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Wim Polak

Wim Polak
Wim Polak in 1982
Member of the Council of State
In office
16 April 1984 – 1 October 1994
Vice PresidentWillem Scholten
Mayor of Amsterdam
In office
15 June 1977 – 1 June 1983
Preceded byLouis Kuijpers (Ad interim)
Succeeded byEnneüs Heerma (Ad interim)
State Secretary for the Interior
In office
11 May 1973 – 1 May 1977
Prime MinisterJoop den Uyl
Preceded byJan van Stuijvenberg
Succeeded byHenk Koning
Personal details
Born
Willem Polak

(1924-09-14)14 September 1924
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died1 October 1999(1999-10-01) (aged 75)
Ilpendam, Netherlands
Cause of deathCancer
Political partyLabour Party (from 1946)
Other political
affiliations
Social Democratic
Workers' Party

(1945–1946)
Spouse
Johanna van 't Kruijs
(m. 1947)
Children1 son and 1 daughter
Alma materUniversity of Amsterdam
(Bachelor of Economics)
OccupationPolitician · Civil servant · Economist · Journalist · · Author · Corporate director · Nonprofit director

Willem "Wim" Polak (14 September 1924 – 1 October 1999) was a Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and economist.[1]

Polak was born to a Jewish merchant family in Amsterdam on 14 September 1924. His parents were murdered by the Nazis during the German Occupation of the Netherlands. After the Second World War, he worked as a journalist for Het Vrije Volk. Polak was appointed Secretary of State for local finances in Joop den Uyl's government. He worked towards improving the financial position of the larger Dutch cities. Subsequently, he became mayor of Amsterdam for a six-year period, where his challenges included numerous squatting cases as well as riots related to Queen Beatrix's coronation.

He died in 1999 at his home in Ilpendam.

Decorations

Honours
Ribbon bar Honour Country Date Comment
Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Netherlands 11 April 1978
Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau Netherlands 1 June 1983

References

  1. ^ "Polak, Willem (1924-1999)" (in Dutch). Huygens ING. 12 November 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
Official
Political offices
Preceded by State Secretary for the Interior
1973–1977
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Louis Kuijpers
Ad interim
Mayor of Amsterdam
1977–1981
Succeeded by
Enneüs Heerma
Ad interim


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