Gerrit Jan van Heuven Goedhart (19 March 1901 – 8 July 1956) was a Dutch politician, diplomat and journalist. A member of the Labour Party (PvdA), he was

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in ...

from 1944 to 1945 under Prime Minister

Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy (born Pieter Gerbrandij; 13 April 1885 – 7 September 1961) was a Dutch politician and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 3 September 1940 until 25 June 1945. He oversaw the government-in-exile ...

. He later served as the first

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integratio ...

from 1951 until 1956.

Biography

Early life

Van Heuven Goedhart was born on 19 March 1901 in Bussum,

North Holland North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...

. His father, Gijsbert Willem Goedhart, was a Protestant vicar. His mother was Francina Dingena Helena van Heuven. Van Heuven Goedhart was initially called Goedhart, but in 1933 he received permission to add his mother's maiden name to his surname. Van Heuven Goedhart studied law at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of L ...

and graduated in 1926. The year before, he had already become a reporter for newspaper ''

De Telegraaf ''De Telegraaf'' (; en, The Telegraph) is the largest Dutch daily morning newspaper. Haro Kraak,Gaat Paul Jansen de crisis bij De Telegraaf oplossen?, ''de Volkskrant'', 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015. Paul Jansen has been the editor-in-chief si ...

''. On 1 January 1930, at the age of 28, he was promoted to

editor in chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

. He was fired on 1 June 1933 because he refused to publish an article that called the newly elected German leader

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

"a great statesman". He became editor in chief of regional newspaper Utrechts Nieuwsblad, where he would stay in office until the

German invasion of the Netherlands The German invasion of the Netherlands ( nl, Duitse aanval op Nederland), otherwise known as the Battle of the Netherlands ( nl, Slag om Nederland), was a military campaign part of Case Yellow (german: Fall Gelb), the Nazi German invasion of ...

Politics

During World War II, Van Heuven Goedhart worked as a reporter and editor in chief for the illegal resistance newspaper ''

Het Parool ''Het Parool'' () is an Amsterdam-based daily newspaper. It was first published on 10 February 1941 as a resistance paper during the German occupation of the Netherlands (1940–1945). In English, its name means ''The Password'' or ''The Motto' ...

''. In 1944 he fled to

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, where he was appointed

in the

government in exile A government in exile (abbreviated as GiE) is a political group that claims to be a country or semi-sovereign state's legitimate government, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile u ...

. After the World War II, Van Heuven Goedhart returned to Het Parool, where he once again become editor in chief. In 1947, he also became

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the ...

for the Labour Party. In 1951, he gave up both occupations to become the first High Commissioner for Refugees of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

. Under Van Heuven Goedhart, the UNHCR was awarded the 1954 Nobel Peace Prize. Van Heuven Goedhart was also the first chairman of the "state committee for the coordination of government information" ( nl, Staatscommissie over de coördinatie van de overheidsvoorlichting), the predecessor of the

Netherlands Government Information Service The Netherlands Government Information Service (''Dutch:'' Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst, abbrev.: RVD) is a Dutch government agency. The RVD is the official information service of the Dutch government and is the spokesbody for the prime minister, the ...

( nl, Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst).

Personal

Van Heuven Goedhart married Francis Becht (1899–1987) in 1924. The marriage was dissolved in 1931. In 1932, Van Heuven Goedhart married Norwegian Erna Hauan (1899–1991). Van Heuven Goedhart had two children from his second marriage, Karin Sophie and Bergliot Halldis. Van Heuven Goedhart died in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ...

on 8 July 1956, while being United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
Mr.Dr. G.J. (Gerrit-Jan) van Heuven Goedhart
Parlement & Politiek *
Mr.Dr. G.J. van Heuven Goedhart (PvdA)
Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal {{DEFAULTSORT:Heuven Goedhart, Gerrit Jan van 1901 births 1956 deaths Dutch expatriates in England Dutch expatriates in Switzerland Dutch expatriates in the United States Dutch jurists Dutch magazine editors Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church Het Parool editors Dutch officials of the United Nations Dutch people of World War II Dutch political writers Dutch reporters and correspondents Dutch resistance members Dutch war correspondents Engelandvaarders Independent politicians in the Netherlands Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Labour Party (Netherlands) politicians Leiden University alumni Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Ministers of Justice of the Netherlands People from Bussum Politicians from Utrecht (city) United Nations High Commissioners for Refugees 20th-century Dutch diplomats 20th-century Dutch male writers 20th-century Dutch politicians 20th-century Dutch journalists Nansen Refugee Award laureates