Johannes Pieter "Jan" Pronk Jr. (; born 16 March 1940) is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat of the Labour Party (PvdA) and activist.
Pronk studied Economics at the Rotterdam School of Economics obtaining a Master of Economics degree and worked as a researcher at his alma mater and the Economics Institute from July 1960 until May 1971 and was also active as a political activist in the New Left movement. In the 1971 general election Pronk was elected to the House of Representatives on 11 May 1971 and served as a frontbencher and spokesperson for development cooperation. Pronk was also selected as a Member of the European Parliament on 13 March 1973 and dual served in both positions. After the 1972 general election Pronk was appointed as Minister for Development Cooperation in the Den Uyl cabinet taking office on 11 May 1973. The cabinet fell on 22 March 1977 just before the end of its term. After the 1977 general election Pronk returned to the House of Representatives serving from 8 June 1977 until his resignation on 8 September 1977 before returning on 16 January 1978 as a frontbencher and spokesperson for development cooperation and agriculture and fisheries. In July 1980 Pronk was nominated as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) taking office on 18 August 1980. After the 1986 general election Pronk returned to the House of Representatives on 3 June 1986 serving again as a frontbencher. After the 1989 general election Pronk was again appointed as Minister for Development Cooperation in the Lubbers III cabinet taking office on 7 November 1989. After 1994 general election Pronk continued his office in the Kok I cabinet. After 1998 general election Pronk was appointed as Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in the Kok II cabinet taking office on 3 August 1998. In October 2001 Pronk announced that he would not stand for the 2002 general election and declined to serve in new cabinet position.
Pronk continued to be active in politics and in August 2002 was appointed as Special Envoy of the United Nations for the Earth Summit 2002 serving from 1 September 2002 until 31 December 2002, and also worked as a distinguished professor of International Development at the International Institute of Social Studies from January 2003 until July 2010. In June 2004 Pronk was nominated as the first Special Representative of the United Nations in Sudan serving 1 July 2004 until 10 December 2006.
Pronk retired from active politics at 66 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. Following his retirement Pronk continued to be active as an advocate and activist for human rights, the anti-war movement, social justice and for more European integration. Pronk is known for his abilities as a skilful negotiator and effective debater and continues to comment on political affairs as of . He holds the distinction of as the second longest-serving cabinet member since 1850 with 17 years, 114 days.
Early life
Jan Pronk was born in Scheveningen in the Netherlands on 16 March 1940. He is the son of Johannes Pieter Pronk Sr. (1909–2005) and Elisabeth Hendrika van Geel, who were both school teachers at the Protestant elementary school Koningin Emmaschool in Scheveningen. Jan Pronk attended the Koningin Emmaschool for three years. He attended the Protestant secondary school Zandvliet Lyceum in The Hague, where he graduated the gymnasium in 1958 with a curriculum that focused on exact sciences. He was a member of the Christian-Historical Youth Organisation, the youth organisation of the conservative Protestant Christian Historical Union party and president of the Protestant fraternity S.S.R. Because of his many international travels, he often fell asleep at Cabinet meetings, which lasted until very late in the night.
In mid-October 2006, the army of Sudan accused Pronk of "waging psychological warfare on the armed forces" and demanded his deportation after Pronk published thoughts on army military defeats in his weblog. On 22 October, the Sudanese government gave Pronk three days' notice to leave the country. He left Sudan the next day (October 23) when UN Secretary General Kofi Annan recalled him to New York for consultations. On October 27 the UN Security Council and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan announce that Pronk will serve out his last months as Special Representative of the Secretary-general in Sudan.
Pronk's story roughly parallels that of Mukesh Kapila, a previous UN employee who was forced to leave Sudan after making critical comments about the Darfur conflict.
Labour Party (2007–2013)
Jan Pronk was a candidate for the election of the chairman of the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA). As a candidate he wanted the party to return to a more left-wing course. He lost the election, between 16 and 23 September 2007, to Lilianne Ploumen.
On 28 May 2013, Jan Pronk publicly announced he was ending his membership of the Labour Party.
Public perception
During his political life, Pronk was known as principled politician. Prime Minister Kok called him the "Minister for the national conscience". Because he was minister for over 17 years, he came to be known as "minister by profession".
Other positions
Pronk is a member of the Governing Council of Interpeace, an international peacebuilding organization. He is also a supporter of the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, an organisation which campaigns for democratic reform in the United Nations, and the creation of a more accountable international political system.
Private life
Pronk is married to Tineke Zuurmond. They have two grown children, a daughter Carin and a son Rochus. In 1984 Pronk gave up alcohol in one day and became an avid runner.
Decorations
{| class="wikitable" style="width:60%;"
|+ Honours
! style="width:80px;"| Ribbon bar !! Honour !! Country !! Date !! Comment
|-
| 80px
| Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
| Netherlands
| 11 April 1978
|
|-
| 80px
| Grand Cordon of the Honorary Order of the Palm
| Suriname
| 25 April 1978
|
|-
| 80px
| Grand Cross of the Order of Bernardo O'Higgins
| Chile
| 5 August 1993
|
|-
| 80px
| Officer of the Legion of Honour
| France
| 30 April 2001
|
|-
| 80px
| Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau
| Netherlands
| 10 December 2002
|
|}
Honorary doctorates
Jan Pronk has two honorary degrees and he is member of five chivalric orders. A full list of all his honorary decorations: