John Loudon (18 March 1866 – 11 November 1955) was a Dutch diplomat and

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 ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was a moderate liberal.

Biography

He was born on 18 March 1866 to

James Loudon James Loudon (May 24, 1841 – December 29, 1916) was a Canadian professor of mathematics and physics and President of the University of Toronto from 1892 to 1906. He was the first Canadian-born professor at the University of Toronto. Biog ...

, the

Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies ( nl, gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands Indië) represented Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949. Occupied by Japanese fo ...

from 1872 to 1875. Loudon Jr. obtained a doctorate in

public international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

in 1890. He served as a diplomat in China, Britain, France, Japan, and the United States. From September 1913 to September 1918, he was minister of foreign affairs in the cabinet of Cort van der Linden. His careful policies, aimed to keep the Netherlands strictly neutral during the war—although personally he was pro-French—eventually led to conflict with the Queen

Wilhelmina of the Netherlands Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World War ...

. He died on 11 November 1955.

References

1866 births 1955 deaths Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion 20th-century Dutch diplomats Dutch people of British descent Dutch people of World War I Independent politicians in the Netherlands Jonkheers of the Netherlands Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Leiden University alumni Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Politicians from The Hague Diplomats from The Hague {{Netherlands-politician-stub