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Leo de Block | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Leo de Block in 1967 | |
| Minister of Economic Affairs | |
| In office 5 April 1967 – 7 January 1970 | |
| Prime Minister | Piet de Jong |
| Preceded by | Joop Bakker |
| Succeeded by | Johan Witteveen(Ad interim) |
| State Secretary for Transport and Water Management | |
| In office 22 November 1966 – 5 April 1967 | |
| Prime Minister | Jelle Zijlstra |
| Preceded by | Siep Posthumus |
| Succeeded by | Mike Keyzer |
| State Secretary for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 3 September 1963 – 5 April 1967 | |
| Prime Minister | See list
|
| Preceded by | Hans van Houten |
| Succeeded by | Hans de Koster |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Leo de Block (1904-08-14)14 August 1904 The Hague,Netherlands |
| Died | 4 January 1988(1988-01-04) (aged 83) The Hague,Netherlands |
| Political party | Christian Democratic Appeal (from 1980) |
| Other political affiliations | Catholic People's Party (until 1980) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Leiden University (Bachelor of Laws,Master of Laws) |
| Occupation | Politician ·Civil servant ·Jurist ·Economist ·Businessman ·Banker ·Financial analyst ·Corporate director ·Nonprofit director |
Leo de Block (14 August 1904 – 4 January 1988) was a Dutch politician of the defunctCatholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into theChristian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and businessman.
De Block attended theIgnatius Gymnasium inAmsterdam from April 1917 until May 1923 and applied at theLeiden University in June 1923majoring inLaw and obtaining aBachelor of Laws degree in June 1925 before graduating with aMaster of Laws degree in July 1929. De Block worked as a financial analyst for theAmsterdamsche Bank from September 1923 until October 1928 and for theIncasso Bank [nl] from October 1928 until August 1945 and for theHet Nederlandse Beheersinstituut from August 1945 until July 1946. De Block worked asChief executive officer (CEO) of the Incasso Bank from July 1946 until February 1947. De Block worked as a civil servant for theMinistry of Finance from February 1947 until May 1959 as Director-General of the department of Budgetary Affairs from February 1947 until March 1953 and as Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Finance from March 1953 until April 1959 and for theMinistry of Economic Affairs as Director-General of the department for General Economic Policy from April 1959 until May 1960. In May 1960 he was nominated asChief financial officer (CFO) ofKLM.
After theelection of 1963 De Block was appointed asState Secretary for Foreign Affairs in theCabinet Marijnen, taking office on 3 September 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 theCabinet Cals with De Block continuing as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, taking office on 4 May 1965. The Cabinet Cals fell on 14 October 1966 after theLeader of the Catholic People's PartyNorbert Schmelzer had proposed a motion that called for a stronger austerity policy to further reduce thedeficit was seen an indirectmotion of no confidence and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until thecabinet formation of 1966 when it was replaced by thecaretakerCabinet Zijlstra with De Block remaining State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and also appointed asState Secretary for Transport and Water Management anddual served in those positions, taking office on 22 November 1966. In December De Block announced that he wouldn't stand for theelection of 1967. Following thecabinet formation of 1967 De Block was appointed asMinister of Economic Affairs in theCabinet De Jong, taking office on 5 April 1967.[1] On 7 January 1970 De Block resigned after he disagreed with thecabinets decision to increase the wages in the metal industry but another reason was criticism on his leadership in the handling of the rising inflation after the introduction of thevalue-added tax (BTW).[2]
De Block semi-retired from 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 (DSM Company,ING Group,Robeco andVan Lanschot) and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government (Cadastre Agency,Dutch Transport Safety Board and theAdvisory Council for Foreign Affairs).
| Honours | ||||
| Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Commander of theOrder of the Netherlands Lion | Netherlands | 6 February 1970 | |
 | Commander of theOrder of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 30 April 1984 | |
| Civic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Unknown | Director-General for Industrialization of the Ministry of Economic Affairs 1959–1960 | Succeeded by Unknown |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | State Secretary for Foreign Affairs 1963–1967 Served alongside: Isaäc Nicolaas Diepenhorst(1963–1965) Max van der Stoel(1965–1966) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | State Secretary for Transport and Water Management 1966–1967 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Economic Affairs 1967–1970 | Succeeded by Johan Witteveen Ad interim |
| Business positions | ||
| Preceded by Unknown | CEO of the Incasso Bank 1946–1947 | Succeeded by Unknown |
| Preceded by Unknown | CFO ofKLM 1960–1963 | Succeeded by Unknown |
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