 April 1967 – 6 July 1971 | |
| Prime Minister | Piet de Jong |
| Preceded by | Jelle Zijlstra |
| Succeeded by | Roelof Nelissen |
| In office 24 July 1963 – 14 April 1965 | |
| Prime Minister | Victor Marijnen |
| Preceded by | Jelle Zijlstra |
| Succeeded by | Anne Vondeling |
| Member of the House of Representatives | |
| In office 21 September 1965 – 5 April 1967 | |
| In office 5 June 1963 – 24 July 1963 | |
| Member of the Senate | |
| In office 8 June 1971 – 1 September 1973 | |
| In office 23 December 1958 – 5 June 1963 | |
| Member of the Social and Economic Council | |
| In office 1 February 1952 – 23 December 1958 | |
| Chairman | Frans de Vries (1952–1958) Gerard Verrijn Stuart (1958) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Hendrikus Johannes Witteveen (1921-06-12)12 June 1921 Zeist, Netherlands |
| Died | 23 April 2019(2019-04-23) (aged 97) Wassenaar, Netherlands |
| Political party | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 (includingWillem) |
| Parent | Willem Gerrit Witteveen (father) |
| Relatives | Theo van Gogh (cousin) |
| Alma mater | Rotterdam School of Economics (BEc,MEc,PhD) |
| Occupation |
|
Hendrikus Johannes "Johan"Witteveen (12 June 1921 – 23 April 2019) was a Dutch politician and economist who served as the fifth managing director of theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) from 1973 to 1978.
Witteveen attended theGymnasium Erasmianum inRotterdam from June 1933 until June 1939 and applied at theRotterdam School of Economics in June 1939majoring inEconomics. On 10 May 1940Nazi Germanyinvaded the Netherlands and thegovernment fled toLondon to escape theGerman occupation. During the German occupation Witteveen continued his study obtaining aBachelor of Economics degree in June 1941 but in April 1943 theGerman occupation authority closed the Rotterdam School of Economics. Following the end ofWorld War II Witteveen returned to the Rotterdam School of Economics and worked as astudent researcher before graduating with aMaster of Economics degree in December 1945 and worked as an associate professor ofFinancial economics at the Rotterdam School of Economics from December 1945 until July 1947 when got adoctorate as aDoctor of Philosophy in Financial economics. Witteveen worked as a researcher for theBureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) from April 1945 until July 1947 and as a professor of Financial economics at the Rotterdam School of Economics from July 1947 until 24 July 1963. He also served asRector Magnificus of the Erasmus University Rotterdam from 1 January 1951 until 1 January 1952.
Witteveen became aMember of the Senate after the death of Anthonie Nicolaas Molenaar, taking office on 23 December 1958 serving as afrontbencher andspokesperson forFinances and deputy spokesperson forEconomic Affairs andSmall business. Witteveen was elected as aMember of the House of Representatives after theelection of 1963, he subsequently resigned as a Member of the Senate the same day he was installed as Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 5 June 1963. Following thecabinet formation of 1963 Witteveen was appointed asMinister of Finance in theCabinet Marijnen, taking office on 24 July 1963. The Cabinet Marijnen fell on 27 February 1965 after a disagreement in the coalition about reforms to thepublic broadcasting system and continued to serve in ademissionary capacity until thecabinet formation of 1965 when it was replaced by theCals cabinet on 14 April 1965. Witteveen returned as a distinguished professor ofPublic economics at the Rotterdam School of Economics on 1 September 1965. Witteveen subsequently returned as a Member of the House of Representatives after the resignation of Lambertus Oldenbanning, taking office on 21 September 1965 serving as a frontbencher chairing the parliamentary committee for Finances and spokesperson for Finances and deputy spokesperson for Economic Affairs. After theelection of 1967 Witteveen was again appointed as Minister of Finance and becameDeputy Prime Minister in theDe Jong cabinet, taking office on 5 April 1967. Witteveen served as actingMinister of Economic Affairs from 7 January 1970 until 14 January 1970 followingLeo de Block's resignation. In February 1971 Witteveen announced that he wouldn't stand for theelection of 1971 but wanted to return to the Senate. After theSenate election of 1971 Witteveen returned as a Member of the Senate, taking office on 8 June 1971 serving as a frontbencher chairing the parliamentary committee for Finances and spokesperson for Finances and Economic Affairs. Following thecabinet formation of 1971 Witteveen per his own request asked not to be considered for a cabinet post in the newcabinet, the Cabinet De Jong was replaced by theCabinet Biesheuvel I on 6 July 1971. In August 1973 Witteveen was nominated as the next Managing Director of theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF), he resigned as a Member of the Senate the same day he was installed as Managing Director, serving from 1 September 1973 until 18 June 1978.
