Early life and career Van der Stoel attended the
Gymnasium Leiden from June 1937 until June 1943, and applied at the
Leiden University in June 1943
majoring in
Law and obtaining a
Bachelor of Laws degree in December 1945 before graduating with a
Master of Laws degree in July 1947. Van der Stoel continued to study at the Leiden University for a
postgraduate education in
Sociology and worked as a
student researcher before obtaining a
Bachelor of Social Science degree June 1947 and a
Master of Social Science degree in July 1953. Van der Stoel worked as a researcher for the
Wiardi Beckman Foundation, the scientific bureau of the
Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA, the Dutch labour party), from August 1953 until April 1958 and as a political consultant for the Labour Party from April 1958 until July 1965. Van der Stoel was elected as a
Member of the Senate following the Senate election of 1960, serving from 27 September 1960 until 5 June 1963. That year, he became international secretary for the PvdA .
Helmut Schmidt and Prime Minister
Joop den Uyl during a meeting at the
Catshuis on 2 November 1974.
Adolfo Suárez and Prime Minister
Joop den Uyl during a meeting at the
Catshuis on 29 August 1977. with Max van der Stoel, 1989
Politics From 1973 to 1977 and 1981 to 1982 he was the Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs. In the 1973
October War when Egypt and Syria attacked Israel, van der Stoel took a highly pro-Israeli position and was regarded as the most pro-Israeli foreign minister in Europe. To punish the Dutch for their pro-Israel stance, the Arab nations led by Saudi Arabia placed a total oil embargo on shipping oil to the Netherlands, which was one of the nations most affected by the
1973 oil shock. In 1977, during his visit to
communist Czechoslovakia, he met with philosopher and dissident
Jan Patočka, and they discussed
Charter 77 and human rights in Czechoslovakia. In 2017, forty years after his meeting with Jan Patočka, Van der Stoel's memorial created by
Dominik Lang was unveiled in the park. ==Decorations==