Name Pieter Kooijmans | ||
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Died February 13, 2013, Wassenaar, Netherlands Books How to Handle the Grotian Heritage: Grotius and Van Vollenhoven Similar People Eduardo Serra Rexach, Earle McCurdy, Antonio Guterres, Brian Tobin, Jean Puech | ||
Pieter Hendrik "Peter" Kooijmans ( [ˈpitər ˈɦɛndrɪk ˈpeːtər ˈkoːimɑns]; 6 July 1933 – 13 February 2013) was a Dutch jurist, politician and diplomat. He was a member of the Anti Revolutionary Party and later a member of its successor party the Christian Democratic Appeal. He was State Secretary and later Minister of Foreign Affairs (1973–1977 and 1993–1994). In between these periods of office he worked for the UN as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, (1985–1993). He served as a Judge on the International Court of Justice (1997–2006).
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Early life and education
Pieter Hendrik Kooijmans was born on 6 July 1933 in Heemstede in the Netherlands. His father was Johannes Kooijmans, an engineer and a member of the city council of Heemstede, and his mother was Alida Jonker.
Kooijmans went to the secondary school Eerste Christelijk Lyceum in Haarlem, where he followed the gymnasium program in humanities. In 1951, he started his studies economics and Dutch law at the Free University in Amsterdam. He received his candidate degree in economics (Bachelor of Economics) in 1955 and his master's degree in law (Master of Law) cum laude in 1957. He obtained his doctorate in constitutional law (Doctor of Law) with his dissertation The doctrine of the legal equality of states; an inquiry into the foundations of international law at the Free University in 1964.
Academic and political career
Following graduation, he joined the University's faculty as Professor of Public International Law and European Law, serving from 1965 to 1973.
He joined the Dutch Foreign Ministry, as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs from 1973 to 1977. In 1976 and again in 1991, he served as a Lecturer at the Hague Academy of International Law. From 1978 to 1992, he served as a Professor of Public International Law at the University of Leiden. From 1993 to 1994, he served as Foreign Minister of the Netherlands, succeeding Hans van den Broek. In 1995, he returned to his former position as Professor of Public International Law at the University of Leiden, serving until his appointment to the International Court of Justice.
On 13 July 2007, Kooijmans was appointed as Minister of State by the Cabinet of the Netherlands, and served in that post until his death at the age of 79 of undisclosed causes on 13 February 2013.
On 5 February 2014, Kooijmans' alma mater, the Vrije Universiteit started the Kooijmans institute.