View source for Johan Witteveen

{{short description|Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (1973–1978)}}
{{multiple issues|
{{Lead too long|date=January 2020}}
{{more citations needed|date=December 2021}}}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix   = 
|name               = Johan Witteveen
|image              = Johan Witteveen 1984 (1).jpg
|imagesize          = 240px
|caption            = Witteveen in 1984
|office             = Managing Director of the <br>[[International Monetary Fund]]
|term_start         = 1 September 1973 
|term_end           = 18 June 1978
|predecessor        = [[Pierre-Paul Schweitzer]]
|successor          = [[Jacques de Larosière]]
|office1            = [[List of Ministers of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands|Minister of Economic Affairs]]
|status1 = Acting
|term_start1        = 7 January 1970
|term_end1          = 14 January 1970
|primeminister1     = [[Piet de Jong]]
|predecessor1       = [[Leo de Block]]
|successor1         = [[Roelof Nelissen]]
|office2            = [[Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands]]
|term_start2        = 5 April 1967
|term_end2          = 6 July 1971
|alongside2         = [[Joop Bakker]]
|primeminister2     = [[Piet de Jong]]
|predecessor2       = [[Jan de Quay]]<br />[[Barend Biesheuvel]]
|successor2         = [[Roelof Nelissen]]<br />[[Molly Geertsema]]
|office3            = [[List of Ministers of Finance of the Netherlands|Minister of Finance]]
|term_start3        = 5 April 1967
|term_end3          = 6 July 1971
|primeminister3     = [[Piet de Jong]]
|predecessor3       = [[Jelle Zijlstra]]
|successor3         = [[Roelof Nelissen]]
|term_start4        = 24 July 1963
|term_end4          = 14 April 1965
|primeminister4     = [[Victor Marijnen]]
|predecessor4       = [[Jelle Zijlstra]]
|successor4         = [[Anne Vondeling]]
|office5            = [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|Member of the House of Representatives]]
|term_start5        = 21 September 1965 
|term_end5          = 5 April 1967
|term_start6        = 5 June 1963
|term_end6          = 24 July 1963
|office7            = [[Senate (Netherlands)|Member of the Senate]]
|term_start7        = 8 June 1971
|term_end7          = 1 September 1973
|term_start8        = 23 December 1958
|term_end8          = 5 June 1963
|office9            = [[Social and Economic Council|Member of the Social and Economic Council]]
|term_start9        = 1 February 1952
|term_end9          = 23 December 1958
|1blankname9        = {{nowrap|Chairman}}
|1namedata9         = Frans de Vries<br />(1952–1958)<br />Gerard Verrijn Stuart (1958)
|birthname          = Hendrikus Johannes Witteveen 
|birth_date         = {{Birth date|df=y|1921|06|12}}
|birth_place        = [[Zeist]], Netherlands
|death_date         = {{Death date and age|df=y|2019|04|23|1921|06|12}}
|death_place        = [[Wassenaar]], Netherlands
|nationality        = Dutch
|party              = [[People's Party for Freedom and Democracy]]
|spouse             = {{marriage|Liesbeth de Vries Feijens|3 March 1949|25 November 2006|reason=her death}}
|children           = 4 (including [[Willem Witteveen|Willem]])
|parents            = Willem Gerrit Witteveen (father)
|relatives          = [[Theo van Gogh (film director)|Theo van Gogh]] (cousin)
|residence          = 
|alma_mater         = [[Erasmus University Rotterdam|Rotterdam School of Economics]] ([[Bachelor of Economics|BEc]], [[Master of Economics|MEc]], [[PhD]])
|occupation         = {{hlist|Politician|economist}}
|signature          = 
|website            = 
}}
'''Hendrikus Johannes''' "'''Johan'''" '''Witteveen''' (12 June 1921 – 23 April 2019) was a Dutch politician and economist who served as the fifth managing director of the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) from 1973 to 1978.
 
