Petrus Albertus "Piet" Kasteel (4 November 1901 – 13 December 2003) was a Dutch journalist, diplomat, and colonial administrator. He was parliamentary editor of ', and fled to England during World War II where he served for the

Dutch government-in-exile The Dutch government-in-exile ( nl, Nederlandse regering in ballingschap), also known as the London Cabinet ( nl, Londens kabinet), was the government in exile of the Netherlands, supervised by Queen Wilhelmina, that fled to London after the Germ ...

. He served as Governor of Curaçao and Dependencies from 15 July 1942 until 4 August 1948, Dutch Ambassador to Chile (1948–1956), to Ireland (1956–1966) and briefly to Israel (1966).

Biography

Kasteel was born on 4 November 1901 in

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is on ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He converted to the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. In 1923, he moved to Amsterdam, where he became a journalist for ''

De Tijd ''De Tijd'' (, ''The Times'') is a Belgian newspaper that mainly focuses on business and economics. It is printed on salmon pink paper since May 2009, following the example of its colleagues ''Financial Times'', ''Het Financieele Dagblad'', '' FT ...

'', and founded the Catholic association De Klare Waarheid. In October 1929, he became parliamentary editor of ', then the largest Catholic newspaper in the Netherlands. In 1938, he received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

in political and social sciences from

KU Leuven KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, ...

on a biography of prime minister Abraham Kuyper. On 14 May 1940, after 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 t ...

, Kasteel as a known anti-fascist boarded a fishing boat leaving his wife and children behind, and arrived in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

two days later. He offered his services to the

under the '' nom de guerre'' "Chateau neuf du Pape". He started to work for the Ministry of Justice, and befriended

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 ...

. In September 1940, Gerbandy became

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

-in-exile, and appointed Kasteel as his personal secretary. On 15 July 1942, Kasteel was installed as Governor of Curaçao and Dependencies. In 1947 negotiations started for political autonomy of

Curaçao and Dependencies The Colony of Curaçao and Dependencies ( nl, Kolonie Curaçao en onderhorigheden; pap, Kolonia di Kòrsou i dependensianan) was a Dutch colony in the Caribbean Sea from 1815 until 1828 and from 1845 until 1954. Between 1936 and 1948, the area wa ...

. The island of Aruba no longer wanted remain subordinate to Curaçao, and demonstrations were organised. In January 1948, the delegations of Aruba and Curaçao demanded the resignation of Kasteel. In June 1948, Kasteel announced his resignation, and left on 4 August 1948. IT-Rom-via-della-conciliazione

Kasteel was appointed Ambassador of the Netherlands to Chile, and served until 1956, In March 1956, he was appointed Ambassador to Ireland, and served until 1966. He served briefly as Ambassador to Israel, and retired in December 1966. After retiring, Kasteel moved to

Via della Conciliazione Via della Conciliazione (Road of the Conciliation) is a street in the Rione of Borgo within Rome, Italy. Roughly in length, it connects Saint Peter's Square to the Castel Sant'Angelo on the western bank of the Tiber River. The road was constru ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy near the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

where his son served in the Apostolic Camera. On 13 December 2003, Kasteel died in Rome, at the age of 102.

Honours

* Knight of the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands ( nl, De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, french: L'Ordre du Lion Néerlandais) is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on ...

. * Commander in the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. *

Order of the Southern Cross Emperor Pedro I of Brazil founded the National Order of the Southern Cross ( pt, Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul) as a Brazilian order of chivalry on 1 December 1822. The order aimed to commemorate the independence of Brazil (7 September 18 ...

. *

Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...

with Silver Palm. * Knight in the

Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under ...

References

External links

Piet Kasteel at the Digital Library for Dutch Literature
(in Dutch) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kasteel, Piet 1901 births 2003 deaths Governors of the Netherlands Antilles People from Zwolle Dutch diplomats 20th-century Dutch male writers 20th-century Dutch journalists Ambassadors of the Netherlands to Chile Ambassadors of the Netherlands to Ireland Ambassadors of the Netherlands to Israel Engelandvaarders KU Leuven alumni Dutch Roman Catholics Dutch centenarians Men centenarians Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Medal of Freedom Knights of the Holy Sepulchre