Jean van den Bosch (27 January 1910 – 15 December 1985) was a Belgian diplomat.

Biography

Jean van den Bosch was born on 27 January 1910 in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

, Belgium. He received a doctorate in law from the

Université catholique de Louvain The Université catholique de Louvain (also known as the Catholic University of Louvain, the English translation of its French name, and the University of Louvain, its official English name) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university. It ...

in 1931. The following year he earned degrees in history and diplomatic political science.

Career

Van den Bosch began his diplomatic career in 1934. On 2 July 1960 van den Bosch arrived in

Léopoldville Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

, capital of the newly independent

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

(formerly the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

) to serve as ambassador. Two days later he presented his credentials to President

Joseph Kasa-Vubu Joseph Kasa-Vubu, alternatively Joseph Kasavubu, ( – 24 March 1969) was a Congolese politician who served as the first President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Republic of the Congo) from 1960 until 1965. A member of the Kong ...

. In the subsequent

Congo Crisis The Congo Crisis (french: Crise congolaise, link=no) was a period of political upheaval and conflict between 1960 and 1965 in the Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The crisis began almost immediately after ...

, Van den Bosch wanted to avoid a total administrative collapse and worked to ensure the retention of Belgian personnel in the civil service. In doing so he established contacts with

ONUC The United Nations Operation in the Congo (french: Opération des Nations Unies au Congo, abbreviated to ONUC) was a United Nations peacekeeping force deployed in the Republic of the Congo in 1960 in response to the Congo Crisis. ONUC was the ...

, Congolese ministers in favor of a strong relationship with Belgium, and certain ministries (namely Finance, Economic Affairs, and External Commerce). He also communicated with the remaining Belgian civil servants who were anxious about serving in an administration that had the disapproval of the Belgian government, advising those in the employment of moderate ministers or the Presidency to continue their work while cautioning those attached to the "extremists" to avoid any undertakings that would harm Belgian interests. Relations between Belgium and the Congo quickly deteriorated, however, and van den Bosch was accused by the Congolese government of instigating unrest throughout the country. He was ordered to be expelled from the Congo, but did not receive any notice until the morning of 9 August when a Congolese Foreign Ministry official informed him that he had until noon that day to leave. Facing a large crowd of angry Congolese, van den Bosch left the Belgian embassy under the escort of

United Nations peacekeepers Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role held by the Department of Peace Operations as an "instrument developed by the organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace". It is distinguished ...

to the docks, where he took a boat to

Brazzaville Brazzaville (, kg, Kintamo, Nkuna, Kintambo, Ntamo, Mavula, Tandala, Mfwa, Mfua; Teke: ''M'fa'', ''Mfaa'', ''Mfa'', ''Mfoa''Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CLI ...

and from there flew back to Belgium.

Citations

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Van den Bosch, Jean 1910 births 1985 deaths People of the Congo Crisis Ambassadors of Belgium to the Democratic Republic of the Congo