Witteveen attended the [[Gymnasium Erasmianum]] in [[Rotterdam]] from June 1933 until June 1939 and applied at the [[Erasmus University Rotterdam|Rotterdam School of Economics]] in June 1939 [[Major (academic)|majoring]] in [[Economics]]. On 10 May 1940 [[Nazi Germany]] [[Battle of the Netherlands|invaded]] the Netherlands and the [[Dutch government-in-exile|government]] fled to [[London]] to escape the [[Netherlands in World War II|German occupation]]. During the German occupation Witteveen continued his study obtaining a [[Bachelor of Economics]] degree in June 1941 but in April 1943 the [[Reichskommissariat Niederlande|German occupation authority]] closed the Rotterdam School of Economics. Following the end of [[Netherlands in World War II|World War II]] Witteveen returned to the Rotterdam School of Economics and worked as a [[Research|student researcher]] before graduating with a [[Master of Economics]] degree in December 1945 and worked as an associate professor of [[Financial economics]] at the Rotterdam School of Economics from December 1945 until July 1947 when got a [[doctorate]] as a [[Doctor of Philosophy]] in Financial economics. Witteveen worked as a researcher for the [[Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis]] (CPB) from April 1945 until July 1947 and as a professor of Financial economics at the Rotterdam School of Economics from July 1947 until 24 July 1963. He also served as [[List of rectores magnifici of the Erasmus University Rotterdam|Rector Magnificus of the Erasmus University Rotterdam]] from 1 January 1951 until 1 January 1952.

Witteveen became a [[Senate (Netherlands)|Member of the Senate]] after the death of Anthonie Nicolaas Molenaar, taking office on 23 December 1958 serving as a [[frontbencher]] and [[spokesperson]] for [[Ministry of Finance (Netherlands)|Finances]] and deputy spokesperson for [[Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy|Economic Affairs]] and [[Small business]]. Witteveen was elected as a [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|Member of the House of Representatives]] after the [[1963 Dutch general election|election of 1963]], he subsequently resigned as a Member of the Senate the same day he was installed as Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 5 June 1963. Following the [[1963 Dutch cabinet formation|cabinet formation of 1963]] Witteveen was appointed as [[List of Ministers of Finance of the Netherlands|Minister of Finance]] in the [[Marijnen cabinet|Cabinet Marijnen]], taking office on 24 July 1963. The Cabinet Marijnen fell on 27 February 1965 after a disagreement in the coalition about reforms to the [[Dutch public broadcasting system|public broadcasting system]] and continued to serve in a [[Demissionary cabinet|demissionary]] capacity until the [[Dutch cabinet formation|cabinet formation of 1965]] when it was replaced by the [[Cals cabinet]] on 14 April 1965. Witteveen returned as a distinguished professor of [[Public economics]] at the Rotterdam School of Economics on 1 September 1965. Witteveen subsequently returned as a Member of the House of Representatives after the resignation of Lambertus Oldenbanning, taking office on 21 September 1965 serving as a frontbencher chairing the parliamentary committee for Finances and spokesperson for Finances and deputy spokesperson for Economic Affairs. After the [[1967 Dutch general election|election of 1967]] Witteveen was again appointed as Minister of Finance and became [[Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands|Deputy Prime Minister]] in the [[De Jong cabinet]], taking office on 5 April 1967. Witteveen served as acting [[List of Ministers of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands|Minister of Economic Affairs]] from 7 January 1970 until 14 January 1970 following [[Leo de Block]]'s resignation. In February 1971 Witteveen announced that he wouldn't stand for the [[1971 Dutch general election|election of 1971]] but wanted to return to the Senate. After the [[Historic composition of the Senate of the Netherlands|Senate election of 1971]] Witteveen returned as a Member of the Senate, taking office on 8 June 1971 serving as a frontbencher chairing the parliamentary committee for Finances and spokesperson for Finances and Economic Affairs. Following the [[1971 Dutch cabinet formation|cabinet formation of 1971]] Witteveen per his own request asked not to be considered for a cabinet post in the new [[First Biesheuvel cabinet|cabinet]], the Cabinet De Jong was replaced by the [[First Biesheuvel cabinet|Cabinet Biesheuvel I]] on 6 July 1971. In August 1973 Witteveen was nominated as the next Managing Director of the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF), he resigned as a Member of the Senate the same day he was installed as Managing Director, serving from 1 September 1973 until 18 June 1978.

