Ernesto Otilio "Netto" Petronia (14 December 1916 – 29 December 1993) was an Curaçao-born Aruban businessman and politician. He served many times as a minister with multiple portfolios, and was

Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles Below is a list of prime ministers of the Netherlands Antilles from 1951 to 2010. In 2010 the position of Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles was abolished, together with the dissolution of the country itself. List of prime ministers of ...

from 1969 until 1971.

Biography

Petronia was born on 14 December 1916 on plantation Santa Lucia near Plantersrust in Curaçao which is nowadays part of

Willemstad Willemstad ( , ; ; en, William I of the Netherlands, William Town, italic=yes) is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdo ...

. After elementary school, he became a draughtsman for the civil service, and attended a course in

technical drawing Technical drawing, drafting or drawing, is the act and Academic discipline, discipline of composing Plan (drawing), drawings that Visual communication, visually communicate how something functions or is constructed. Technical drawing is essent ...

. In 1932, he published the novel ''Venganza di un amigo'' written in

Papiamentu Papiamento () or Papiamentu (; nl, Papiaments) is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean. It is the most widely spoken language on the Caribbean ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao), with official status in Arub ...

. In 1933, he was transferred to

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

where he would remain for the rest of his life. On 1 February 1940, he resigned and founded the construction company Petronia & Croes together with his business partner Bonifacio Croes. In 1951, Petronia was first elected to the island council of Aruba for the

Aruban Patriotic Party The Aruban Patriotic Party ( Papiamento: ''Partido Patriotico Arubano'', PPA) is a political party in Aruba. It was founded in 1949. Prior to Aruba's independence, it was a supporter of a unified, independent Netherlands Antilles. In the 2001 ...

(PPA). In June 1961, he was appointed Minister of Traffic and Communications in the Netherlands Antilles which had been vacant since 1959. In June 1962, he became Minister with three portfolios: Education, Traffic, and Culture. For a brief period, Petronia had five portfolios when was appointed lieutenant governor of Aruba. In 1967, he served with a single portfolio as Minister of Education. Even though Petronia had been a Papiamentu author, he would encourage the use of Dutch as Minister of Education in order to increase opportunities for the Antilles. 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 a collapse of the government, and the formation of an ''ad interim'' government led by which would be a place holder until the 1969 elections. In November 1969, the Accords of Kralendijk resulted in a coalition government of five parties headed by Petronia. On 12 December 1969, Petronia was installed as

. Petronia was the first prime minister of the Antilles of African descent. The Netherlands Antilles faced a high rate of unemployment and a large deficit. Petronia was of the opinion that the islands needed several years of stability, however he doubted whether it could be achieved during his term. In December 1970, a tax increase failed to pass the Estates, and Petronia handed in his resignation. On 12 February 1971, the

Isa-Beaujon cabinet The Isa-Beaujon cabinet was the 7th cabinet of the Netherlands Antilles. Composition The cabinet was composed as follows: , rowspan="3", Minister of General Affairs , Ramez Jorge Isa , DP , 12 February 1971 , - , Otto R.A. Beaujon , DP , 2 ...

was formed, in which Petronia served as Minister of Justice until 20 December 1973. Petronia died on 29 December 1993 in Oranjestad, Aruba, at the age of 77.

Honours and legacy

* Commander 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 ...

. * In 1970, '' Amigoe'', the leading newspaper in the Netherlands Antilles, named Petronia man of the year. * In 1994, the Boerhaavestraat in Oranjestad was renamed Caya Ernesto Petronia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petronia, Ernesto 1916 births 1993 deaths Prime Ministers of the Netherlands Antilles Government ministers of the Netherlands Antilles People from Oranjestad, Aruba People from Willemstad Aruban politicians Aruban businesspeople Aruban writers Papiamento-language writers Aruban people of African descent Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau

Biography

Honours and legacy

See also

References