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Dries van Agt, a Dutch politician and former prime minister of the Netherlands who grew to become a pro-Palestinian activist later in life, died on Feb. 5 in his hometown, Nijmegen. He was 93.
He died “hand in hand” along with his spouse, Eugenie, additionally 93, in a joint act of euthanasia, in line with The Rights Discussion board, a corporation he based that’s devoted to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian battle.
The announcement of the couple’s euthanasia was a shock to many individuals who knew Mr. van Agt in addition to to Dutch society as an entire, mentioned Gerard Jonkman, the director of the Rights Discussion board.
In 2019, Mr. van Agt had a stroke, which brought about him to lose a few of his schools, Mr. Jonkman mentioned. “He was in a foul bodily situation towards the tip,” he added. “That was very tough for him.”
Mr. van Agt was prime minister from 1977 to 1982 as a conservative member of the centrist Christian Democratic Attraction social gathering. He did advance some progressive legal guidelines, nevertheless, taking part in a vital position, for instance, within the decriminalization of using hashish. He continued to maneuver towards the political left later in life.
Mr. van Agt entered Dutch politics as a legislation professor after being approached to turn into justice minister underneath Prime Minister Barend Biesheuvel. “It began as a whole shock,” he mentioned in a 2015 interview with the Dutch public broadcaster that was aired posthumously. “As a result of by no means did I believe that I might, that I might, turn into one thing like that.”
His political life was not with out strife. He clashed with the Dutch parliament in 1972, when, as justice minister, he wished to pardon three Germans who had been serving life sentences in jail after being convicted of battle crimes in World Warfare II.
His reasoning, that the previous males would not be a threat to society and that their imprisonment not served a objective, confronted sturdy opposition, prompting loss of life threats and protests, and Mr. van Agt dropped the thought. (One of many males later died in jail; the opposite two had been pardoned within the late Nineteen Eighties.)
Within the early summer season of 1977, Mr. van Agt, who was nonetheless justice minister on the time, confronted one other problem when a practice was hijacked by South Moluccans, members of a giant exile group within the Netherlands initially from a former Dutch Pacific island colony. Dutch marines ended the standoff by storming the practice, killing six hijackers and two of their greater than 50 hostages.
In 2014, a authorities report questioning the raid’s violent finish and Mr. van Agt’s dealing with of the disaster concluded that three of the hijackers who had been shot and killed by marines had been unarmed, in line with the Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant.
Mr. van Agt’s authorities collapsed in 1982, and a brand new authorities was fashioned. He continued to be a member of Parliament for his social gathering. He left Dutch politics in 1987 to turn into the European Union’s ambassador to Japan. He additionally went again to instructing.
Dries van Agt was born Andreas Antonius Maria van Agt on Feb. 2, 1931, in Geldrop, the Netherlands. His father was a textile producer. Mr. van Agt studied legislation on the Catholic College of Nijmegen (now Radboud College Nijmegen).
Whereas Mr. van Agt had expressed help for Israel as prime minister, he started advocating for Palestinian rights after a go to to Israel in 1999, which he referred to as a “conversion” expertise, in line with The Related Press.
He based the Rights Discussion board in 2009 and was its chairman till 2015. In 2021, Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, granted Mr. van Agt a excessive Palestinian distinction, the Grand Star within the Order of Jerusalem.
Mr. van Agt is survived by his kids, Eugenie, Frans and Caroline van Agt, in addition to grandchildren.
Mr. van Agt and his spouse had been married for 65 years. However “he had numerous remorse that in his time as minister and prime minister he spent numerous time away from his youngsters,” Mr. Jonkman mentioned.
Mr. van Agt later took a lot pleasure in his grandchildren, certainly one of whom grew to become an expert bicycle owner, a ardour of his, Mr. Jonkman mentioned. Certainly, he added, Mr. van Agt liked biking a lot that he as soon as left talks to kind a brand new authorities within the Seventies to attend the Tour de France.
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