Johan Witteveen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Johan Witteveen
Witteveen in 1984
Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
In office 1 September 1973 – 18 June 1978
Preceded by	Pierre-Paul Schweitzer
Succeeded by	Jacques de Larosière
Minister of Economic Affairs
Acting
In office 7 January 1970 – 14 January 1970
Prime Minister	Piet de Jong
Preceded by	Leo de Block
Succeeded by	Roelof Nelissen
Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
In office 5 April 1967 – 6 July 1971 Serving with Joop Bakker
Prime Minister	Piet de Jong
Preceded by	Jan de Quay Barend Biesheuvel
Succeeded by	Roelof Nelissen Molly Geertsema
Minister of Finance
In office 5 April 1967 – 6 July 1971
Prime Minister	Piet de Jong
Preceded by	Jelle Zijlstra
Succeeded by	Roelof Nelissen
In office 24 July 1963 – 14 April 1965
Prime Minister	Victor Marijnen
Preceded by	Jelle Zijlstra
Succeeded by	Anne Vondeling
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 21 September 1965 – 5 April 1967
In office 5 June 1963 – 24 July 1963
Member of the Senate
In office 8 June 1971 – 1 September 1973
In office 23 December 1958 – 5 June 1963
Member of the Social and Economic Council
In office 1 February 1952 – 23 December 1958
Chairman	Frans de Vries (1952–1958) Gerard Verrijn Stuart (1958)
Personal details
Born	Hendrikus Johannes Witteveen (1921-06-12)12 June 1921 Zeist, Netherlands
Died	23 April 2019(2019-04-23) (aged 97) Wassenaar, Netherlands
Political party	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
Spouse	Liesbeth de Vries Feijens ​ ​ (m. 1949; her death 2006)​
Children	4 (including Willem)
Parent	Willem Gerrit Witteveen (father)
Relatives	Theo van Gogh (cousin)
Alma mater	Rotterdam School of Economics (BEc, MEc, PhD)
Occupation	Politician economist

Hendrikus Johannes "Johan" Witteveen (born 12 June 1921 – died 23 April 2019) was an important Dutch politician and economist. He is best known for being the fifth managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 1973 to 1978. He also served as a minister in the Dutch government.

Witteveen studied economics at the Rotterdam School of Economics. He continued his studies even during World War II. After the war, he earned his master's and doctorate degrees. He then became a professor of Financial Economics.

Early Life and Education

Johan Witteveen was born on 12 June 1921 in Zeist, a town in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands. His father, Willem Gerrit Witteveen, was an architect. His mother was Anna Maria Wibaut. His grandfather, Floor Wibaut, was also a well-known politician.

Witteveen went to the Gymnasium Erasmianum in Rotterdam for his secondary education. From 1939 to 1946, he studied economics at the Netherlands School of Economics. He earned his PhD in 1947. His main research was about "Height of wages and employment." His professor, Jan Tinbergen, later won a Nobel Prize.

Political and Economic Career

Witteveen started his career as an economist at the Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis. He worked there from 1947 to 1963. He was a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), a political party in the Netherlands.

Roles in Dutch Government

Witteveen held several important roles in the Dutch government:

• He was a Senator from 1958 to 1963. Senators help make laws and oversee the government.
• He also served as a member of the House of Representatives in 1963. This is similar to a parliament.
• From 1963 to 1965, he was the Minister of Finance in the Marijnen cabinet. As Minister of Finance, he was in charge of the country's money and economy.
• He returned to the House of Representatives from 1965 to 1967.
• From 1967 to 1971, he was again the Minister of Finance. During this time, he also became Deputy Prime Minister in the De Jong cabinet. This meant he was the second-in-command of the government.
• He briefly served as acting Minister of Economic Affairs in 1970.
• He returned to the Senate from 1971 to 1973.

Minister of Finance Johan Witteveen and Minister of the Economy and Finance of France Valéry Giscard d'Estaing during a European Economic Community meeting in Amsterdam on 20 July 1964.

Leading the International Monetary Fund

In 1973, Witteveen was chosen to lead the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF is an international organization that works to keep the global economy stable. It helps countries with financial problems. He served as its Managing Director from 1973 to 1978. He was the only Dutchman to ever hold this position.

After leaving the IMF, Witteveen continued to be active in economics. From 1978 to 1985, he was the first chairman of the Group of Thirty. This is a group of top financial leaders and academics. In 1980, he became a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Personal Life

On 3 March 1949, Johan Witteveen married Liesbeth de Vries Feijens. They had four children together: three sons and one daughter. Their children were Willem, Paul, Raoul, and a daughter born in 1960. Liesbeth passed away in 2006.

His eldest son, Willem Witteveen, also became a politician, professor, and author. Like his father, Willem served in the Senate. Sadly, Willem passed away in 2014. Johan Witteveen was also a cousin of the filmmaker Theo van Gogh.

Johan Witteveen passed away at his home in Wassenaar on 23 April 2019. He was 97 years old. He was known for his ability to manage and bring people together. He continued to share his thoughts on political matters throughout his life.

Decorations

Honours
Ribbon bar	Honour	Country	Date	Comment
	Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour	France	25 August 1964
	Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown	Belgium	1968
	Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire	United Kingdom	1969
	Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown	Luxembourg	1970
	Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau	Netherlands	17 July 1971	Elevated from Commander (20 April 1965)
	Grand Cross of the Order of Merit	Germany	12 October 1977
	Commander of the Order of the Netherlands Lion	Netherlands	25 April 1979
Awards
Ribbon bar	Awards	Organization	Date	Comment
	Four Freedoms Award	Roosevelt Institute for American Studies	1982

Honorary Degrees