Ben Bot

Ben Bot
Ben Bot
	Bot in 2007
Minister of Foreign Affairs
	In office; 3 December 2003 – 22 February 2007
Prime Minister	Jan Peter Balkenende
Preceded by	Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
Succeeded by	Maxime Verhagen
Permanent Representative of the ; Netherlands to the European Union
	In office; 1 October 1992 – 1 January 2003
Preceded by	Unknown
Succeeded by	Tom de Bruijn
Ambassador of the Netherlands ; to Turkey
	In office; 1 January 1986 – 1 January 1989
Preceded by	Unknown
Succeeded by	Unknown
Deputy Permanent Representative ; of the Netherlands to NATO
	In office; 1 January 1982 – 1 January 1986
Preceded by	Unknown
Succeeded by	Unknown
Ambassador of the Netherlands ; to East Germany
	In office; 30 January 1973 – 15 December 1976
Preceded by	New title
Succeeded by	Unknown
Personal details
Born	Bernard Rudolf Bot; 21 November 1937 (age 86); Batavia, Dutch East Indies
Nationality	Dutch
Political party	Christian Democratic Appeal ; (from 1980)
Other political; affiliations	Catholic People's Party ; (until 1980)
Domestic partner(s)	Sybilla Dekker ; (since 2008)
Children	3 children
Parent	Theo Bot (father);
Residence(s)	The Hague, Netherlands
Alma mater	Leiden University ; (Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws, Doctor of Philosophy) ; Harvard University ; (Juris Doctor, Master of Laws)
Occupation	Politician; diplomat; civil servant; nonprofit director; lobbyist;

Bernard Rudolf "Ben" Bot (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈbɛrnɑrt ˈrydɔl(ə)v bɛm ˈbɔt]; born 21 November 1937) is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2007 in the second and third cabinet of Jan Peter Balkenende. A career ambassador, he succeeded then-Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaap de Hoop Scheffer who resigned to become Secretary General of NATO.^[2]^[3]

Early life and education

Bot was born in Batavia, Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta, Indonesia). The son of Theo Bot who served as Minister of Education, Culture and Science and Minister for Development Cooperation. He studied at the Leiden University where he earned an L.L.M. and a Ph.D. degree in law, and attended subsequently The Hague Academy of International Law and Harvard Law School (Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States) where he received a second L.L.M. degree from the latter.

Politics

He served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1963 to 2002, including postings at the Permanent Representation of the Netherlands to the European Community from 1964 to 1970, the Netherlands embassy in Buenos Aires to 1973, and at the embassy in former East-Berlin in the DDR. In the period 1976-1982 he worked in the Netherlands for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague, after which he was Deputy Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels.

From 1986 to 1989, Bot was Ambassador of the Netherlands to Turkey.^[4] He served as Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague until 1992, when he was appointed as Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the European Union in Brussels. He held that post for an unusually long period of 10 years.

On 3 December 2003, Bot succeeded former NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the second Balkenende cabinet. Bot is a member of the Christen Democratisch Appèl (CDA) party. In February 2007 he was succeeded as foreign minister by Maxime Verhagen in the fourth Balkenende cabinet. Currently, Bot is a partner of the Praaning Meines Consultancy Group and holds various public posts including President of the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy^[4] and Chairman of the Board of the Clingendael Institute in The Hague.

Political positions

Bot voiced concern over the 2006 Lebanon War. Bot has expressed "understanding for Israel's reaction" but said "it would be hard to support Israel in case there will be many civilian casualties".^[5]

Bot was interviewed by the NRC Handelsblad newspaper in December 2007, where he reiterated his 2005 position that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was a mistake, and that he had to "redress" his comment in 2005 after heavy pressure from prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende. In response, Balkenende said that he would have asked Bot to step down if he did not revise his position at the time.

Other activities

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Ex-Officio Alternate Member of the Board of Governors (2003-2007)^[6]

Decorations

Ribbon bar	Honour	Country	Date	Comment
Honours
	Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau	Netherlands	10 December 1985	^[4]
	Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion	Netherlands	30 April 1993	^[4]
	Silver Medal of Honor of the Order of the Three Stars	Latvia	2008
	Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit	Poland	29 June 2012	^[7]

References

^ (in Dutch) Bernard Bot Archived August 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Meines & Partners, 20 May 2012
^ (in Dutch) Bot vervangt De Hoop Scheffer begin december Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, De Volkskrant, 30 September 2003
^ (in Dutch) Ben Bot (65) nieuwe minister op BZ Archived December 29, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Trouw, 30 September 2003
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d nimd.org, Profile Ben Bot
^ "Bot: Israël moet burgers ontzien". 16 July 2006. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
^ 2005 Annual Report^{[permanent dead link]} European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
^ (in Dutch) Voormalig minister Bernard Bot onderscheiden met de Orde van Verdienste van de Republiek Polen, Meines & Partners, 29 June 2012