Witteveen retired after spending 20 years in national politics and became active in the [[private sector]] and [[public sector]] and occupied numerous seats as a corporate director and nonprofit director on several boards of directors and supervisory boards ([[Rockefeller Foundation]], [[Tinbergen Institute]], [[Group of Thirty]], [[Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael|Institute of International Relations Clingendael]], [[Netherlands Society for Statistics and Operations Research|Society for Statistics and Operations Research]] and the Helen Dowling Institute) and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government ([[SEO Economic Research]], Cadastre Agency and [[Statistics Netherlands]]) and as an advocate and lobbyist for [[Sufism]] and [[Financial regulation]]. Witteveen was also a prolific author, having written more than a dozen books since 1947 about [[Politics]], [[Finance]]s, [[Economics]], [[Business]] and [[Sufism]].

Witteveen was known for his abilities as a [[Management|manager]] and [[Consensus decision-making|consensus builder]]. Witteveen continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until his death at the age of 97 and holds the distinction as the only Dutchman that served as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund. His eldest son [[Willem Witteveen|Willem]] was also a politician, professor, and author, he like his father had served in the Senate.

== Early life and education ==
Witteveen was born on 12 June 1921 in [[Zeist]] in the [[Utrecht (province)|province of Utrecht]]. He is the son of architect Willem Gerrit Witteveen and Anna Maria Wibaut and the grandson of Social Democratic politician Floor Wibaut.<ref name="parlement">{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.parlement.com/id/vg09lld3f4za/h_j_johan_witteveen Dr. H.J. (Johan) Witteveen], ''Parlement & Politiek''. Retrieved on 19 July 2014.</ref> He went to the public secondary school [[Gymnasium Erasmianum]] in Rotterdam. He studied economics at the [[Erasmus University Rotterdam|Netherlands School of Economics]] from 1939 to 1946. He received his [[PhD]] in 1947 with the dissertation ''Loonhoogte en werkgelegenheid'' (Height of wages and employment). His advisor was Nobel Prize laureate [[Jan Tinbergen]].<ref name="parlement"/>

[[File:Ministers van Financien van de landen van de EEG bijeen Amsterdamse stadhuis, aa, Bestanddeelnr 916-6620.jpg|thumb|left|220px|Minister of Finance Johan Witteveen and [[List of Finance Ministers of France|Minister of the Economy and Finance of France]] [[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]] during a [[European Economic Community]] meeting in [[Amsterdam]] on 20 July 1964.]]

== Career ==
Witteveen worked as an economist at the [[Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis]] under [[Jan Tinbergen]] and [[Fred Polak]] from 1947 until 1963. He is a member of the [[People's Party for Freedom and Democracy]] (VVD). He served as a [[Senate (Netherlands)|Senator]] from 23 December 1958 until 5 June 1963 and as a member of the [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|House of Representatives]] from 5 June 1963 until 24 July 1963.

He then became [[Ministry of Finance (Netherlands)|Minister of Finance]] in the [[Marijnen cabinet]] serving from 24 July 1963 until 14 April 1965. He then served as a Member of the House of Representatives again from 21 September 1965 until 5 April 1967, when he returned as Minister of Finance and [[Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands|Deputy Prime Minister]] serving from 5 April 1967 until 6 July 1971 in the [[De Jong cabinet]]. He again returned to the Senate, serving from 8 June 1971 until 1 September 1973.

