Bernadito M. "Ben" Leito (6 February 1923 – September 1996) was a Curaçaoan economist, politician and administrator. He served as

Governor of the Netherlands Antilles The governor of the Netherlands Antilles was the representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Netherlands Antilles and the head of the government of the Netherlands Antilles. Duties With the introduction of the Charter for the Kingdom ...

from 1970 until 1983, and the Dutch

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

from 1987 until 1993.

Biography

Leito was born on 6 February 1923 in Curaçao. He went to the Netherlands to attend the '' Hogere Burgerschool'' (high school) in Leiden. In 1945, he studied economy at

Tilburg University Tilburg University is a public university, public research university specializing in the social and behavioral sciences, economics, law, business sciences, theology and humanities, located in Tilburg in the southern part of the Netherlands. Tilb ...

, and graduated in 1950. In 1952, Leito became a civil servant in Curaçao, and started to work for the finance department in 1953. He was a candidate in the

1954 Netherlands Antilles general election General elections were held in the Netherlands Antilles on 15 November 1954. The 22 seats in the Estates of the Netherlands Antilles consisted of twelve for Curaçao, eight for Aruba, one for Bonaire and one for the SSS Islands The SSS is ...

for the Catholic People's Party, but did not get elected. In 1961, he became head of finance for Curaçao, and was promoted head of finance for the

Netherlands Antilles nl, In vrijheid verenigd"Unified by freedom" , national_anthem = , common_languages = Dutch English Papiamento , demonym = Netherlands Antillean , capital = Willemstad , year_start = 1954 , year_end = 2010 , date_start = 15 December , ...

in 1965. In 1968, he served as acting Lieutenant governor of Curaçao. The

1969 Curaçao uprising The 1969 Curaçao uprising (known as ''Trinta di Mei'', "Thirtieth of May", in Papiamentu, the local language) was a series of riots on the Caribbean island of Curaçao, then part of the Netherlands Antilles, a semi-independent country in the K ...

resulted in the resignation of the

Cola Debrot Nicolaas (Cola) Debrot (4 May 1902 – 3 December 1981) was a writer, lawyer, medical doctor and politician. Biography Debrot was born in Kralendijk, the son of a plantation owner. In 1904 he moved from Bonaire to Curaçao, and then when he was 1 ...

as Governor of the Netherlands Antilles. On 30 December 1969, Leito was appointed acting governor. The

States General of the Netherlands The States General of the Netherlands ( nl, Staten-Generaal ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The States ...

nominated

Efraïn Jonckheer Efraïn Jonckheer (20 October 1917 – 30 March 1987) was a businessman and politician of the Netherlands Antilles. Jonckheer served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles from 8 November 1954 until 14 February 1968. He served as Minister ...

as new governor, however the

Estates of the Netherlands Antilles The Parliament of the Netherlands Antilles (; ), also translated as the Estates of the Netherlands Antilles, was the parliament of the Netherlands Antilles. It comprised 22 members, elected for a four-year term in three multi-seat constituencies a ...

rejected the nomination, and Leito was installed as

effective 16 June 1970. Leito was the first Afro-Curaçaoan governor of the Antilles. In the early 1970s, the Dutch government under

Joop den Uyl Johannes Marten den Uijl, better known as Joop den Uyl (; 9 August 1919 – 24 December 1987) was a Dutch politician and economist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1973 to 1977. He was a member of the Labour Party (PvdA). ...

tried to persuade the Netherlands Antilles to seek independence. Leito was opposed to independence for the islands, and provided backing for the Isa-Beaujon and Evertsz cabinets in their denouncement. In 1980, Leito applied to become a member of the

, the advisory body for the Dutch government, however his application was rejected. In March 1983, Leito resigned as governor effective 30 April. On 1 March 1987, Leito was appointed to the Council of State, and served until 6 February 1993. Leito died in September 1996, at the age of 73.

Honours

* Commander in the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands ( nl, De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, french: L'Ordre du Lion Néerlandais) is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on ...

. * Officer in the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

. * Grand Cordon in the

Order of the Liberator The Order of the Liberator was the highest distinction of Venezuela and was appointed for services to the country, outstanding merit and benefits made to the community. For Venezuelans the order ranks first in the order of precedence from other or ...

. * Grand Cross in the

Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella The Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella (''Orden al Mérito de Duarte, Sánchez y Mella'') is the principal order of the Dominican Republic. It was established on 24 February 1931 as the ''Juan Pablo Duarte Order of Merit'' (''Orden al M ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leito, Ben 1923 births 1996 deaths Governors of the Netherlands Antilles Curaçao politicians Members of the Council of State (Netherlands) Tilburg University alumni Place of death missing Curaçao people of African descent Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella