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Piet Kasteel
Piet Kasteel
	Kasteel (1942)
Ambassadors of the Netherlands to Ireland
	In office; March 1956 – 1966
Ambassadors of the Netherlands to Chile
	In office; 1948–1956
Governor of Curaçao and Dependencies
	In office; 15 July 1942 – 4 August 1948
Preceded by	Gielliam Wouters
Succeeded by	Leonard Antoon Peters [nl]
Personal details
Born	Petrus Albertus Kasteel; 4 November 1901; Zwolle, Netherlands
Died	13 December 2003 (aged 102); Rome, Italy
Occupation	journalist, diplomat and colonial administrator

Petrus Albertus "Piet" Kasteel (4 November 1901 – 13 December 2003) was a Dutch journalist, diplomat, and colonial administrator. He was parliamentary editor of De Maasbode [nl], and fled to England during World War II where he served for the Dutch government-in-exile. He served as Governor of Curaçao and Dependencies from 15 July 1942 until 4 August 1948, Dutch Ambassador to Chile (1948–1956), to Ireland (1956–1966) and briefly to Israel (1966).

Biography

Kasteel was born on 4 November 1901 in Zwolle, Netherlands.^[1] He converted to the Catholic Church.^[2] In 1923, he moved to Amsterdam, where he became a journalist for De Tijd,^[3] and founded the Catholic association De Klare Waarheid.^[4] In October 1929, he became parliamentary editor of De Maasbode [nl],^[5] then the largest Catholic newspaper in the Netherlands.^[6] In 1938, he received his doctorate in political and social sciences from KU Leuven on a biography of prime minister Abraham Kuyper.^[3]^[7]

On 14 May 1940, after the German invasion of the Netherlands, Kasteel as a known anti-fascist boarded a fishing boat leaving his wife and children behind, and arrived in England two days later. He offered his services to the Dutch government-in-exile under the nom de guerre "Chateau neuf du Pape".^[1] He started to work for the Ministry of Justice, and befriended Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy. In September 1940, Gerbandy became Prime Minister-in-exile, and appointed Kasteel as his personal secretary.^[3]

On 15 July 1942, Kasteel was installed as Governor of Curaçao and Dependencies.^[8] In 1947 negotiations started for political autonomy of Curaçao and Dependencies. The island of Aruba no longer wanted remain subordinate to Curaçao, and demonstrations were organised.^[9] In January 1948, the delegations of Aruba and Curaçao demanded the resignation of Kasteel.^[10] In June 1948, Kasteel announced his resignation,^[11] and left on 4 August 1948.^[8]

Kasteel was appointed Ambassador of the Netherlands to Chile, and served until 1956,^[3] In March 1956, he was appointed Ambassador to Ireland, and served until 1966. He served briefly as Ambassador to Israel, and retired in December 1966.^[1] After retiring, Kasteel moved to Via della Conciliazione in Rome, Italy near the Vatican where his son Karel [nl] served in the Apostolic Camera.^[3]

On 13 December 2003, Kasteel died in Rome, at the age of 102.^[3]

Honours

Netherlands Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion.^[12]
France Commander in the Legion of Honour.^[13]
Brazil Order of the Southern Cross.^[14]
United States Medal of Freedom with Silver Palm.^[15]
Vatican Knight in the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.^[16]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Dr. P.A. (Piet) Kasteel". Dutch Parliament (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
^ "Piet Kasteel, Gouverneur van Curaçao". Amigoe di Curacao (in Dutch). 18 May 1942. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Jan Kuijk en Pieter van der Ven (17 December 2003). "Leven met Kuyper, Gerbrandy en zoon Karel". Trouw (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2021-02-25. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
^ "Piet Kasteel". Dagblad van Noord-Brabant (in Dutch). 23 November 1927. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
^ "De Parlementaire Redacteur van de "Maasbode"". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). 7 October 1929. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
^ "Witlox, Johannes Henricus Josephus Maria". Huygens Institute for the History of the Netherlands (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
^ Piet Kasteel (1938). Abraham Kuyper (Thesis) (in Dutch). Kampen: Kok.
^ ^a ^b "Staatkundige geschiedenis periode 1". National Archive of Curaçao (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
^ "Demonstratie in Willemstad". De Nederlander (in Dutch). 11 September 1947. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
^ "Curaçao krijgt zijn zin". De Gooi- en Eemlander (in Dutch). 30 January 1948. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
^ "Staten van Curaçao protesteren". Overijsselsch dagblad (in Dutch). 15 June 1948. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
^ "Decoration (in the year 1815-1993)". Open Archives. Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
^ "Legioen der Eer voor Dr. Piet Kasteel". Limburgsch dagblad (in Dutch). 17 April 1948. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
^ "Kort Nieuws". Twentsch dagblad Tubantia en Enschedesche courant (in Dutch). 28 February 1948. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
^ "Vrijheidspalmen voor Kasteel". De Tĳd : godsdienstig-staatkundig dagblad (in Dutch). 30 October 1946. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
^ "Ridders en edelvrouwen Heilig Graf ingekleed". De tijd : dagblad voor Nederland (in Dutch). 27 May 1968. Retrieved 12 February 2022.