Johannes Pieter "Jan" Pronk Jr. (Dutch pronunciation:[jɑmˈprɔŋk]; born 16 March 1940) is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat of the Labour Party (PvdA) and activist.
Pronk retired from active politics at 66 and became active in the public sector as a non-profit director and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government. Following his retirement Pronk continued to be active as an advocate and activist for human rights, the anti-war movement, social justice and for more European integration. Pronk is known for his abilities as a skilful negotiator and effective debater and continues to comment on political affairs as of 2025. He holds the distinction of as the second longest-serving cabinet member since 1850 with 17 years, 114 days.
Early life
Jan Pronk was born in Scheveningen in the Netherlands on 16 March 1940.[1] He is the son of Johannes Pieter Pronk Sr. (1909–2005) and Elisabeth Hendrika van Geel, who were both school teachers at the Protestant elementary school Koningin Emmaschool in Scheveningen.[2] Jan Pronk attended the Koningin Emmaschool for three years. He attended the Protestant secondary school Zandvliet Lyceum in The Hague, where he graduated the gymnasium in 1958 with a curriculum that focused on exact sciences.[1]
Jan Pronk continued to study economics at the Netherlands School of Economics (currently Erasmus University Rotterdam, Erasmus School of Economics) in Rotterdam, graduating in 1964.[1] As a student, he worked as a guide on the Henri Dunant, the Dutch Red Cross's holiday ship for the disabled.[3] He was a member of the Christian-Historical Youth Organisation, the youth organisation of the conservative Protestant Christian Historical Union party and president of the Protestant fraternity S.S.R.[1]
In 1965 Pronk became research assistant of professor Jan Tinbergen, the future Nobel Prize laureate, at the Centre for Development Planning and later he became associate professor at the Dutch Economic Institute.[1] In this period he also became an active member of the social democratic Labour Party (PvdA), between 1966 and 1971 he was chairman of the Krimpen aan de Lek branch of the party. He became active in the development cooperation movement, serving as chairman of the "X-Y" movement: an alternative Dutch development cooperation fund.[1]
Politics
Netherlands (1971–1977)
In 1971 Pronk was elected to the House of Representatives for the Labour Party.[1] He was shadow minister for development cooperation in the left-wing shadow cabinet of PvdA, D'66 and PPR.[1] He served secretary of the Mansholt committee, a committee of these three parties on the implications of the Limits to Growth report for the Netherlands.[1] He was re-elected in 1972. In 1973 he became Minister of Development Cooperation in the cabinet Den Uyl.[1] He changed the development cooperation policy of the Netherlands, giving it a political goal: the equal distribution of power and wealth in the world. The development cooperation policy became oriented towards the New International Economic Order, in which developing countries would become self-reliant.[1] In 1975 1,5% of the domestic product was spent on development aid. His proposal to include communist states as Cuba and North Yemen as recipient countries of Dutch development aid, led to some controversy, but he put his proposal through.[1] His policy supported liberation movement in Southern Africa.[1] His left-wing policy put him at odds with the more moderate PvdA Minister of Foreign AffairsMax van der Stoel.[1] As Minister for Development Cooperation, Pronk held several prominent positions in international organizations: between 1973 and 1977 he was Deputy Governor of the World Bank.[4] Because of his many international travels, he often fell asleep at Cabinet meetings, which lasted until very late in the night.[1]
In 1977 he returned to Parliament. He combined this period in Parliament with several posts in the world of development cooperation: in 1979 he also became Professor of International Development at the Institute of Social Studies; he was a member of the committee "Church Participation in Development" of the World Council of Churches and of the Councils Commission of Advisors on Economic Affairs; he was a member of the International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems of UNESCO; and in the Netherlands he was member of the Council for Government and Social Affairs of the Dutch Reformed Church.[4] In 1978 he became Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.[1] In 1980 he left Parliament to become Assistant Secretary-General of the UNCTAD.[4] In 1985 he was Assistant UN Secretary-General.[4]
Return to the Netherlands (1986–2002)
Pronk was re-elected to Parliament in 1986. In 1987 he was elected vice-chair of the PvdA, after first considering running for chair.[1] In 1987 he was co-writer of the report "Moving Panels" in which the PvdA moderated its policies.[1] In 1989 he combined his work as MP with a position as professor at the University of Amsterdam, where he occupied the "Joop den Uyl chair", created by the scientific foundation of the PvdA.[1] Although he was originally asked to become Minister of Defence, he returned to the post of development cooperation in the third Lubbers cabinet in 1989.[1] During his period as Minister for Development Cooperation he sought to combine economic and social development, with environmental protection. As Minister for Development Cooperation he again became deputy governor of the World Bank. In 1992 his criticism of Indonesian government's record on human rights, caused the Indonesian government to refuse development aid from the Netherlands and to conclude the long-standing international aid coordination arrangements, chaired by the Netherlands, which had been maintained since the late 1960 through the Inter-Governmental Group on Indonesia.[1] In 1993 he was asked to become Deputy UN Secretary-General, but he declined.[1] After the 1994 elections he remained Minister for Development Cooperation, now in the first Kok cabinet.
