Bas de Gaay Fortman
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Bastiaan "Bas" de Gaay Fortman (born 6 November 1937) is a retired
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
politician and diplomat of the
Political Party of Radicals The Political Party of Radicals ( nl, Politieke Partij Radikalen, PPR) was a progressive Christian and green political party in the Netherlands. The PPR played a relatively small role in Dutch politics and merged with other left-wing parties to ...
(PPR) and later the
GreenLeft GroenLinks (, ) is a Green politics, green List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 March 1989 from the merger of four Left-wing politics, left-wing parties: the Communist Party of th ...
(GL) party and economist.


Career before politics

After attending public elementary education, he attended the Christian Gymnasium in
the Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
, specialising in
science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...
s. After graduating in 1956 he studied
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
and
economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...
at the Free University of
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
, receiving his Master of Law, and Doctorandus in Economy in 1963 cum laude. In the last four years of his study he taught Civil Law, Commercial Law and Political Economics. Following graduation he became a fellow at the Social Faculty of the Free University, and wrote his dissertation in Economics. During this period he taught macro- and micro-economic theory. In 1966 he received his
Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in Economics for his dissertation "Theory of competition policy". In 1967 De Gaay Fortman left
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
to become a senior lector at the
University of Zambia The University of Zambia (UNZA) is a public university located in Lusaka, Zambia. It is Zambia's largest and oldest learning institution. The university was established in 1965 and officially opened to the public on 12 July 1966. The language of ...
in Lusaka, where he was head of the Economic faculty. Here he taught Economics of Rural Development, and Theory of the Economic Order. In 1968 he was appointed Chairman of the Agricultural Prices and Marketing Committee, an advisory Body of the Zambian government. He wrote two books about his residence in
Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...
: "After Mulunguhsi, the economics of Zambian Humanism" in 1967 and "The Third World in Movement, a message from Zambia" in 1972. While in Zambia De Gaay Fortman kept close tabs on the developments in Dutch politics. De Gaay Fortman was a member of the Christian-democratic
Anti-Revolutionary Party The Anti-Revolutionary Party ( nl, Anti-Revolutionaire Partij, ARP) was a Protestant conservative and Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1879 by Abraham Kuyper, a neo-Calvinist theologian and mi ...
. In 1970 he joined a group of so-called "spijtstemmers" (English: "the Sorry Voters") or Americain Group (after restaurant Americain, where the group regularly met). The group regretted that their party, ARP, joined a coalition with the liberal
VVD The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a Conservative liberalism, conservative-liberalRudy Andeweg, Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingsto ...
instead of the social-democratic
Partij van de Arbeid The Labour Party ( nl, Partij van de Arbeid, , abbreviated as ''PvdA'', or ''P van de A'', ) is a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1946 as a merger of the Social Democratic Workers' Party, the Free ...
. In 1967 he edited the book "Christian-Radical", in which a new leftwing Christian faith was articulated. In 1970 he left the ARP to join the PPR, a Christian-radical party set up by former members of the KVP, who also regretted the Christian-democratic/liberal coalition.


Political career

In 1971 De Gaay Fortman returned to the Netherlands from Zambia for the
election campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referend ...
of the PPR. He was one of the two top candidates of the party. In the elections the party got two seats in the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
, one of which was to be occupied by De Gaay-Fortman. During his period as member of the House of Representatives, he was Professor Extraordinary of Economic Development at the
Institute of Social Studies The International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam is an independent and international graduate school of policy-oriented critical social science. ISS was established in 1952 by Dutch universities and the Neth ...
in the Hague. After the election he became Shadow Minister for International Development in Den Uyl's Shadow cabinet. He led the party in the 1972 elections, in which the PPR more than tripled its seats to seven. De Gaay Fortman became the leader of the parliamentary party. Between 1973 and 1975 he was vice-chair of the Defence Committee of the House of Representatives. He seemed an atypical PPR-member, well-educated, upperclass, and with his affected speech. De Gaay however was very popular under young people. In parliament he showed a keen interest in development cooperation.