External links

Official

(in Dutch) Dr. B.R. (Ben) Bot Parlement & Politiek

Political offices
Preceded by Jaap de Hoop Scheffer	Minister of Foreign Affairs 2003–2007	Succeeded by Maxime Verhagen
Civic offices
Preceded by Eduard Jacobs	Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1988–1991	Succeeded by Dirk van den Berg
Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by Jos van Kemenade	Chairman of the Institute for Multiparty Democracy 2007–2018	Succeeded by Eimert van Middelkoop
Preceded by Hans van den Broek	Chairman of the Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael 2007–2015	Succeeded by Paul van der Heijden
	Chairman of the Netherlands Carnegie Foundation 2007–present	Incumbent
	Chairman of Radio Netherlands Worldwide 2008–2016	Succeeded by Theo Huibers

[1] (in Dutch) Bernard Bot Archived August 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Meines & Partners, 20 May 2012

[2] (in Dutch) Bot vervangt De Hoop Scheffer begin december Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, De Volkskrant, 30 September 2003

[3] (in Dutch) Ben Bot (65) nieuwe minister op BZ Archived December 29, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Trouw, 30 September 2003

[nimd-4] .org, Profile Ben Bot

[5] "Bot: Israël moet burgers ontzien". 16 July 2006. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.

[6] 2005 Annual Report^{[permanent dead link]} European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

[7] (in Dutch) Voormalig minister Bernard Bot onderscheiden met de Orde van Verdienste van de Republiek Polen, Meines & Partners, 29 June 2012

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v t e Third Balkenende cabinet (2006–2007)
Preceded by: Second Balkenende cabinet Succeeded by: Fourth Balkenende cabinet
Prime Minister	Jan Peter Balkenende (General Affairs)
Deputy Prime Minister	Gerrit Zalm (Finance)
Ministers	Johan Remkes (Interior) Ben Bot (Foreign Affairs) Piet Hein Donner (Justice) (2006) Rita Verdonk (Justice) (ad interim) Ernst Hirsch Ballin (Justice) (from 2006) Joop Wijn (Economic Affairs) Henk Kamp (Defence) Hans Hoogervorst (Health, Welfare and Sport) Maria van der Hoeven (Education, Culture and Science) Karla Peijs (Transport, Public Works and Water Management) Cees Veerman (Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality) Aart Jan de Geus (Social Affairs and Employment) Sybilla Dekker (Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment) (2006) Pieter Winsemius (Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment) (from 2006)
Ministers without portfolio	Rita Verdonk (Integration and Immigration) Atzo Nicolaï (Government Reform and Kingdom Relations) Agnes van Ardenne (Development Cooperation)
State secretaries	Karien van Gennip (Economic Affairs) Cees van der Knaap (Defence) Clémence Ross-van Dorp (Health, Welfare and Sport) Bruno Bruins (Education, Culture and Science) Melanie Schultz van Haegen (Transport, Public Works and Water Management) Henk van Hoof (Social Affairs and Employment) Pieter van Geel (Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment)

v t e Second Balkenende cabinet (2003–2006)
^{Preceded by: First Balkenende cabinet · Succeeded by: Third Balkenende cabinet}
Prime Minister	Jan Peter Balkenende (General Affairs)
Deputy Prime Ministers	Gerrit Zalm (Finance) Thom de Graaf (Government Reform and Kingdom Relations) (2003–2005) Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (Economic Affairs) (2005–2006)
Ministers	Johan Remkes (Interior) Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (Foreign Affairs) (2003) Ben Bot (Foreign Affairs) (from 2003) Piet Hein Donner (Justice) Gerrit Zalm (Economic Affairs) (ad interim) Henk Kamp (Defence) Hans Hoogervorst (Health, Welfare and Sport) Maria van der Hoeven (Education, Culture and Science) Karla Peijs (Transport, Public Works and Water Management) Cees Veerman (Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality) Aart Jan de Geus (Social Affairs and Employment) Sybilla Dekker (Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment)
Ministers without portfolio	Rita Verdonk (Integration and Immigration) Agnes van Ardenne (Development Cooperation) Alexander Pechtold (Government Reform and Kingdom Relations) (2005–2006)
State secretaries	Atzo Nicolaï (Foreign Affairs) Joop Wijn (Finance) Karien van Gennip (Economic Affairs) Cees van der Knaap (Defence) Annette Nijs (Education, Culture and Science) (2003–2004) Medy van der Laan (Education, Culture and Science) Mark Rutte (Education, Culture and Science) (2004–2006) Bruno Bruins (Education, Culture and Science) (from 2006) Clémence Ross-van Dorp (Health, Welfare and Sport) Melanie Schultz van Haegen (Transport, Public Works and Water Management) Mark Rutte (Social Affairs and Employment) (2003–2004) Henk van Hoof (Social Affairs and Employment) (from 2004) Pieter van Geel (Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment)

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