Ruud Lubbers
Minister of Economic Affairs | |
---|---|
In office 11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977 | |
Prime Minister | Joop den Uyl |
Preceded by | Harrie Langman |
Succeeded by | Gijs van Aardenne |
Personal details | |
Born | Rudolphus Franciscus Marie Lubbers 7 May 1939 Rotterdam, Netherlands |
Died | 14 February 2018 Rotterdam, Netherlands | (aged 78)
Political party | Christian Democratic Appeal (from 1980) |
Other political affiliations | Catholic People's Party (1964–1980) |
Spouse |
Ria Hoogeweegen (m. 1962) |
Children | 3 |
Alma mater | Rotterdam School of Economics (BEc, M.Econ) |
Occupation | Activist · businessperson · conservationist · corporate executive · diplomat · economist · nonprofit executive · lobbyist · politician · professor |
Signature | |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Netherlands |
Branch/service | Royal Netherlands Air Force |
Years of service | 1962–1963 (Conscription) 1963–1969 (Reserve) |
Rank | Second lieutenant |
Battles/wars | Cold War |
Rudolphus Franciscus Marie "Ruud" Lubbers (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈryt ˈlʏbərs] ⓘ; 7 May 1939 – 14 February 2018) was a Dutch politician, diplomat and businessman who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1982 to 1994, and as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 2001 to 2005.[1] He was a member of the Catholic People's Party (KVP), which later merged to become the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party.
Lubbers studied Economics at the
Shortly after the
Lubbers semi-retired from active politics and became active in the
Lubbers was known for his abilities as a
Biography
Early life
Rudolphus Franciscus Marie Lubbers was born on 7 May 1939 in
Politics
From 11 May 1973 to 19 December 1977, Ruud Lubbers was Minister of Economic Affairs in the
In 1982, after the general election won by Prime Minister Dries van Agt, a similar thing happened when Van Agt suddenly announced he would not serve for a third term. Lubbers took over the post. He was the youngest prime minister in Dutch history; he had turned 43 only six months earlier. Major aspects of his time in office included extensive cutbacks in public spending, the launch of far-reaching deregulation and privatisation programs, and a massive demonstration in The Hague (1983) against the planned installation in the Netherlands of nuclear-armed U.S. cruise missiles (which was cancelled after all due to arms reduction talks between the US and the Soviet Union).
After leaving office in 1994, Lubbers was put forward as a candidate for the head of NATO, but the U.S. vetoed his appointment. He was on the advisory board of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF), where he was regularly involved in meetings regarding the financial and monetary system.
Lubbers was regarded by many during his time in office as an ideological heir to Margaret Thatcher. One of his campaign slogans was: "Meer markt, minder overheid" (more market, less government).
Ecological activities
In the follow-up of the Earth Summit in 1992, Lubbers engaged with the Earth Charter Initiative in cooperation with Mikhail Gorbachev and Maurice Strong. The Earth Charter document was launched in the Peace Palace in The Hague in June 2000. Lubbers was an active member of the international Earth Charter Commission and reached out, especially to youth in the Netherland, with the message of the Earth Charter for a sustainable and peaceful world.
Academic
From 1995 to 2000, he taught Globalization Studies at
UN High Commissioner for Refugees
At the end of the year 2000, Lubbers was appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan to succeed Sadako Ogata as UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
From 1 January 2001, Lubbers headed the UNHCR, which comprised over 5,000 employees who work across the globe, and which was concerned with an estimated 21 million refugees and internally displaced in over 120 countries worldwide. During his tenure, the number of refugees worldwide decreased by almost 22%, from 21.8 million in 2001 to close to 17.1 million at the beginning of 2004.[4]
Lubbers also favoured a generous refugee policy for the Netherlands, and he was critical of the Foreign Citizens Law (Vreemdelingenwet). He also stabilised the UNHCR's financial situation and greatly increased the financial means for the sheltering of refugees.[citation needed]
He annually donated some $300,000 to the refugee agency since he assumed his post in 2001, thereby covering his own $167,000 annual salary and travel expenses.[5]
Sexual harassment complaint
In May 2004, Lubbers was accused by Cynthia Brzak, an American UNHCR employee, of sexual harassment following a meeting in his office that was attended by two other UNHCR staff members. The complaint was reported in the media,[6] prompting Lubbers to inform UNHCR staff about the accusation. On this occasion, he denied any wrongdoing and rejected the allegation against him.[7] On 2 June 2004, the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), which was tasked with investigating the accusation, sent its report to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.[8][9] In its public annual report to the UN Secretary-General (presented to the UN General Assembly), the OIOS reported concerning the case that it had "submitted a report to the Secretary-General supporting the allegations and recommended that appropriate actions be taken accordingly."[10]
Lubbers responded to the OIOS report in a letter setting out to (a) deny acts of sexual harassment or abuse took place; (b) establish that such evidence of the alleged misconduct as is said to exist is insufficient and flawed; and (c) conclude that the report itself would appear to be based on an irregular statutory basis and also flawed by errors of law and reasoning."[11]
Lubbers asked Max van der Stoel, former High Commissioner on National Minorities, to comment on the confidential report.[12] He concluded that "the OIOS report is deficient in objectivity and impartiality." He added "that the only two other persons in the room did not provide evidence confirming the version given by the complainant." Furthermore, he accused UN officials of leaking information to the press and recommended that an investigation of the leaks be undertaken.[13]
The Secretary-General reviewed the report and the responses of the High Commissioner and the senior manager to the report, and decided that the complaint could not be substantiated by the evidence and therefore closed the matter."
