Sidney J. van den Bergh

Sidney J. van den Bergh (1968)

Sidney James van den Bergh (born October 25, 1898 in Rotterdam , † September 25, 1977 in Wassenaar , province of South Holland ) was a Dutch officer , economic manager and politician of the Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD) who was the manager of the Unilever group played a key role in the logistics and equipment of the armed forces .

In 1959 he became Minister of Defense in the cabinet of Prime Minister Jan de Quay . However, he had to resign from this post after a few months after a relationship with a not yet divorced woman became known. Later he was treasurer of the VVD from 1951 to 1969 with a short interruption and from 1963 to 1971 a member of the First Chamber of the States General .

Life

Family background, manager at Unilever and Major General of the Reserve

Van den Bergh came from the Jewish van den Bergh family, a well-known family of politicians and entrepreneurs. His grandfather Simon van den Bergh was the founder of the Van den Bergh margarine works in 1888 , from which, after merging with other companies, the consumer goods group Unilever emerged in 1929. His father Samuel van den Bergh was a member of both the Second Chamber and the First Chamber of the States General. His older brother George van den Bergh was also a member of the Second Chamber of the States General. His uncle Zadok van den Bergh was a member of the Second Chamber as was his nephew Robbert van den Bergh , who was also a member of the Council of State ( Raad van State ) .

After attending the public Erasmiaansch Gymnasium in Rotterdam, he himself completed his military service from 1916 to 1918 and was last lieutenant in the reserve . He then began in July 1918 to study economics at the Dutch Business School Rotterdam (Nederlandse Economische Hogeschool) , which he left in 1922 without a degree. During his studies, he completed an internship as an examiner in the family margarine works Van den Bergh and took over the acting management of the soap factory Van den Bergh's Zeepfabriek in Zwijndrecht as a student , before he was director of the margarine works Van den Bergh from 1920 to 1926. At this time he also joined the then Vrijzinnig-Democratische Bond (VDB), to which he belonged until February 9, 1946. During this time he was also treasurer of the VDB city association of Rotterdam from 1920. In addition, he was from December 1, 1929 to November 1933, both a member of the main board and the executive board of this party.

In 1926 he became a director of NV Lever Brothers and, after the merger with Unilever, was a member of the board of directors of this multicompany from 1929 to May 1959. Since 1929 he was also a member of the Continental Committee of NV Unilever in London . Shortly before the beginning of the Second World War , van den Bergh was mobilized as a captain and from August 1939 had been responsible for the delivery of food at the directorate for special services. In addition, he was entrusted with the recruitment of Dutch soldiers in Canada and took over the function of military adjutant to the ambassador in the USA , before in 1944, as colonel of the reserve, he was temporarily chief director of the army (Koninklijke Landmacht) . In September 1945 he became Major General of the Army Reserve and was entrusted with the purchase of military goods in Canada. Then he was commissioned from November 1, 1945 to May 1946 with the reorganization of the office of the Quartermaster General in the Dutch East Indies .

For his services during the Second World War he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Dutch Lion on September 17, 1946 .

Defense Minister and member of the First Chamber

In 1951 he also became treasurer and member of the executive board of VVD and held this position until May 1959. On May 19, 1959, van den Bergh, who had been a member of the Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD) since 1948, was appointed by Prime Minister Jan de Quay as Minister of Defense (Minister van Defensie) in his cabinet. However, he had to resign on August 1, 1959, after it became known that he had a relationship with a still married woman. His successor was then Sim Visser on September 7, 1959 , after Prime Minister de Quay had temporarily held this office.

After leaving the government, van den Bergh was initially a member of the Board of Management from September 1, 1959 to 1961 and then Vice-Chairman of the Management Board of NV Unilever and Unilever Ltd between 1961 and January 1, 1964 .

In addition, he began to become politically active again, from 1960 to May 1969 again as treasurer and member of the executive board of the VVD and as treasurer of the party-affiliated foundation Stichting Vrijheid en Democratie . He was also treasurer of the Hendrik Coenraad Dresselhuijs Fund, which is also party to the party , vice-chairman of the propaganda commission and the radio and television commission of the VVD as well as a member of the foreign affairs commission and the press commission of the VVD.

He was also between January 24, 1962 and June 3, 1970 as a member of the Parliament ( Provinciale Staten ) of the province of South Holland. Furthermore, on September 17, 1963, he became a member of the First Chamber of the States General for the VVD, of which he was a member until May 10, 1971.

He was also active in local politics and was a member of the Wassenaar City Council from September 6, 1966 to September 1, 1970. At the same time he was also assistant ( Wethouder ) for finances, community enterprises and public works of Wassenaar.

For his many years of service, he was appointed commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau on October 16, 1968 .

Van den Bergh was married five times. The first four marriages resulted in a total of five sons and two daughters.

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