Eelco Nicolaas van Kleffens (17 November 1894 – 17 June 1983) was a Dutch politician and diplomat.
Biography
Eelco van Kleffens descended from an old
Frisian family of public servants. He was the son of Henricus Cato and Jeannette Frésine (Veenhoven) van Kleffens. His younger brother
Adrianus van Kleffens would later become a judge at the
European Court of Justice. He married Margaret Helen Horstmann on 4 April 1935.
After receiving a
Doctor of Laws
A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...
degree from
Leiden University, van Kleffens worked in the Secretariat of the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
. He became secretary to the Directorate of Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. in 1920. He was appointed Assistant Director of the Legal Section of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1922 and of the Diplomatic Section in 1927, becoming Director of the latter in 1929. In the early 1930s he was also Secretary-General of
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 ...
.
Van Kleffens was appointed the
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 cou ...
in 1939, weeks before
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
began, and was part of the
Dutch government in exile
The Dutch government-in-exile ( nl, Nederlandse regering in ballingschap), also known as the London Cabinet ( nl, Londens kabinet), was the government in exile of the Netherlands, supervised by Queen Wilhelmina, that fled to London after the Germ ...
over that period. During the war he penned an account of the German invasion named ''Juggernaut over Holland'' which was circulated within the occupied territory, and he was also one of the original signatories of the
Benelux
The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico- economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: ...
union.
Van Kleffens held the position of foreign minister until the
Schermerhorn/Drees cabinet of 1946. Following his resignation from the ministerial position (but not from the cabinet) van Kleffens became the Netherlands' representative on the United Nations
Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
, and in 1947 was appointed the ambassador to the United States. In 1950 he became the ambassador to
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, and was bestowed the title of
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...
, a prestigious honour.
In 1954 van Kleffens was appointed to the position of
President of the United Nations General Assembly
The president of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on a yearly basis. The president is the chair and presiding officer of the General Assembly.
Election
...
for that body's
ninth session.
Van Kleffens was the Dutch representative at
NATO
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 ...
and the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...
from 1956 to 1958, and at the
European Coal and Steel Community from 1958 until 1967, after which Van Kleffens retired to
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, where he died on 17 June 1983.
Decorations
References
External links
;Official
*
Mr. E.N. (Eelco) van KleffensParlement & Politiek
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kleffens, Eelco van
1894 births
1983 deaths
Ambassadors of the Netherlands to Portugal
Ambassadors of the Netherlands to the United States
Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
Dutch jurists
Dutch expatriates in Belgium
Dutch expatriates in England
Dutch expatriates in Portugal
Dutch expatriates in the United States
Dutch people of World War II
Erasmus University Rotterdam alumni
Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit (Portugal)
The Hague Academy of International Law people
Independent politicians in the Netherlands
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau
Leiden University alumni
Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
Ministers of State (Netherlands)
Ministers without portfolio of the Netherlands
OECD officials
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
People from Heerenveen
People from Sintra
Permanent Representatives of the Netherlands to NATO
Permanent Representatives of the Netherlands to the United Nations
Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly
Rectors of universities in the Netherlands
20th-century Dutch civil servants
20th-century Dutch diplomats
20th-century Dutch politicians