Ruud Lubbers

Rudolphus Franciscus Marie Lubbers or Ruud Lubbers (born May 7, 1939) was the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, from 2001 until February 20, 2005, when he resigned because of continuous press attention about an allegation of sexual harassment. Prior to that, he was prime minister of the Netherlands (1982 – 1994). A political conservative, 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).

Life and career

Lubbers was born in Rotterdam. He studied economics at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and was a student of the first Nobel Prize Laureate in economics Jan Tinbergen. As suggested by the title of his 1962 thesis - "The influence of differing productivity trends in various countries on the current account of the balance of payments" - his main interest was in monetary affairs. He originally planned an academic career, but was compelled by family circumstances to join the management of Lubbers' Construction Workshops and Machinery Fabricators Hollandia B.V.

Related Topics:
Rotterdam - Erasmus University Rotterdam - Nobel Prize - Jan Tinbergen - 1962

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From 11 May 1973 to December 19, 1977 he was Minister of Economic Affairs in the Den Uyl-government and a member of the Catholic People's Party (KVP). He was an effective, if sometimes somewhat bad-tempered minister. He chose to return to Parliament on the formation of the Van Agt-government in 1977, becoming Senior Deputy Parliamentary Leader of the CDA, the alliance between the KVP and the other two main denominational parties. His career got an unexpected boost when the leader of the parliamentary faction of the CDA, Willem Aantjes, had to resign in 1978 on accusations that he served in the Germanic-SS during the Second World War. Lubbers took over the position of Aantjes and suddenly found himself in a powerful political position.

Related Topics:
11 May - 1973 - December 19 - 1977 - Den Uyl - KVP - CDA - Willem Aantjes - Germanic-SS - Second World War

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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 be available for a third term. Lubbers took over the post, a position he held until 1994, making him the longest serving prime minister in the history of the Netherlands.

Related Topics:
1982 - Dries van Agt - 1994 - Netherlands

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Major aspects of his time in office:

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• Extensive cutbacks in public spending
• The launch of far-reaching deregulation and privatization programs
• A massive demonstration in The Hague (1983) against the planned installation in the Netherlands of nuclear-armed US cruise missiles (which was cancelled after all due to arms reduction talks between the US and the Soviet Union)

After leaving office, was put forward as a candidate for the head of NATO, but the US vetoed his appointment.

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From 1995 to 2000, he taught Globalization Studies at Tilburg University in the Netherlands and at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in the United States. He was also vice-chairman of the Independent World Commission on the Oceans and chair of Globus, the Institute for Globalization and Development based in Tilburg.

Related Topics:
1995 - 2000 - Tilburg University - Harvard University - Tilburg

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On January 1, 2001 he became the ninth United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He succeeded Mrs. Sadako Ogata of Japan. In October 2003, his three year term was extended for another two years, to December 31, 2005. 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. He resigned for this job on February 20, 2005 due to a sexual harassment allegation.

Related Topics:
January 1 - 2001 - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees - Sadako Ogata - Japan - December 31 - 2005 - February 20

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