Ruud Lubbers

His Excellency Ruud Lubbers
Lubbers in 1985
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
In office 4 November 1982 – 22 August 1994
Monarch	Beatrix
Deputy	Gijs van Aardenne (1982–1986) Rudolf de Korte (1986–1989) Wim Kok (1989–1994)
Preceded by	Dries van Agt
Succeeded by	Wim Kok
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
In office 1 January 2001 – 20 February 2005
Secretary-General	Kofi Annan
Preceded by	Sadako Ogata
Succeeded by	António Guterres
Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal
In office 25 October 1982 – 29 January 1994
Preceded by	Dries van Agt
Succeeded by	Elco Brinkman
Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives
In office 14 September 1989 – 7 November 1989
Preceded by	Bert de Vries
Succeeded by	Elco Brinkman
In office 3 June 1986 – 14 July 1986
Preceded by	Bert de Vries
Succeeded by	Bert de Vries
In office 24 August 1981 – 4 November 1982
Preceded by	Dries van Agt
Succeeded by	Bert de Vries
In office 7 November 1978 – 10 June 1981
Preceded by	Willem Aantjes
Succeeded by	Dries van Agt
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 14 September 1989 – 7 November 1989
In office 3 June 1986 – 14 July 1986
In office 22 December 1977 – 4 November 1982
In office 8 June 1977 – 8 September 1977
Minister of Economic Affairs
In office 11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977
Prime Minister	Joop den Uyl
Preceded by	Harrie Langman
Succeeded by	Gijs van Aardenne
Personal details
Born	Rudolphus Franciscus Marie Lubbers (1939-05-07)7 May 1939 Rotterdam, Netherlands
Died	14 February 2018(2018-02-14) (aged 78) Rotterdam, Netherlands
Political party	Christian Democratic Appeal (from 1980)
Other political affiliations	Catholic People's Party (1964–1980)
Spouse	Ria Hoogeweegen ​ (m. 1962)​
Children	3
Alma mater	Rotterdam School of Economics (BEc, M.Econ)
Occupation	Activist · businessperson · conservationist · corporate executive · diplomat · economist · nonprofit executive · lobbyist · politician · professor
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Netherlands
Branch/service	Royal Netherlands Air Force
Years of service	1962–1963 (Conscription) 1963–1969 (Reserve)
Rank	Second lieutenant
Battles/wars	Cold War

Rudolphus Franciscus Marie "Ruud" Lubbers (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈryt ˈlʏbərs] ^ⓘ; 7 May 1939 – 14 February 2018) was a Dutch politician, diplomat and businessman who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1982 to 1994, and as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 2001 to 2005.^[1] He was a member of the Catholic People's Party (KVP), which later merged to become the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party.

Lubbers studied Economics at the Erasmus School of Economics obtaining a Master of Science degree and worked as a corporate director for the manufacturing company Hollandia in Rotterdam from April 1963 until May 1973 and as trade association executive for the Christian Employers' Association (NCW) from January 1965 until May 1973. After the election of 1972 Lubbers was appointed as Minister of Economic Affairs in the Cabinet Den Uyl taking office on 11 May 1973. Lubbers was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the election of 1977 serving from 8 June 1977 until 8 September 1977. Following the cabinet formation of 1977 Lubbers was asked to become Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning in the new cabinet but declined and returned as a Member of the House of Representatives on 22 December 1977, serving as a frontbencher and spokesperson for Economic Affairs. Following the resignation of Parliamentary leader Willem Aantjes Lubbers was selected as his successor taking office on 7 November 1978.

Shortly after the election of 1982 incumbent prime minister and Leader Dries van Agt unexpectedly announced he was stepping down and Lubbers was unanimously selected as his successor as Leader and the de facto next prime minister. Following cabinet formation of 1982 Lubbers formed the Cabinet Lubbers I and became Prime Minister of the Netherlands taking office on 4 November 1982. For the election of 1986 Lubbers served as Lijsttrekker (top candidate) and after a cabinet formation formed the Cabinet Lubbers II and continued as prime minister for a second term. For the election of 1989 Lubbers again served as Lijsttrekker and following another successful cabinet formation formed the Cabinet Lubbers III and continued as prime minister for a third term. In October 1993 Lubbers announced he was stepping down as Leader, and that he would not stand at the election of 1994 or serve another term as prime minister. He left office at the installation of the Cabinet Kok I on 22 August 1994.

Lubbers semi-retired from active politics and became active in the public sector as a non-profit director and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government, he also served as a distinguished visiting professor of international relations and globalization at the Tilburg University and the John F. Kennedy School of Government of the Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts from February 1995 until December 2000. In November 2000 Lubbers was nominated as the next United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees serving from 1 January 2001 until 20 February 2005. Following his retirement Lubbers continued to be active in the public sector and worked as an advocate, lobbyist and activist for humanitarian, conservation, environmentalism, sustainable development and climate change issues. He was subject to some scrutiny, such as a sexual harassment scandal in 2004 which led to his resignation from the United Nations.

Lubbers was known for his abilities as a team leader and consensus builder. During his premiership, his cabinets were responsible for major reforms to social security, stimulating privatization and sustainable development, revitalizing the economy following the recession in the 1980s and reducing the deficit. Lubbers was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 31 January 1995 and continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until his death at the age of 78. At 43 years, he is the youngest Prime Minister of the Netherlands. He was the longest-serving Prime Minister with 11 years, 291 days until Mark Rutte overtook this record on 2 August 2022. He is consistently ranked both by scholars and the public as one of the best prime ministers after World War II.^[2][3]