Resignation
In February 2005, the case was in the news again when the British daily newspaper The Independent obtained a copy of the OIOS report and, accompanied by an article by Kate Holt, published its contents.[16]
Lubbers met with the Secretary-General on 18 February 2005, and resigned as High Commissioner on Sunday, 20 February 2005, stating to the press: "For more than four years I gave all my energy to UNHCR. To be frank, despite all my loyalty, insult has now been added to injury and therefore I resign as High Commissioner."[17][18] The Secretary-General's office issued a statement the same day which stated that the High Commissioner's resignation was in the best interests of the UNHCR.[19] In his letter of resignation, Lubbers stated that his resignation constituted no expression of guilt, but that he had become the victim of smearing, adding that he had resigned "in the interest of the organisation".[20] In October 2005, Annan reiterated that he had come to the conclusion that "the evidence did not support the accusation" but that, because of ongoing media-pressure, Lubbers' resignation was in the best interests of the UNHCR.[21]
During a farewell meeting for Lubbers as High Commissioner for Refugees, he received from Acting High Commissioner Wendy Chamberlin the first annual UNHCR Achievement Award for exceptional services to UNHCR and for the world's refugees.[22]
In a formal statement, Netherlands Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende called the departure of Lubbers "bitter", since the complaint against him had been dismissed as unsustainable.[23]
Handling of the UNHCR/SC-UK 2002 report on sexual exploitation in the aid sector in West Africa
Three years prior to the controversy over the sexual harassment case, Lubbers was criticised for his handling of the UNHCR/SC-UK 2002 which uncovered the widespread sexual exploitation of refugee children by aid workers and peacekeepers in three West African countries (Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone). The study team which had encountered these findings unexpectedly whilst conducting a broader assessment documented 67 allegations implicating 40 aid agencies and several peacekeeping battalions, and often involving humanitarian workers and peacekeepers exchanging meagre aid supplies for sex with children.[24][25] Lubbers' response was to deny these findings, discredit the authors and excuse these behaviours; for example in a CNN interview on 8 May 2002, Lubbers was heard to deny the problem in the face of CNN's own research which confirmed the problem existed and was taken to task by the interviewer for dismissing these exploitative relationships inter alia as 'romances'.[26] The UN General Assembly passed resolution A/RES/57/306, 'Investigation into sexual exploitation of refugees by aid workers in West Africa' in May 2003, requiring the UN to take action at the highest level to tackle such abuses.[27] This led to the UN Secretary-General's Bulletin, 'Special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse' in October 2003,[28] and an endorsement of the Inter-agency standing Committee's working group on sexual abuse and exploitation which had already been set up a year earlier in June 2002 in response to the report.[29]
Informateur
After the fall of the Second Balkenende cabinet, Lubbers became the informateur for the formation of the demissionary interim Third Balkenende cabinet.[30]
For the
Personal life and death
On 10 October 1962, Lubbers married Ria Hoogeweegen (born 12 November 1940)[32][33] and had two sons and one daughter, Paul, Bart and Heleen.
Lubbers died in Rotterdam on 14 February 2018, at the age of 78, of natural causes.
Decorations
Honours
Honours | ||||
Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion | Netherlands | 8 October 1994 | Elevated from Knight (11 April 1978) |
Awards
Awards | ||||
Ribbon bar | Award | Country | Date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Honorary citizen of Maastricht | Netherlands | 1994 | ||
Four Freedoms Award (Special Presentation) | United States / Netherlands | 3 April 1995 | ||
Van Oldenbarneveltpenning of Rotterdam | Netherlands | 2003 |
Honorary degrees
Honorary degrees | |||||
University | Field | City / Country | Date | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro | Political science and Economics | Vila Real , Portugal
|
1989 | ||
Georgetown University | Law | Washington, D.C., United States | 1993 | ||
Hankuk University of Foreign Studies | Political science | South-Korea
|
1993 | ||
Grand Valley State University | Political science | Allendale, Michigan, United States | 1994 | ||
Radboud University Nijmegen | Economics | Nijmegen, Netherlands | 6 September 2004 |
References
- Agence France Presse. 15 February 2018.