In 1998 he again became a minister in the second cabinet Kok but he switched to Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment.[1] During this period he focused on sustainable development. In 2000 a fire works depot exploded in the neighbourhood of Enschede. As minister he was responsible for this event, although there was considerable controversy surrounding the disaster he did not step down.[1] In 2000 he was the Dutch candidate for the post of High Commissioner for Refugees, a post which was taken by another Dutchman, former prime minister Ruud Lubbers.[1] In 2000 and 2001 he chaired the UN climate conference, where parties agreed upon a compliance mechanism for the Kyoto protocol for the reduction of greenhouse gases.[1] In 2002 when the report on the Dutch involvement in the Srebrenica massacre was published, it became clear that the Dutchbat peacekeeping force had been unable to prevent the massacre. On 10 April Pronk announced that he would step down as minister because he felt politically responsible.[1] On April 16, the entire second Kok cabinet stepped down. In 2002 the Labour Party lost half its seats; Pronk was re-elected to Parliament, but he refused the position because he wanted new faces to enter Parliament.[1] In December 2002, he became Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau.[4]
In 2003 he returned to the Institute of Social Studies as professor theory and practice of development cooperation. Pronk still holds several posts in Dutch civil society. In 2004 he came into conflict with minister Verdonk (Migration & Integration), because he characterized the way she sent asylum seekers out of the country as "deportation".
In June 2004 Pronk was appointed UN Special Representative for Sudan by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan
On September 21, 2006, Pronk asked the warring parties in Darfur, including President Omar al-Bashir and the seven rebel movements, to observe a "month of tranquility" during Ramadan, which would begin September 23, 2006. His implicit call for a ceasefire in the western region of Sudan came after the Khartoum government withdrew its ultimatum for African Union peacekeepers to pull out. Other African states then agreed to extend their mandate until the end of 2006. By Pronk's request, they would finish the collision course, which would mean no fighting, no bombing, no changes of heart. Such a lull would help "create an atmosphere" for a new round of negotiations. The peace deal was "in a coma": not dead but dying. In addition the rejectionist factions should end the quarrel to start talking about everything related to the Darfur peace agreement to improve it.[5]
In mid-October 2006, the army of Sudan accused Pronk of "waging psychological warfare on the armed forces" and demanded his deportation after Pronk published thoughts on army military defeats in his weblog.[6] On 22 October, the Sudanese government gave Pronk three days' notice to leave the country.[7] He left Sudan the next day (October 23) when UN Secretary General Kofi Annan recalled him to New York for consultations.[8] On October 27 the UN Security Council and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan announce that Pronk will serve out his last months as Special Representative of the Secretary-general in Sudan.[9]
Pronk's story roughly parallels that of Mukesh Kapila, a previous UN employee who was forced to leave Sudan after making critical comments about the Darfur conflict.
Labour Party (2007–2013)
Jan Pronk was a candidate for the election of the chairman of the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA). As a candidate he wanted the party to return to a more left-wing course. He lost the election, between 16 and 23 September 2007, to Lilianne Ploumen.[10]
On 28 May 2013, Jan Pronk publicly announced he was ending his membership of the Labour Party.[11]
Public perception
During his political life, Pronk was known as principled politician. Prime MinisterKok called him the "Minister for the national conscience".[12] Because he was minister for over 17 years, he came to be known as "minister by profession".
Pronk is married to Tineke Zuurmond. They have two grown children, a daughter Carin and a son Rochus.[15] In 1984 Pronk gave up alcohol in one day and became an avid runner.[16]
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