Hendricus Leopold (29 August 1918 – 16 July 2008) was a Dutch diplomat. He helped prepare the opening of an embassy in

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 ...

. He served as first ambassador of the Netherlands to

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

, and as ambassador to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Biography

Leopold was born on 29 August 1918 in

Middelburg Middelburg may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Europe * Middelburg, Zeeland, the capital city of the province of Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Middelburg, a former Catholic diocese with its see in the Zeeland c ...

. He started working for the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

. In 1963, he was appointed quarter maker in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

to prepare the opening of the first embassy in Indonesia. In March 1975, Leopold was sent to Suriname to establish a pre-embassy in preparation of the

independence of Suriname The early history of Suriname dates from 3000 BCE when Native Americans first inhabited the area. The Dutch acquired Suriname from the English, and European settlement in any numbers dates from the 17th century, when it was a plantation colony ...

. On 26 November 1975, the day after independence, he was installed as first ambassador to Suriname. In 1978, he was appointed ambassador to India and non-resident ambassador to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. In 1983, he retired. Leopold died on 16 July 2008 in

Lochem Lochem () is a city and municipality in the province of Gelderland in the Eastern Netherlands. In 2005, it merged with the municipality of Gorssel, retaining the name of Lochem. As of 2019, it had a population of 33,590. Population centres The ...

, at the age of 89.

Honours

*: Knight of 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 of the

Honorary Order of the Palm The Honorary Order of the Palm (Dutch: ''Ere-Orde van de Palm'') is a military and civil state decoration A state decoration is an object, such as a medal or the insignia of an Order (distinction), order, that is awarded by a sovereign state to h ...

References

1918 births 2008 deaths People from Middelburg, Zeeland Ambassadors of the Netherlands to Suriname Ambassadors of the Netherlands to India Dutch diplomats Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau {{Netherlands-bio-stub