Addeke Hendrik Boerma (3 April 1912 – 8 May 1992) was a Dutch civil servant who served as the first Executive Director of the World Food Programme from 1962 to 1967 and as the Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization from 1967 until December 1975.[1]

Addeke Hendrik Boerma
Boerma in 1970
Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization
In office
1967–1975
Preceded byBinay Ranjan Sen
Succeeded byEdouard Saouma
Executive Director of the World Food Programme
In office
1962–1967
Succeeded bySushil K. Dev
Personal details
Born(1912-04-03)3 April 1912
Annerveenschekanaal, Netherlands
Died8 May 1992(1992-05-08) (aged 80)
Vienna, Austria
Alma materWageningen University and Research
Occupationcivil servant

Early life and education

edit

Boerma was born in Annerveenschekanaal on 3 April 1912 in a farming family.[2] He went to school in Veendam. From 1929 to 1934, Boerma studied horticulture and agricultural economics at the Wageningen University and Research.[2]

Career

edit

After university, Boerma became a government commissioner for arable farming and animal husbandry and, in 1938, went to work for the National Agency for Wartime Food Supply on preparations for food supply in the Netherlands in wartime. In October 1944, he went to the already liberated south of the Netherlands to prepare the food supply and the sending of relief supplies.[3]

For his services during and after the war, Boerma was made a Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion and a Commander in the Order of Leopold.[4]

World Food Program

edit

Beginning in 1947, Boerma held various positions at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. He also became the first Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Program in 1962. In 1967, he was elected Director General of the FAO. He initiated a reorganization of the NGO and focused on poverty issues.[5] He retired from civil service on 1 January 1976.[2]

Boerma spent his final years in Austria before his death in 1992.[6]

References

edit
  1. ^ "U.N.'s Expert on Food; Addeke Hendrik Boerma". The New York Times. 6 September 1962. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Boerma, Addeke Hendrik (1912–1992)". Huygens Institute for the History of the Netherlands (in Dutch). 12 November 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  3. ^ Nations, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United (1 May 2019). FAO: Challenges and Opportunities in a Global World. Food & Agriculture Org. ISBN 9789251314111.
  4. ^ owner, No (12 November 2013). "Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland – deel 6". resources.huygens.knaw.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  5. ^ "A.H. Boerma Award| FAO Awards| Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations". www.fao.org. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Boerma, Addeke Hendrik". Biographical Dictionary - s9.com. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2019.