page_title: Wim van Eekelen
section_title: Career
hierarchical_section_title: Wim van Eekelen / Career
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Collectie / Archief&#160;: Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie&#160;: [ onbekend ] Beschrijving&#160;: Minister Van Eekelen (m) en Franse minister Girand inspecteren erewacht op het Plein in Den Haag Datum&#160;: 13 april 1987 Locatie&#160;: Den Haag, Zuid-Holland Trefwoorden&#160;: erewachten, ministers Persoonsnaam&#160;: Eekelen, Wim van Fotograaf&#160;: Bogaerts, Rob / Anefo Auteursrechthebbende&#160;: Nationaal Archief Materiaalsoort&#160;: Negatief (zwart/wit) Nummer archiefinventaris&#160;: bekijk toegang 2.24.01.05 Bestanddeelnummer&#160;: 933-9519
context_page_description: Willem Frederik "Wim" van Eekelen is a retired Dutch politician, diplomat, and political scientist.
context_section_description: Van Eekelen worked as Attaché in Accra, Ghana from November 1964 until October 1966 and as a senior attaché for the Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the European Union from October 1966 until May 1971 and as a Consul for the European Economic Community from May 1971 until August 1974. Van Eekelen worked as Director-General for the department of Atlantic Cooperation and Security Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from August 1974 until June 1977.
  Van Eekelen was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the election of 1977, taking office on 8 June 1977. Following the cabinet formation of 1977 Van Eekelen was appointed as State Secretary for Defence in the Cabinet Van Agt–Wiegel, taking office on 20 January 1978. After the election of 1981 Van Eekelen returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 25 August 1981. The Cabinet Van Agt–Wiegel was replaced by the Cabinet Van Agt II following the cabinet formation of 1981 on 11 September 1981. After the election of 1982 Van Eekelen was appointed State Secretary for Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet Lubbers I, taking office on 5 November 1982. After the election of 1986 Van Eekelen once again returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 3 June 1986. Following the cabinet formation of 1986 Van Eekelen was appointed as Minister of Defence in the Cabinet Lubbers II, taking office on 14 July 1986. On 6 September 1988 Van Eekelen resigned following the conclusions of a parliamentary inquiry report into a passport fraud investigation that was mishandled by him during the time he serves as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs in the previous cabinet, his successor as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs René van der Linden subsequently resigned on 9 September 1988.
  Van Eekelen remained active in national politics, in April 1989 he was nominated as Secretary General of the Western European Union, serving from 15 May 1989 until 15 November 1994. Van Eekelen was elected as a Member of the Senate after the Senate election of 1995, taking office on 13 June 1995 serving as a frontbencher chairing several parliamentary committees. In January 2003 Van Eekelen announced his retirement from national politics and that he wouldn't stand for the Senate election of 2003 and continued to serve until the end of the parliamentary term on 10 June 2003.
caption: Minister of Defence Wim van Eekelen and Minister of Defence of France André Giraud at the Ministry of Defence on 13 April 1987.
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