Afterwards he became the Managing Director of the [[International Monetary Fund]], serving from 1 September 1973 until 18 June 1978. From 1978 to 1985 he was the first chairman of the Washington-based economics body, the [[Group of Thirty]].<ref>{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.xtimeline.com/evt/view.aspx?id=134185 Hendrikus becomes the fifth Managing Director] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718133323/http://www.xtimeline.com/evt/view.aspx?id=134185 |date=18 July 2011 }}, Xtimeline.com, 25 July 2012)</ref> He became member of the [[Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 1980.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.knaw.nl/nl/leden/leden/5026 |title=Johannes Witteveen |language=nl |publisher=[[Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences]] |access-date=1 July 2015 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304201518/https://www.knaw.nl/nl/leden/leden/5026 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Personal life ==
On 3 March 1949 Witteveen married Liesbeth de Vries Feijens (born 1 April 1920). They had four children, three sons, and one daughter. [[Willem Witteveen]] (1952–2014), Paul Witteveen (1955–1979), Raoul Witteveen and their daughter (born 1960). Liesbeth de Vries Feijens died on 25 November 2006 at the age of 86. His eldest son [[Willem Witteveen]] was also a politician, professor and author, he like his father had served in the [[Senate (Netherlands)|Senate]]. Willem Witteveen, his wife and daughter died on 17 July 2014 when [[Malaysia Airlines Flight 17]] was shot down over Ukraine. Witteveen was also a first cousin once removed of the in 2004 murdered filmmaker [[Theo van Gogh (film director)|Theo van Gogh]]. Witteveen died on 23 April 2019 in his home in [[Wassenaar]] at the age of {{Age in years and days|1921|06|12|2019|04|23}}.<ref>[https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/news-and-events/news/Professor-Witteveen-his-wife-and-student-daughter-killed-in-plane-crash-Ukraine/ Professor Witteveen, his wife and student daughter, killed in plane crash] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719204750/http://www.tilburguniversity.edu/news-and-events/news/Professor-Witteveen-his-wife-and-student-daughter-killed-in-plane-crash-Ukraine/ |date=19 July 2014 }}, [[Tilburg University]], 2014. Retrieved on 18 July 2014.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rtvutrecht.nl/nieuws/1908334/|title = Oud-minister van Financiën Witteveen overleden| date=25 April 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.trouw.nl/home/oud-minister-johan-witteveen-97-overleden-~af438586/|title=Oud-minister Johan Witteveen (97) overleden|date=25 April 2019}}</ref>

==Decorations==
{| class="wikitable" style="width:60%;"
|- style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;"
|+ Honours
|-
! style="width:80px;"| Ribbon bar !! Honour !! Country !! Date !! Comment
|-
| [[File:Legion Honneur GO ribbon.svg|80px]]
| [[Order (distinction)|Grand Officer]] of the [[Legion of Honour]]
| [[France]]
| 25 August 1964
| 
|-
| [[File:BEL Kroonorde Grootkruis BAR.svg|80px]] 
| [[Grand Cross]] of the [[Order of the Crown (Belgium)|Order of the Crown]]
| [[Belgium]]
| 1968
| 
|-
| [[File:Order of the British Empire (Civil) Ribbon.png|80px]]
| [[Order (distinction)|Honorary Knight Commander]] of the [[Order of the British Empire]]
| [[United Kingdom]]
| 1969
| 
|-
| [[File:Ordre de la couronne de Chene GC ribbon.svg|80px]]
| [[Grand Cross]] of the [[Order of the Oak Crown]]
| [[Luxembourg]]
| 1970
| 
|-
| [[File:Order of Orange-Nassau ribbon - Grand Officer.svg|80px]]
| [[Order (distinction)|Grand Officer]] of the [[Order of Orange-Nassau]]
| Netherlands
| 17 July 1971
| <small>Elevated from Commander (20 April 1965)</small>
|-
| [[File:GER Bundesverdienstkreuz 6 GrVK Stern Band.svg|80px]] 
| [[Grand Cross]] of the [[Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany|Order of Merit]]
| [[Germany]]
| 12 October 1977
| 
|-
| [[File:NLD Order of the Dutch Lion - Commander BAR.png|80px]]
| [[Order (distinction)|Commander]] of the [[Order of the Netherlands Lion]]
| Netherlands
| 25 April 1979
| 
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="width:60%;"
|+ Awards
|-
! style="width:80px;"| Ribbon bar !! Awards !! Organization !! Date !! Comment
|-
| 
| [[Four Freedoms Award]]
| [[Roosevelt Institute for American Studies|Roosevelt Institute for <br/> American Studies]]
| 1982
| 
|-
|}

