The Slow Ascent of Women in Dutch Diplomacy: the Case of Maria Witteveen

M.L.J. Dierikx

doi:10.1163/25891774-00201012

The Slow Ascent of Women in Dutch Diplomacy: the Case of Maria Witteveen

M.L.J. Dierikx

Huygens ING - Geschiedenis

Research output: Contribution to journal/periodical › Article › Scientific › peer-review

Abstract

Maria Witteveen (1904-1991) started her international career in 1931 at the League of Nations Secretariat in Geneva. From there she was appointed secretary to the Netherlands delegation to the First General Assembly of the UN which met in London in January 1946. This provided Maria with an opening into diplomacy and she joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the following year as Counsellor to the Netherlands representation at the UN in New York. Despite an atmosphere that was unfriendly to women, she managed to obtain a permanent footing among Dutch diplomats, evidenced in a posting to Moscow in 1953 and then promotion to become Permanent Representative at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg in 1956. Maria left this post in 1963, not to be re-posted until her retirement from the Dutch foreign service in 1969.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	145-153
Number of pages	14
Journal	Diplomatica
Volume	2
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1163/25891774-00201012
Publication status	Published - 21 May 2020

Keywords

History
diplomacy
biography

Access to Document

10.1163/25891774-00201012

Cite this

@article{d5cffc1e6d12481a98513fa7847d43db,

title = "The Slow Ascent of Women in Dutch Diplomacy: the Case of Maria Witteveen",

abstract = "Maria Witteveen (1904-1991) started her international career in 1931 at the League of Nations Secretariat in Geneva. From there she was appointed secretary to the Netherlands delegation to the First General Assembly of the UN which met in London in January 1946. This provided Maria with an opening into diplomacy and she joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the following year as Counsellor to the Netherlands representation at the UN in New York. Despite an atmosphere that was unfriendly to women, she managed to obtain a permanent footing among Dutch diplomats, evidenced in a posting to Moscow in 1953 and then promotion to become Permanent Representative at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg in 1956. Maria left this post in 1963, not to be re-posted until her retirement from the Dutch foreign service in 1969.",

keywords = "History, diplomacy, biography",

author = "M.L.J. Dierikx",

year = "2020",

month = may,

day = "21",

doi = "10.1163/25891774-00201012",

language = "English",

volume = "2",

pages = "145--153",

journal = "Diplomatica",

issn = "2589-1766",

publisher = "Brill",

number = "1",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Slow Ascent of Women in Dutch Diplomacy

T2 - the Case of Maria Witteveen

AU - Dierikx, M.L.J.

PY - 2020/5/21

Y1 - 2020/5/21

N2 - Maria Witteveen (1904-1991) started her international career in 1931 at the League of Nations Secretariat in Geneva. From there she was appointed secretary to the Netherlands delegation to the First General Assembly of the UN which met in London in January 1946. This provided Maria with an opening into diplomacy and she joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the following year as Counsellor to the Netherlands representation at the UN in New York. Despite an atmosphere that was unfriendly to women, she managed to obtain a permanent footing among Dutch diplomats, evidenced in a posting to Moscow in 1953 and then promotion to become Permanent Representative at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg in 1956. Maria left this post in 1963, not to be re-posted until her retirement from the Dutch foreign service in 1969.

AB - Maria Witteveen (1904-1991) started her international career in 1931 at the League of Nations Secretariat in Geneva. From there she was appointed secretary to the Netherlands delegation to the First General Assembly of the UN which met in London in January 1946. This provided Maria with an opening into diplomacy and she joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the following year as Counsellor to the Netherlands representation at the UN in New York. Despite an atmosphere that was unfriendly to women, she managed to obtain a permanent footing among Dutch diplomats, evidenced in a posting to Moscow in 1953 and then promotion to become Permanent Representative at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg in 1956. Maria left this post in 1963, not to be re-posted until her retirement from the Dutch foreign service in 1969.

KW - History

KW - diplomacy

KW - biography

U2 - 10.1163/25891774-00201012

DO - 10.1163/25891774-00201012

M3 - Article

SN - 2589-1766

VL - 2

SP - 145

EP - 153

JO - Diplomatica

JF - Diplomatica

IS - 1

ER -

The Slow Ascent of Women in Dutch Diplomacy: the Case of Maria Witteveen

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this