Joseph Luns

His mother's family originated from Alsace-Lorraine but had moved to Belgium after the annexation of the region by the German Empire in 1871.

His father, Huib Luns, was a versatile artist and a gifted educationalist who ended his career as professor of architectural drawing at the Delft University of Technology.

Luns received his secondary education in Amsterdam and Brussels.

He opted to become a commissioned officer of the Dutch Royal Navy but registered too late to be selected.

Joseph Marie Antoine Hubert Luns (28 August 1911 – 17 July 2002) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP), now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), diplomat, and jurist.

Luns attended Saint Ignatius Gymnasium in Amsterdam from April 1924 until June 1930.

He was conscripted in the Coastguard of the Royal Netherlands Navy serving as a warrant officer from June 1930 until July 1931.

He applied at the University of Amsterdam in July 1931 majoring in law before transferring to the Leiden University in November 1932, obtaining a Bachelor of Laws degree in June 1933 and graduating with a Master of Laws degree in July 1937.

Therefore, Luns decided to study law at Amsterdam University from 1932 to 1937.

Like his father, Luns demonstrated a preference for conservative and authoritarian political parties and an interest in international politics.

As a young student he positioned himself on the political right, favouring a strong authority for the state and being of the opinion that socialism, because of its idealistic ideology, had fostered the rise of fascism and nazism.

Luns joined the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (NSB) in 1933 and left three years later but when questioned about it in later years, never admitted that it might have been "a youthful misjudgment".

His choice for a diplomatic career was inspired by his father.

He applied at the London School of Economics of the University of London in January 1938 for a postgraduate education in economics, obtaining a Bachelor of Economics degree in June 1938.

He joined the Dutch Diplomatic Service in 1938 and, after a two-year assignment at the Private Office of the Foreign Minister, was appointed as attaché in Bern (Switzerland) in 1940.

In late 1941, he moved to Lisbon, Portugal.

In both countries, he was involved in assistance to Dutch refugees, political espionage and counterintelligence.

In 1943, he was transferred to the Dutch embassy in London.

Ambassador Edgar Michiels van Verduynen discovered Luns's great affinity for the political element in international affairs and entrusted him with important files on Germany, which Luns handled with great skill.

In 1949, Luns was appointed as deputy Dutch permanent representative to the United Nations.

He worked closely with his new chief, Von Balluseck, a political appointee without diplomatic experience.

After the Netherlands became a member of the Security Council, he temporarily chaired the Disarmament Commission.

Luns was sceptical of the importance of the United Nations for international peace, believing it at times to be more like a forum for propaganda than a centre for solving international conflicts.

Still, he thought that it was worthwhile to keep the UN in shape because it was the sole international organisation which offered opportunities for discussions between all states.

Because of the tenacity of the Dutch Catholic People's Party to occupy the Foreign Ministry after the 1952 elections, Luns entered Dutch politics as the favourite of its political leader Carl Romme.

His co-minister was Johan Beyen, an international banker not affiliated to any political party but the protégé of Queen Juliana.

The two ministers had a completely different style of operating and clashed repeatedly on policy even before the end of 1952.

However, they accommodated and avoided future conflicts by a very strict division of labour.

Luns was responsible for bilateral relations, Benelux and international organisations.

After the 1956 elections, Beyen left office and Luns stayed as Foreign Minister until 1971 in both centre-left and centre-right governments.

Bilateral relations with Indonesia and the Federal Republic of Germany, security policy and European integration were the most important issues during his tenure.

Atlantic co-operation was a fundamental aspect of Luns's foreign policy, and Dutch foreign policy in general.

Luns believed that Western Europe could not survive the Cold War without American nuclear security and so he promoted strong and intensified political and military co-operation in NATO.

Luns accepted American leadership of NATO as such but expected better co-operation between the United States States and its allies since, he thought that the United States too often acted independently of its allies, particularly in decolonisation issues.

Luns could also be critical of US foreign policy, and, in bilateral relations, he defended Dutch national interests strongly and expected American support in the bilateral difficulties with Indonesia.

He served as Secretary General of NATO from 1 October 1971 until 25 June 1984.

In September 1971 Luns was nominated as the next Secretary General of NATO.

He resigned as a Member of the House of Representatives the same day he was installed as secretary general, serving from 1 October 1971 to 25 June 1984.

He retired after 31 years in national politics and became active in the public sector, where he was a diplomat and lobbyist for several economic delegations on behalf of the government and as an advocate for United States–European Union relations and European integration.

Luns was born in a Roman Catholic, Francophile and artistic family.