Bernard Rudolf "Ben" Bot (; born 21 November 1937) is a retired
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
politician and diplomat of the
Christian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal ( nl, Christen-Democratisch Appèl, ; CDA) is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. It was originally formed in 1977 from a confederation of the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolution ...
(CDA).
He served as
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...
from 3 December 2003 until 22 February 2007 in the
Cabinets Balkenende II and
III. A career diplomat, he succeeded then-Minister of Foreign Affairs
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
Jakob Gijsbert "Jaap" de Hoop Scheffer ; born 3 April 1948) is a Dutch politician and diplomat of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Secretary General of NATO from January 2004 to August 2009.
De Hoop Scheffer ...
who resigned to become
Secretary General of NATO
The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The officeholder is an international diplomat responsible for coordinating the workings of the alliance, leading NATO's international staff ...
in 2003.
Early life and education
Bot was born in
Batavia,
Dutch East Indies (now
Jakarta,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
). The son of
Theo Bot who served as
Minister of Education, Culture and Science and
Minister for Development Cooperation. He studied at the
Leiden University where he earned an
L.L.M. and a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
degree in law, and attended subsequently
The Hague Academy of International Law
The Hague Academy of International Law (french: Académie de droit international de La Haye) is a center for high-level education in both public and private international law housed in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Courses are taugh ...
and
Harvard Law School (
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
) where he received a second L.L.M. degree from the latter.
Politics
![Bot rice 4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Bot_rice_4.jpg)
He served in the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1963 to 2002, including postings at the Permanent Representation of the Netherlands to the
European Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...
from 1964 to 1970, the Netherlands
embassy
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...
in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
to 1973, and at the embassy in former East-Berlin in the
DDR
DDR or ddr may refer to:
*ddr, ISO 639-3 code for the Dhudhuroa language
*DDr., title for a double doctorate in Germany
*DDR, station code for Dadar railway station, Mumbai, India
*' (German Democratic Republic), official name of the former East ...
. In the period 1976-1982 he worked in the Netherlands for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague, after which he was Deputy Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
(NATO) in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
.
From 1986 to 1989, Bot was
Ambassador of the Netherlands to
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
.
He served as Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague until 1992, when he was appointed as Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
in Brussels. He held that post for an unusually long period of 10 years.
On 3 December 2003, Bot succeeded former NATO Secretary-General
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
Jakob Gijsbert "Jaap" de Hoop Scheffer ; born 3 April 1948) is a Dutch politician and diplomat of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Secretary General of NATO from January 2004 to August 2009.
De Hoop Scheffer ...
as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the
second Balkenende cabinet
The second Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 27 May 2003 until 7 July 2006. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the conservative-liberal Peo ...
. Bot is a member of the
Christen Democratisch Appèl (CDA) party. In February 2007 he was succeeded as foreign minister by
Maxime Verhagen in the
fourth Balkenende cabinet
The fourth Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 22 February 2007 until 14 October 2010. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and Christian Unio ...
. Currently, Bot is a partner of the Praaning Meines Consultancy Group and holds various public posts including President of the
Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy[nimd.org](_blank)
Profile Ben Bot and Chairman of the Board of the
Clingendael Institute in The Hague.
Political positions
Bot voiced concern over the
2006 Lebanon War. Bot has expressed "understanding for
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
's reaction" but said "it would be hard to support Israel in case there will be many civilian casualties".
Bot was interviewed by the ''
NRC Handelsblad'' newspaper in December 2007, where he reiterated his 2005 position that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was a mistake, and that he had to "redress" his comment in 2005 after heavy pressure from prime minister
Jan Peter Balkenende
Jan Pieter "Jan Peter" Balkenende Jr. (; born 7 May 1956) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 to 14 October 2010.
Balkenende studied H ...
. In response, Balkenende said that he would have asked Bot to step down if he did not revise his position at the time.
Other activities
*
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Ex-Officio Alternate Member of the Board of Governors (2003-2007)
2005 Annual Report
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Decorations
References
External links
;Official
*
Dr. B.R. (Ben) Bot
Parlement & Politiek
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bot, Ben
1937 births
Living people
Ambassadors of the Netherlands to Turkey
Ambassadors of the Netherlands to East Germany
Christian Democratic Appeal politicians
Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
Dutch expatriates in the United States
Dutch expatriates in Belgium
Dutch expatriates in Argentina
Dutch expatriates in Germany
Dutch expatriates in Turkey
Dutch lobbyists
Dutch nonprofit directors
Dutch nonprofit executives
Dutch Roman Catholics
Dutch people of Indonesian descent
Dutch prisoners of war in World War II
Harvard Law School alumni
The Hague Academy of International Law people
Indo people
Leiden University alumni
Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
People from Batavia, Dutch East Indies
Politicians from The Hague
Permanent Representatives of the Netherlands to the European Union
Permanent Representatives of the Netherlands to NATO
Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau
World War II civilian prisoners held by Japan
20th-century Dutch civil servants
20th-century Dutch diplomats
20th-century Dutch politicians
21st-century Dutch civil servants
21st-century Dutch diplomats
21st-century Dutch politicians
Diplomats from The Hague