Berend Jan "Bé" Udink (12 February 1926 – 24 May 2016) was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the

Christian Historical Union The Christian Historical Union (, CHU) was a Protestant Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), into which it merged in September 1980. History 187 ...

(CHU) and businessman. Udink applied at the Rotterdam School of Economics in July 1946 majoring in

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

and obtaining a

Bachelor of Economics A Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon)Bureau of Labor StatisticsHow to Become an Economist/ref> is an academic degree, awarded to students who have completed specialised undergraduate studies in economics. Variants include the "Bachelor of Econo ...

degree in June 1948 before graduating with a

Master of Economics The Master of Economics (MEcon or MEc) is a postgraduate master's degree in economics comprising training in economic theory, econometrics, and/or applied economics. The degree is also offered as an MS or MSc, MA or MCom in economics; var ...

degree in June 1952. Udink also applied at the

University of Lausanne The University of Lausanne (UNIL; ) in Lausanne, Switzerland, was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second-oldest in Switzerland, and one of the oldest universities ...

in August 1946 for a

Class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

Financial economics Financial economics is the branch of economics characterized by a "concentration on monetary activities", in which "money of one type or another is likely to appear on ''both sides'' of a trade".William F. Sharpe"Financial Economics", in Its co ...

obtaining a

Bachelor of Accountancy The Bachelor of Accountancy, also known as Bachelor of Accounting, is the principal academic degree in accountancy in several countries, and is often the only (undergraduate) degree recognised for subsequent practice as a professional accountant ...

degree in September 1947. Udink worked as a corporate director of the

chamber of commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

from October 1953 until July 1962. Udink also worked as an associate professor of Trade economics at the Rotterdam School of Economics from June 1959 until September 1964. Udink worked as corporate director of the chamber of commerce of

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

from July 1962 until April 1967 serving as executive director from January 1963 until April 1967. Udink served on the Rijnmond Council from September 1965 until April 1967. After the 1967 general election Udink was appointed as Minister for Aid to Developing Countries in the De Jong cabinet, taking office on 5 April 1967. After the Leader of the Christian Historical Union and

parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislature, legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. ...

in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

Jur Mellema unexpectedly announced that he was stepping down, the party leadership approached Udink as his successor, Udink accepted and became the leader of the Christian Historical Union and lead candidate for the 1971 general election on 20 June 1970. The Christian Historical Union suffered a small loss, losing 3 seats and now had 7 seats in the House of Representatives. Udink was elected to the House of Representatives and became the parliamentary leader, taking office on 11 May 1971. The following 1971 cabinet formation resulted in a coalition agreement between the Christian Historical Union, the

Catholic People's Party The Catholic People's Party (, KVP) was a Roman Catholicism in the Netherlands, Catholic Christian democracy, Christian democratic list of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1945 as ...

(KVP), the

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( , VVD) is a Conservative liberalism, conservative-liberal List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. The VVD, whose forerunner was the Freedom Party (Netherl ...

(VVD), the

Anti-Revolutionary Party The Anti-Revolutionary Party (, 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 minister who served as Prime Mi ...

(ARP) and the

Democratic Socialists '70 The Democratic Socialists '70 (, DS'70) was a social democratic political party in the Netherlands. History DS'70 was founded on 4 April 1970 as the result of a split from the Labour Party (Netherlands), Labour Party (PvdA). In June 1970, Frans ...

(DS'70) which formed the Biesheuvel I cabinet with Udink appointed as Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning, taking office on 6 July 1971. On 28 July 1971 Udink announced that he was stepping down as leader in favor of parliamentary leader and predecessor Mellema. The cabinet fell just one year later on 19 July 1972 and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity with Udink taking over as Minister of Transport and Water Management on 21 July 1972 until it was replaced by the caretaker Biesheuvel II cabinet with Udink continuing as Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning and Minister of Transport and Water Management, taking office on 9 August 1972. In September 1972 Udink announced his retirement from national politics and that he would not stand for the 1972 general election. The cabinet was replaced by the

Den Uyl cabinet The Den Uyl cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 11 May 1973 until 19 December 1977. The cabinet was formed by the social democratic Labour Party (Netherlands), Labour Party (PvdA), the Christian democratic Catholic People's Party (KV ...

following the 1972-1973 cabinet formation on 11 May 1973. Udink retired from national politics and became active in the private sector, in August 1973 Udink was appointed as

chief financial officer A chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization who is assigned the primary responsibility for making decisions for the company for projects and its finances; i.a.: financial planning, management of financial risks, ...