Witteveen retired after spending 20 years in national politics and became active in theprivate sector andpublic sector and occupied numerous seats as a corporate director and nonprofit director on several boards of directors and supervisory boards (Rockefeller Foundation,Tinbergen Institute,Group of Thirty,Institute of International Relations Clingendael,Society for Statistics and Operations Research and the Helen Dowling Institute) and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government (SEO Economic Research, Cadastre Agency andStatistics Netherlands) and as an advocate and lobbyist forSufism andFinancial regulation. Witteveen was also a prolific author, having written more than a dozen books since 1947 aboutPolitics,Finances,Economics,Business andSufism.
Witteveen was known for his abilities as amanager andconsensus builder. Witteveen continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until his death at the age of 97 and holds the distinction as the only Dutchman that served as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund. His eldest sonWillem was also a politician, professor, and author, he like his father had served in the Senate.
Witteveen was born on 12 June 1921 inZeist in theprovince of Utrecht. He is the son of architect Willem Gerrit Witteveen and Anna Maria Wibaut and the grandson of Social Democratic politician Floor Wibaut.[1] He went to the public secondary schoolGymnasium Erasmianum in Rotterdam. He studied economics at theNetherlands School of Economics from 1939 to 1946. He received hisPhD in 1947 with the dissertationLoonhoogte en werkgelegenheid (Height of wages and employment). His advisor was Nobel Prize laureateJan Tinbergen.[1]
Witteveen worked as an economist at theBureau for Economic Policy Analysis underJan Tinbergen andFred Polak from 1947 until 1963. He is a member of thePeople's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). He served as aSenator from 23 December 1958 until 5 June 1963 and as a member of theHouse of Representatives from 5 June 1963 until 24 July 1963.
He then becameMinister of Finance in theMarijnen cabinet serving from 24 July 1963 until 14 April 1965. He then served as a Member of the House of Representatives again from 21 September 1965 until 5 April 1967, when he returned as Minister of Finance andDeputy Prime Minister serving from 5 April 1967 until 6 July 1971 in theDe Jong cabinet. He again returned to the Senate, serving from 8 June 1971 until 1 September 1973.
Afterwards he became the Managing Director of theInternational Monetary Fund, serving from 1 September 1973 until 18 June 1978. From 1978 to 1985 he was the first chairman of the Washington-based economics body, theGroup of Thirty.[2] He became member of theRoyal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1980.[3]
On 3 March 1949 Witteveen married Liesbeth de Vries Feijens (born 1 April 1920). They had four children, three sons, and one daughter.Willem Witteveen (1952–2014), Paul Witteveen (1955–1979), Raoul Witteveen and their daughter (born 1960). Liesbeth de Vries Feijens died on 25 November 2006 at the age of 86. His eldest sonWillem Witteveen was also a politician, professor and author, he like his father had served in theSenate. Willem Witteveen, his wife and daughter died on 17 July 2014 whenMalaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over Ukraine. Witteveen was also a first cousin once removed of the in 2004 murdered filmmakerTheo van Gogh. Witteveen died on 23 April 2019 in his home inWassenaar at the age of 97 years, 315 days.[4][5][6]
| Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Grand Officer of theLegion of Honour | France | 25 August 1964 | |
 | Grand Cross of theOrder of the Crown | Belgium | 1968 | |
_Ribbon.png) | Honorary Knight Commander of theOrder of the British Empire | United Kingdom | 1969 | |
 | Grand Cross of theOrder of the Oak Crown | Luxembourg | 1970 | |
 | Grand Officer of theOrder of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 17 July 1971 | Elevated from Commander (20 April 1965) |
 | Grand Cross of theOrder of Merit | Germany | 12 October 1977 | |
 | Commander of theOrder of the Netherlands Lion | Netherlands | 25 April 1979 |
| Ribbon bar | Awards | Organization | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four Freedoms Award | Roosevelt Institute for American Studies | 1982 |
| University | Field | Country | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erasmus University Rotterdam | Economics | Netherlands | 1979 |
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Vice Chairman of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy 1963 | Succeeded by Hans Roelen |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister of Finance 1963–1965 1967–1971 | Succeeded by |
| Succeeded by | ||
| Preceded by | Deputy Prime Minister 1967–1971 With:Joop Bakker | |
| Preceded by | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by | Minister of Economic Affairs Ad interim 1970 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund 1973–1978 | Succeeded by |
| Non-profit organization positions | ||
| Preceded by Office established | Chairman of the Supervisory board of the Helen Dowling Institute 1988–1994 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by Henk Lambers | Rector Magnificus of the Erasmus University Rotterdam 1951–1952 | Succeeded by Hans Kernkamp |
| Records | ||
| Preceded by | Oldest living former cabinet member 27 July 2016 – 23 April 2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Oldest living former member of the States General 12 November 2018 – 23 April 2019 | Succeeded by |
