Johan Stephan Leonard "Hans" Gualthérie van Weezel (born 26 July 1941) is a Dutch former diplomat and politician. He worked as a diplomat for the Dutch Ministry for Foreign Affairs between 1970 and 1977. Subsequently, he served 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 ...

between 1977 and 1992. After his political career ended he returned to diplomacy and was Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the Council of Europe until August 1998 and afterwards Ambassador to

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

until 2005.

Career

Hans Gualthérie van Weezel was born on 26 July 1941 in

Velsen Velsen () is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is located on both sides of the North Sea Canal. On the north side of the North Sea Canal there is a major steel plant, Tata Steel IJmuiden, formerly known as ...

, during World War II. His father Jan was active in the

Dutch resistance The Dutch resistance () to the History of the Netherlands (1939–1945), German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II can be mainly characterized as non-violent. The primary organizers were the Communist Party of the Netherlands, C ...

and later became chief commissioner of police in The Hague. Gualthérie van Weezel went to high school in The Hague, graduating in 1962. He subsequently went to

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

to study Dutch law. He went to study law rather than history, which he had intended to do, since his father valued the title of master of law over a title in history. After his studies Gualthérie van Weezel joined the diplomatic service of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He was third embassy secretary in Brussels between 1971 and 1975 and afterwards was second embassy secretary in Lagos for two years. He then returned to the Netherlands and was spokesperson for the Ministry until June 1977. Gualthérie van Weezel joined the

after the 1977 general elections. For his first election he was number 33 on the candidate list and in all subsequent elections he was placed lower on the list. He was a member 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 ...

, which in 1980 merged into the

Christian Democratic Appeal The Christian Democratic Appeal ( , CDA) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in the Netherlands. Formed as a federation in 1975 by the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolutionary Party, and the Christian Historical ...

. In the House of Representatives Gualthérie van Weezel served as spokesperson for Foreign Affairs for the Christian Democratic Appeal. He was on the right side in the party. While his party struggled with the issue of the placement of 48

cruise missile A cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large payload over long distances with high precision. Modern cru ...

s in the Netherlands, Gualthérie van Weezel suggested placing 84. After his political career ended in 1992 he returned to diplomacy and became Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the Council of Europe. In 1994 he was warned by Christian Democratic Appeal chair that writing a book on his political career might hurt his diplomatic career. Gualthérie van Weezel saw this as an encouragement and his book ''Rechts door het midden'' was published in 1994. In his book he argued that the Christian Democratic Appeal, being on in the political opposition, should place itself on the right of the political spectrum. He served as Permanent Representative until August 1998, and subsequently Ambassador to

until 2005. In 2014, as head of the Commission Integral Supervision Return of the Ministry of Security and Justice he stated that the asylum policy of the Netherlands would attract more refugees. He argued that a European policy to counter refugee flows to Europe should be created.

Personal life

Gualthérie van Weezel is married to Gerarda Gezina Jolande "Ank" de Visser. The couple has two daughters and one son. His daughter Annemarie married

Carlos, Duke of Parma Prince Carlos, Duke of Parma and Piacenza (Carlos Xavier Bernardo Sixto Marie; born 27 January 1970), is the current (since 2010) Head of the Royal and Ducal House of Bourbon-Parma, who ruled the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza from 1748 to 1802 an ...

in 2010. Gualthérie van Weezel was made Knight in the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (, ) is a Dutch honours system, Dutch order of chivalry founded by William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. The Order of the Netherlands Lion wa ...

on 28 April 1989.

Works

* ''Rechts door het midden'' (1994)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gualtherie van Weezel, Hans 1941 births Living people Ambassadors of the Netherlands to Luxembourg Christian Democratic Appeal politicians Christian Historical Union politicians 20th-century Dutch politicians Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Leiden University alumni Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) People from Velsen Christian Democratic Appeal MPs