(CFO) and vice chairman of the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of the Overseas Gas and Electric Company (OGEM) from 1 September 1973 until 1 January 1978. In December 1977 Udink was nominated as

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

(CEO) and chairman of the board of directors of OGEM working from 1 January 1978 until 1 March 1980. Udink remained active in the private sector and public sector and occupied numerous seats as a corporate director and nonprofit director on several boards of directors and supervisory boards ( Zilveren Kruis,

Transnational Institute The Transnational Institute (TNI), is an international non-profit research and advocacy think tank that was founded in 1974 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. According to their website, the organization promotes a "... just, democratic and sustainable w ...

Radio Netherlands Worldwide Radio Netherlands (RNW; ) was a public radio and television network based in Hilversum, producing and transmitting programmes for international audiences outside the Netherlands from 1947 to 2012. Its services in Dutch ended on 11 May 2012. Eng ...

, Energy Research Centre,

IKEA Foundation The IKEA Foundation is a Dutch not-for-profit organisation founded in 1982 by Ingvar Kamprad as a means to support advancement in interior design and architecture. In 2009, the Foundation's charter was expanded to benefit vulnerable children. I ...

and Terre des hommes) and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government ( Public Pension Funds APB,

Staatsbosbeheer Staatsbosbeheer, founded in 1899, is a Dutch government organization for forestry and the management of nature reserves. Staatsbosbeheer currently oversees over 250,000 hectares of land in the Netherlands. Usually this land is open to the public ...

, Raad voor Cultuur, Cadastre Agency and the Advisory Council for Spatial Planning) and served as a diplomat and lobbyist for several economic delegations on behalf of the government. Udink was known for his abilities as a negotiator and debater. Udink continued to comment on political affairs until his death at the age of 90.

Biography

Early life

Berend Jan Udink was born on 12 February 1926 in

Deventer Deventer (; Sallaans dialect, Sallands: ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Salland historical region of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel, ...

in the province of

Overijssel Overijssel (; ; ; ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name comes from the perspective of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, Episcopal principality of Utrecht ...

in a Remonstrant family. Udink studied

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

and

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

(1945–1952). After his studied he was employed at the

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

of Rotterdam and later worked as a teacher at the Economische Hogeschool Rotterdam (Economic College of Rotterdam). Udink, who belonged to the

, was elected in the so-called

Rijnmond Rijnmond (; literally 'Rhine Mouth', 'Mouth of the Rhine', 'Rhine Estuary') is the conurbation surrounding the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Another term used in this context is Stadsregio Rotterdam (literally 'Rotterdam Urban Region' or m ...

raad (Council of Rijnmond), a local council of representatives of Rijnmond, in 1965.

Politics

Two years later, in 1967, he became

minister for Development Cooperation The Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Aid () is a Minister without Portfolio (Netherlands), minister without portfolio in the Netherlands. The officeholder, who is a member of the Cabinet of the Netherlands, Cabinet and the Council of M ...

in the De Jong cabinet, a post he held till 1971. In 1971 he was lead candidate of the CHU, presenting himself as a conservative and a " law and order" politician. In that same year Udink became minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management in the Biesheuvel I and II cabinets. His political career ended in 1973. From 1973 until 1978 he was member of the Board of Directors of the Overzeese Gas- en Elektriciteitsmaatschappij N.V. (as Dutch gas and electricity company) and from 1978 till 1980 he served as its president.

Personal

Bé Udink was married and had three children. He belonged to the Remonstrant Brotherhood ( Arminian Protestant Church).

Decorations

References

External links

;Official
Drs. B.J. (Bé) Udink
Parlement & Politiek {{DEFAULTSORT:Udink, Bé 1926 births 2016 deaths Businesspeople from Rotterdam Christian Historical Union politicians Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Dutch chief executives in the manufacturing industry Dutch businesspeople in the oil industry Dutch corporate directors Dutch expatriates in Switzerland Dutch lobbyists Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Erasmus University Rotterdam alumni Academic staff of Erasmus University Rotterdam Grand Officers of the Order of Leopold II Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Leaders of the Christian Historical Union Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Ministers for development cooperation of the Netherlands Ministers of housing and spatial planning of the Netherlands Ministers of transport and water management of the Netherlands People from Deventer People from Goedereede Politicians from Rotterdam Remonstrants University of Lausanne alumni 20th-century Dutch businesspeople 20th-century Dutch diplomats 20th-century Dutch economists 20th-century Dutch educators 20th-century Dutch politicians