Career after politics

Before 1977 elections the younger
Ria Beckers A ria (; gl, ría) is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. Definitions Typically rias have a dendritic, treelike outline although they ca ...
succeeded De Gaay Fortman. De Gaay Fortman became a member of the Senate. He kept this position until 1991. During this entire period he was the party's leader in the Senate. After 1981 however his party was a one man's party. In 1989 his party, the PPR merged with the PSP, CPN and the EVP to become GroenLinks. De Gaay Fortman remained senator for this party. During this period De Gaay Fortman returned to his passion, science. He was professor of
Political Economy Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour ...
at the Institute for Social Studies between 1977 and 2002. He also held many positions in the World of Development Cooperation: most importantly he was president of NOVIB, the Dutch branch of Oxfam, between 1977 and 1984. In 1990 he gave up his seat in the House of Representatives to become delegate for the Reformed Church at the Assembly of the
World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...
in Canberra. In 1990 he also founded Economists for Peace, with the late
Jan Tinbergen Jan Tinbergen (; ; 12 April 19039 June 1994) was a Dutch economist who was awarded the first Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1969, which he shared with Ragnar Frisch for having developed and applied dynamic models for the analysis o ...
. After 1991 Bas de Gaay Fortman has held numerous research positions: from 1991 to 1993 he was the director of research for the Institute for Social Studies. Here he taught Political Economy of
Jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...
, Transition and
Development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...
. In 1992 he served as the chair of the Joint Steering Committee of the Netherlands Israeli Palestinian Research Programme (NIRP). From 1992 to 1998 he was a researcher in both the Research School for Development Studies (CERES) and the Netherlands Research School on Human Rights. From 1992 to 1993 he was the chair of the Directorate of the CERES School of Excellence in which six Dutch universities participated. Since 2000 he has been the chair of the Working Programme Formation and Disintegration of States of CERES. De Gaay Fortman also served as correspondent in the
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 ...
for several development programs, such as the
United Nations Development Program The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...
and the European Commission's. In 2002 he became professor of Political Economy of Human Rights at the
University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
. He is the only chair in Political Economy of Human Rights in the world. Until 2005, he taught his trademark class "Political Economy of Human Rights", which was part of the Master in Conflict Studies at University of Utrecht. In this class, the majority of the readings used are his own unpublished works. In 2002 he also became a member of the permanent committee for Development Cooperation of the Advisory Council for International Questions of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Since 2003 he has been the vice-president of the Prins Claus Chair of the University of Utrecht and the ISS. From 2003 to 2004 he was the Msgr Willy Onclin Professor of Comparative Canon Law at the
Catholic University of Louvain 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 ...
. His research interests focus on the political economy of law, human rights and jurisprudence and political economy of conflict and collective violence. De Gaay Fortman has written and edited many books on Development Cooperation and many other subjects including: "Help we're developed" in 1978, "The Art of Ivory turning" in 1979, "New Progress" in 1984, "The Small path between Power and Morale" in 1989, "Internal Conflicts, Security and Development" in 1997, "God and Goods. Global Economy in a Civilizational Perspective" in 1998, "Globalization and Its New Divides: Malcontents, Recipes and Reform" in 2003, and "From Warfare to Welfare. Human Security in a Southern African Context" in 2004.


Political views

As a devoted human rights activist, De Gaay Fortman has championed the idea that every human being has human dignity which is meant to convey an idea of absolute and inherent worth. He outlined the necessary preconditions for broad respect of human dignity through his "Golden Triangle of Human Dignity". Each corner of the triangle houses one of the three manifestations of human dignity: human security, human rights, and human development.


Miscellaneous facts

*De Gaay Fortman adheres to the reformed religion; *He is a member of the de Gaay Fortman family. His father was
Gaius de Gaay Fortman Wilhelm Friedrich "Gaius" de Gaay Fortman (8 May 1911 – 29 March 1997) was a Dutch jurist and politician of the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP), which later merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party. De Gaay Fortman attended a ...
, a prominent Dutch politician. Coincidentally his father served as
Minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
, while B. de Gaay Fortman served as member of the House of Representatives. After 1977 both W.F. and B. de Gaay Fortman served as members of the Senate together, but representing different political parties; *De Gaay Fortman speaks fluent
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
, French,
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
,
Chewa Chewa may refer to: *the Chewa people *the Chewa language Chewa (also known as Nyanja, ) is a Bantu language spoken in much of Southern, Southeast and East Africa, namely the countries of Malawi , where it is an official language, and Mozambiq ...
,
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
and
Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
; *De Gaay Fortman is a well travelled man. As a member of parliament, international observer, researcher or visiting professor, he has visited a lot of countries in
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
,
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
focusing on
Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...
and
Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...
.


Quotes

* "The Melians, however, do not accept, trusting in the justice of their cause and hoping for the help of the Gods and the Spartans." −2001 unpublished essay on Laborious Law * "Violations of basic human rights affect the overall quality of life." −1999 unpublished work "Where Needs Meet Rights," pg. 10 * "The lack of a socio-economic perspective, as a result of poverty and exclusion, may be seen as a major factor contributing to intrastate violence" – From his work on the human security gap, "The Golden Triangle of Human Dignity: Human Security, Human Development, and Human Rights." * "Human rights, then, is to be seen as a laborious, but not impossible, venture and from a civilizational perspective a crucial challenge in our world today." – 2001 unpublished essay on Laborious Law


Decorations


References


External links

;Official *
Mr.Dr. B. (Bas) de Gaay Fortman
Parlement & Politiek *
Mr.Dr. B. de Gaay Fortman (GroenLinks)
Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaay Fortman, Bas de 1937 births Living people Anti-Revolutionary Party politicians Dutch anti-poverty advocates Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Dutch development economists Dutch academic administrators Dutch financial writers Dutch education writers Dutch expatriates in Zambia Dutch human rights activists Dutch legal writers Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Dutch jurists Dutch political activists Dutch political writers GroenLinks politicians International economists KU Leuven faculty Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Leaders of the Political Party of Radicals Macroeconomists Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Microeconomists People from Ermelo, Netherlands Politicians from The Hague Political economists Political Party of Radicals politicians Protestant Church Christians from the Netherlands Reformed Churches Christians from the Netherlands Regional economists University of Zambia faculty Utrecht University faculty Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam faculty Writers about activism and social change 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch diplomats 20th-century Dutch economists 20th-century Dutch educators 20th-century Dutch male writers 20th-century Dutch politicians Diplomats from The Hague 21st-century Dutch diplomats 21st-century Dutch economists 21st-century Dutch educators 21st-century Dutch male writers