Piet Lieftinck
Pieter "Piet" Lieftinck (born September 30, 1902 in Muiderberg , Province of North Holland , † June 9, 1989 in The Hague ) was a Dutch economist , university professor and politician who was a professor at the Netherlands Business School Rotterdam . As a politician, he was initially a member of the left wing of the Christelijk-Historische Unie (CHU) before moving to the Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA) in 1946 . As Minister of Finance between 1945 and 1952 in the Schermerhorn / Drees , Beel I , Drees / Van Schaik and Drees I cabinets , he played a key role in the reconstruction in the period after the Second World War and in the reorganization of the state's financial and monetary policy.
After his tenure as finance minister, Lieftinck worked for international financial organizations such as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development , the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund . Later he belonged to the Democratic Socialists '70 (DS '70) and was most recently non-party .
Life
Ministerial official, university professor and World War II
Lieftinck completed his school education at the Extended Elementary School and the Higher Citizens School in Utrecht as well as an international boarding school in Rolle in Switzerland . After a subsequent state examination in classical languages , he began studying law in the Netherlands and economics at the University of Utrecht in 1919 , which he graduated on October 4, 1927. He finished his subsequent military service in 1928 as a reserve officer and completed postgraduate studies at Columbia University in New York City between 1929 and 1930 . On December 10, 1931, he completed his doctorate in law at the University of Utrecht "cum laude" with the dissertation Moderne struktuurveranderingen der industrie in de Verenigde Staten van Amerika , in which he is currently dealing with the structural change in US industry dealt with the Great Depression.
Lieftinck then began his professional career in 1931 as a civil servant in the Ministry of Trade and Industry and was most recently secretary of the Economic Council, which was subordinate to this ministry, between June 1, 1933 and October 1934. In October 1934 he accepted a professorship for economics, money, credit and banking and trade policy at the Netherlands School of Economics in Rotterdam (Nederlandsche Economische Hogeschool te Rotterdam) . He was a member of the Christelijk-Historische Unie (CHU) and belonged to its main board from 1938 to 1939.
At the beginning of the Second World War he was reactivated as a reserve officer in the artillery for military service until the German occupation in May 1940 .
Lieftinck was arrested on November 21, 1941 and was initially in the Buchenwald concentration camp until November 15, 1941 and then in the hostage camp in Haaren from November 15, 1941 to May 1942 . He was then imprisoned in the Sint-Michielsgestel hostage camp from May 1942 to 1944 , before being in the prisoner-of-war camps in Lissa , Schildberg and Neubrandenburg from 1944 until his liberation in 1945 . After his liberation, he resumed teaching at the Netherlands Business School Rotterdam.
Finance Minister 1945 to 1952
On June 25, 1945, Lieftinck was appointed by Prime Minister Willem Schermerhorn as Minister of Finance (Minister van Financiën) in the Schermerhorn / Drees cabinet. He also held this ministerial office in the first cabinet of Prime Minister Louis Beel , as well as in the Drees / Van Schaik cabinet headed by Prime Minister Willem Drees and in the first Drees cabinet until July 1, 1952. On June 4, 1946, Lieftinck, who was appointed February 1946 the Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA) had joined, also a member of the Second Chamber of the States General , which he was a member of for just under a month until July 8, 1946. Later, on July 27, 1948, he became a member of the First Chamber of the States General , of which he was also only a brief member until August 11, 1948, due to the existing ministerial office.
In his function as finance minister, Lieftinck played a key role in the reconstruction in the period after the Second World War and in the reorganization of the state's financial and monetary policy. During the Indonesian War of Independence in 1947, the Netherlands was under considerable financial pressure. Lieftinck warned of an imminent collapse of the Dutch-Indian finances and then the finances of the kingdom itself. He was in favor of withdrawing the troops from the archipelago. The alternative is a "limited military action" with which the Netherlands would secure the production facilities in Java and Sumatra and at the same time demonstrate their power. Ultimatas to the republic to recognize the expanded version of the Lingaddjati Agreement led the Prime Minister of Indonesia, Sutan Syahrir, to agree to an interim government that could even be led by a Dutchman. In doing so, however, he had gone too far and lost the last of the support among the political forces in the republic. On June 27, 1947, the Prime Minister had to resign. The republic's leaders feared that too much indulgence would bring back the colonial balance of power.
After leaving the government on September 30, 1952, he was appointed Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau .
Employees of international financial institutions
After finishing his tenure as finance minister, Lieftinck became the representative of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development ( IBRD ) for Turkey , Syria and Jordan on July 1, 1952 , with headquarters in Ankara . He held this position until October 1, 1955.
He then became Executive Director of the World Bank on October 1, 1955 and held this position until May 1, 1971. At the same time he also served as Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC between October 1, 1955 and December 1976
For his services to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, Lieftinck was also commander of the Order of the Dutch Lion on October 4, 1965, and was last awarded the Order of the Dutch Lion's Grand Cross on November 24, 1976 when he left the IMF .
Lieftinck was married twice. His marriage to Henriëtte Clasine Aldershoff, which was closed on March 14, 1932 and dissolved on April 20, 1954, resulted in three daughters. Another daughter came from his second marriage to Elsa van der Voort van Zijp on May 4, 1954 in Beirut .
Publications
- Modern structural changes in the industry in the United States of America , dissertation, 1931
- De toekomst onzer monetaire politiek , 1935
- Inleiding tot de monetary theory , 1946
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lieftinck, Piet |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Lieftinck, Pieter (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Dutch politician, economist and university professor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 30, 1902 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Muiderberg , North Holland Province |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 9, 1989 |
| Place of death | The hague |