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| Piet Dankert | |
|---|---|
| Name | Piet Dankert |
| Birth date | 8 January 1934 |
| Birth place | Stiens, Netherlands |
| Death date | 21 June 2003 |
| Death place | Perpignan, France |
| Occupation | Politician, diplomat |
| Party | Labour Party (PvdA) |
| Offices | Member of the House of Representatives; Member of the European Parliament; President of the European Parliament; State Secretary for Foreign Affairs |
Piet Dankert
Piet Dankert was a Dutch politician and diplomat known for his long service with the Labour Party and his leadership in European institutions during the late 20th century. He served in the Dutch House of Representatives, held executive office as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and was President of the European Parliament at a pivotal moment for European integration and enlargement debates. Dankert's career intersected with key actors and institutions across the European Economic Community, Council of Europe, and multilateral diplomacy.
Born in Stiens in the province of Friesland, Dankert grew up in a Friesland social and cultural milieu shaped by figures such as Eeltsje Boates Folkertsma and regional movements. He studied at institutions influenced by Dutch postwar reconstruction efforts, undertaking higher education in fields that connected him to networks including the University of Groningen and academic circles that produced statesmen like Joop den Uyl and Dries van Agt. His formative years coincided with the implementation of the Marshall Plan in the Netherlands and the founding of early European cooperation frameworks such as the Benelux Customs Union and the Council of Europe, which informed his pro-European orientation.
Dankert entered national politics through the Labour Party (Netherlands), aligning with contemporaries including Wim Kok, Joop den Uyl, and Erkki Tuomioja-era social-democratic currents. He was elected to the House of Representatives, where he participated in debates on foreign policy alongside members like Max van der Stoel and Piet van der Molen. In the early 1970s he served as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs in cabinets that dealt with NATO-related questions involving NATO and Cold War diplomacy with actors such as Henry Kissinger and Andrei Gromyko, and with multilateral forums including the United Nations General Assembly.
Dankert’s Dutch parliamentary work paralleled developments in European institutions: the negotiation of the European Monetary System, the first expansions of the European Communities, and debates that engaged leaders like Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, Helmut Schmidt, and François Mitterrand. He was noted for coalition-building strategies familiar to Dutch politics and for engaging with international law themes found in the work of the International Court of Justice and the Hague Conference on Private International Law.
Elected to the European Parliament as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Dankert rose to become President of the Parliament during a period of institutional reforms and treaty discussions including the lead-up to the Maastricht Treaty. His presidency involved navigating interactions with the European Commission leadership of figures like Jacques Delors and coordinating with national leaders such as Margaret Thatcher and Ruud Lubbers over subsidiarity and single market issues. Dankert chaired plenary sessions that addressed enlargement prospects for Spain, Portugal, and later discussions relevant to Central and Eastern Europe after the end of the Cold War.
During his term he worked closely with parliamentary groups and committee chairs drawn from the Party of European Socialists, the European People's Party, and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party, fostering cross-party dialogue on social policy, human rights, and external relations with entities such as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. His presidency contributed to strengthening the Parliament’s role in budgetary oversight and in shaping the collegial dynamics between the Parliament and the Council of the European Union.
After leaving the Parliament presidency, Dankert continued as an MEP and later returned to roles involving diplomacy and advisory work. He engaged with think tanks and institutions such as the Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael and advised on enlargement processes involving the European Commission and delegations in accession dialogues with candidate states like Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. Dankert also undertook assignments with intergovernmental bodies including the Council of Europe and contributed to parliamentary cooperation initiatives with the OSCE and the United Nations.
He provided counsel to Dutch and European social-democratic networks, interacting with leaders from the Socialist International, the Party of European Socialists, and national parties including PSOE (Spain), SPÖ, and SPD. Dankert’s later years included engagement in cultural diplomacy in regions such as Catalonia and relations with Mediterranean partners involved in dialogues hosted by the Union for the Mediterranean framework.
Dankert was known for advocating a pro-European social-democratic orientation, emphasizing cohesion policies and enlargement that would incorporate democratic standards promoted by institutions like the European Court of Human Rights and the International Criminal Court. He positioned himself alongside figures advocating deeper integration such as Jacques Delors and against skeptics represented by leaders like Margaret Thatcher on specific economic governance issues. His legacy is visible in the strengthened legislative role of the European Parliament and in Dutch contributions to European external policy shaped in part by colleagues like Max van der Stoel and Wim Kok.
Dankert’s record is remembered in archives of the European Parliament and in retrospective analyses by scholars from institutions such as the London School of Economics and European University Institute, and by political historians referencing the trajectory from the Treaty of Rome era to the Maastricht Treaty. His impact persists in debates over parliamentary democracy within the European Union and in the networks of social-democratic cooperation across Europe.
Category:Dutch politicians Category:Presidents of the European Parliament