- ^ (in Dutch) Willem Drees gekozen tot ‘Dé premier na WO II’, Geschiedenis24.nl, 15 January 2006
- ^ (in Dutch) NRC-enquête: Drees en Lubbers beste premiers sinds 1900, NRC Handelsblad, 28 September 2013
- ^ Colville, Rupert (24 February 2004). "Lubbers welcomes drop in asylum numbers in industrialised countries". United Nations High Commission on Human Rights. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- ^ "General Assembly extends term of UN High Commissioner for Refugees". United Nations. 6 October 2003. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- ^ New York Times 18 May 2004[permanent dead link]
- ^ Corder, Mike (14 February 2018). "Longest-serving Dutch premier, Ruud Lubbers, dies at 78". News & Observer. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- ^ "OIOS Investigation report" (PDF). Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- ^ "Supreme Court Annex 1 p.35" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 May 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
- ^ A/59/359* Report of the Office Internal Oversight Services to the UN General Assembly, p. 31[permanent dead link]
- ^ Lubbers memo pp 2–4 Archived 29 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine Lubbers Memo pp 5–8 Archived 29 May 2008 at the Wayback MachineLubbers Memo p 9 Archived 29 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL AND THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT – Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". www.un.org. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- ^ van der Stoel memo p 1 (after Lubbers p. 9) Archived 29 May 2008 at the Wayback Machinevan der Stoel memo pp 2–4 Archived 29 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Hoge, Fiona Fleck and Warren (16 July 2004). "Annan Clears Refugee Chief Of Harassment Accusations". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- ^ de Guyter, Caroline; van de Roer, Robert (16 April 2005). "Het geheime dossier van Ruud Lubbers (The secret dossier of Ruud Lubbers)". NRC Handelsblad. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- Independent.co.uk. 18 February 2005. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- Seattle Times. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- Washington Post. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- ^ "U.N. Official Quits in Harassment Case (washingtonpost.com)". www.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- ^ Resignation letter Archived 29 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Geneva Press Conference 2005-10-10[permanent dead link]
- ^ UNHCR News 25 February 2005 High Commissioner Lubbers departs UNHCR Archived 31 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Balkenende: wrang dat Lubbers opstapt". De Volkskrant. 20 February 2005. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- ^ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Note for Implementing and Operational Partners by UNHCR and Save the Children-UK on Sexual Violence & Exploitation: The Experience of Refugee Children in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone".
- ^ https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/content/dam/global/reports/health-and-nutrition/sexual_violence_and_exploitation_1.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "CNN.com – Transcripts". edition.cnn.com.
- ^ Team, ODS. "ODS HOME PAGE" (PDF). documents-dds-ny.un.org.
- ^ "Secretary-General's Bulletin: Special measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, 2003 – IASC". interagencystandingcommittee.org.
- ^ "Protection from Sexual Abuse and Exploitation – IASC". interagencystandingcommittee.org.
- ^ du Pré, Raoul (3 July 2006). "Informateur Lubbers komt even meedenken". De Volkskrant. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- ^ (in Dutch) Koningin benoemt Lubbers tot informateur Archived 23 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ DBNL. "Arendo Joustra en Erik van Venetië, Ruud Lubbers. Manager in de politiek · dbnl". DBNL. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- ^ "Prof. Drs. R.F.M. Lubbers". www.ruudlubbers.nl. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- ^ "Longest-Serving Dutch Premier, Ruud Lubbers, Dies at 78". The New York Times. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- ^ "Ruud Lubbers, former Dutch prime minister, dies". 14 February 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- ^ "Dear Lubbers' family members and Ruud's friends". Mikhail Gorbachev. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
- ^ "Dmitry Medvedev expresses condolences to Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Mark Rutte on the death of former Dutch Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers". The Russian Government. 17 February 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
- ^ "Pressestatements von Bundeskanzlerin Merkel und dem niederländischen Premierminister Rutte". Bundeskanzleramt. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
- ^ "Secretary-General Extends Heartfelt Condolences on Death of Ruud Lubbers". United Nations. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
- ^ "News comment: Death of former UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers". United Nations. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
- ^ "Twitter". Jean-Claude Juncker. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
- ^ "De uitvaart van Ruud Lubbers in beeld – Elsevierweekblad.nl". 20 February 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- ^ "Uitvaart en begrafenis Lubbers in besloten kring". 20 February 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- ^ "Veel staatslieden bij herdenking oud premierRuud Lubbers". www.ad.nl. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
External links
- Official
- (in Dutch) Dr. R.F.M. (Ruud) Lubbers Parlement & Politiek
- (in Dutch) Drs. R.F.M. Lubbers Rijksoverheid
- (in Dutch) Kabinet-Lubbers I Rijksoverheid
- (in Dutch) Kabinet-Lubbers II Rijksoverheid
- (in Dutch) Kabinet-Lubbers III Rijksoverheid