Oral history interview with Jan Pronk, 2000

Biographical Note

Netherlands Minister of Development Cooperation and Housing and Minister of the Environment, Netherlands Parliamentary Member, Deputy Secretary United Nations Conference on Trade And Development, and Special Representative to Secretary General of Darfur

Scope and Contents

Born: 1940 Hague, Netherlands. Member of the Netherlands Youth Delegation to the Netherlands Youth Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Uppsala; Education: Economics University of Rotterdam University; PhD Economics University of Rotterdam. Career: Development economics research at University of Rotterdam, Spokesperson on development policy and issues in the Netherlands, Parliament Member for the Netherlands Labor Party, Minister of Development Cooperation and Housing, Deputy Secretary United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Co-Author of World of Difference and A World of Dispute, and Special Representative to Secretary General Darfur. Themes: World War II; Economist and former teacher Jan Tinburgen; Jan Tinburgen's research on optimal economic development in third world; interest in links between macroeconomics, politics, and peace; member of Dutch Reformed Protestant Church; The Netherland's role in humanitarian, gender, and development policy; Impact of European integration, Cold War, and decolonization on The Netherland's foreign policy; Indonesian independence; quantitative targets and development policy; Marshall Plan; Impact of Cold War on East-West relations, third world, and international development; UNCTAD experience; international civil service; adjustment programs; humanitarianism; UN global conferences; UN reform; and importance of non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

Subjects

• Cold War.
• Developing countries--Economic conditions.
• Economic development.
• Humanitarian assistance, Dutch.
• Indonesia--Foreign relations--Netherlands.
• Interviews
• Netherlands--Foreign relations--1948-
• Netherlands--Foreign relations--Indonesia.
• Netherlands--Politics and government--1945-
• Oral histories (literary works)
• Pronk, J. P. (Johannes Pieter), 1940---Interviews.
• United Nations--History.
• United Nations--Officials and employees--Interviews.
• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
• Weiss, Thomas G. (Thomas George), 1946- interviewer.

Access Conditions

Copyright by the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, 2006