Dirk Stikker

Dirk Stikker, 1948

Dirk Uipko Stikker (born February 5, 1897 in Winschoten , † December 23, 1979 in Wassenaar ) was a Dutch banker , industrialist , politician , diplomat and badminton player .

Early life

Dirk Stikker studied law at the University of Groningen . After graduating, Stikker entered the banking business. In 1935 he became director of the Heineken brewery . He held this post until 1948. In 1945 he was one of the founders of the Stichting van de Arbeid (Dutch advisory body between employers and employees) and thus laid the foundation for collective bargaining in the post-war Netherlands. In 1964, Dirk Stikker was made an honorary doctorate from Brown University .

Political career

Stikker became involved in politics for the first time in 1945. On March 23, 1946, he was a founding member of the Partij van de Vrijheid (Freedom Party) along with former members of the pre-war Liberale Staatspartij (Liberal State Party). On January 24, 1948, the Freedom Party became part of the Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD, People's Party for Freedom and Democracy), which is still the most important liberal party in the Netherlands today. Stikker was the first chairman of the VVD. He held the function until August 1948; his successor was Pieter Oud .

Foreign minister

In 1948 Stikker became foreign minister in the government of Willem Drees . Stikker held this office until 1951. Stikker resigned on January 23, 1951, due to a motion of censure over the government's colonial (New Guinea) policy, but returned to office less than two months later. His term lasted from 15 March 1951 to September 2, 1952. The Netherlands played an important role during Stikkers tenure at the founding of NATO and Steel Community .

Other political offices

After his ministerial office, Dirk Stikker was the Dutch ambassador to Great Britain from 1952 to 1958 . He also acted as representative of the Netherlands in the Atlantic Alliance and in the "Organization for European Economic Co-operation" (OEEC), the predecessor organization of the OECD (1958–1961). On April 21, 1961, Dirk Stikker succeeded Paul-Henri Spaak as NATO Secretary General. As a result of health problems, he resigned on August 1, 1964 from this office.

Athletic career

Stikker won the national championship title in men's doubles in badminton in 1932. At the Dutch Open in 1931 he was second in doubles, at the Dutch Open in 1933 third.

Web links

• Dirk Stikker in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely available)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The secret badmintonleven van de baas van de NAVO ( Memento from May 15, 2013 in the Internet Archive )