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Baron Berend-Jan Marie van Voorst tot Voorst (7 February 1944 – 6 November 2023) was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist.[1]

Van Voorst tot Voorst worked as a civil servant for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from July 1968 until September 1972 and as a diplomat for the Directorate-General for External Relations of the European Commission in Brussels from September 1972 until May 1985. Van Voorst tot Voorst worked as a civil servant for the Ministry of Economic Affairs as Director-General of the department for Foreign Trade from May 1985 until September 1988. Van Voorst tot Voorst was appointed State Secretary for Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet Lubbers II following the resignation of René van der Linden, taking office on 27 September 1988. Van Voorst tot Voorst was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the election of 1989, taking office on 14 September 1989. Following the cabinet formation of 1989 Van Voorst tot Voorst was appointed State Secretary for Defence in the Cabinet Lubbers III, taking office on 7 November 1989.

In June 1993 Van Voorst tot Voorst was nominated as Queen's Commissioner of Limburg, he resigned as a State Secretary on 1 June 1993 and was installed as Queen's Commissioner, serving from 1 July 1993 until 1 July 2005.

Personal life

Berend-Jan van Voorst tot Voorst had his secondary education in Tilburg and studied law at the Catholic University of Nijmegen and politics as well as science at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.[1]

Van Voorst tot Voorst was married and had three daughters. He died on 6 November 2023, at the age of 79.[2]

Decorations

Honours
Ribbon bar Honour Country Date Comment
Commander of the Order of Leopold II Belgium 15 May 1989
Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau Netherlands 25 June 1993
Knight Commander of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Holy See 16 April 1996 Elevated from Knight (19 July 1989)
Grand Officer of the Order of the Oak Crown Luxembourg 12 December 1996
Knight Commander of the
Order of St. Gregory the Great
Holy See 18 September 1998
Grand Cross of the Order pro Merito Melitensi Sovereign Military Order of Malta 1 January 2002
Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Netherlands 1 July 2005
Commander of the Legion of Honour France 25 November 2005

References

  1. ^ a b "Mr. B.J.M. (Berend-Jan) baron van Voorst tot Voorst" (in Dutch). Parliamentary Documentation Centre (PDC). Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  2. ^ "Oud-gouverneur Van Voorst tot Voorst (79) overleden" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Omroep Stichting. 8 November 2023. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023.

External links

Official
Political offices
Preceded by State Secretary for Foreign Affairs
1988–1989
Succeeded by
Preceded by State Secretary for Defence
1989–1993
Succeeded by
Preceded by Queen's Commissioner of Limburg
1993–2005
Succeeded by
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