==Honorary degrees==
{| class="wikitable" style="width:60%;"
|- style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;"
|+ [[Honorary degree]]s
|-
! University !! Field !! Country !! Date !! Comment
|-
| [[Erasmus University Rotterdam]]
| [[Economics]]
| Netherlands
| 1979
| 
|-
|}

== Bibliography ==

* {{Cite book |last=Witteveen |first=H.J. |title=The Heart of Sufism: Essential Writings of Hazrat Inayat Khan |date=March 2, 1999 |publisher=Shambhala Press |isbn=9781570624025 |language=English}}
* {{Cite book |last=Witteveen |first=H.J. |title=Universal Sufism |date=January 1, 1997 |publisher=Element Books Ltd |isbn=9781862040939 |language=English}}
* {{Cite book |last=Witteveen |first=H.J. |title=Sufism in Action: Achievement, Inspiration and Integrity in a Tough World |date=January 11, 2003 |publisher=Vega |isbn=9781843336938 |language=English}}
* {{Cite book |last=Witteveen |first=H.J. |title=Sufism in Action: Spiritualising the Economy |date=March 1, 2003 |publisher=Vega |isbn=978-1843336938 }}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{in lang|nl}} [https://www.parlement.com/id/vg09lld3f4za/h_j_johan_witteveen Dr. H.J. (Johan) Witteveen] Parlement & Politiek
* {{in lang|nl}} [https://www.eerstekamer.nl/persoon/dr_h_j_witteveen_vvd Dr. H.J. Witteveen (VVD)] Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Chair of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy#Vice Chairs|Vice Chairman of the <br/> People's Party for <br/> Freedom and Democracy]]|years=1963}} 
{{s-aft|after=Hans Roelen}}
{{s-off}}
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{{s-dip}}
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{{s-npo}}
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{{s-ttl|title=Chairman of the <br/> [[Supervisory board]] of the <br/> Helen Dowling Institute|years=1988–1994}} 
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{{s-aca}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[List of rectores magnifici of the Erasmus University Rotterdam|Rector Magnificus of the <br/> Erasmus University Rotterdam]]|years=1951–1952}} 
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{{s-ach|rec}}
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{{s-ttl|title=Oldest living former <br/> cabinet member|years=27 July 2016 – 23 April 2019}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Els Veder-Smit]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Gérard Mertens]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[States General of the Netherlands#Oldest living members of the States General|Oldest living former <br/> member of the <br/> States General]]|years=12 November 2018 – 23 April 2019}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Bart Hofman]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{IMF Managing Directors}}
{{Ministers of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands}}
{{Deputy Prime Ministers of the Netherlands}}
{{Ministers of Finance of the Netherlands}}
{{De Jong cabinet}}
{{Marijnen cabinet}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Witteveen, Johan}}
[[Category:1921 births]]
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[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)]]
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[[Category:Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Ināyati Sufis]]
[[Category:International economists]]
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[[Category:People's Party for Freedom and Democracy senators]]
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[[Category:Rectors of universities in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Vice Chairmen of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy]]
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[[Category:20th-century Dutch civil servants]]
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[[Category:20th-century Dutch male writers]]
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[[Category:21st-century Dutch male writers]]
[[Category:Dutch MPs 1967–1971]]