Johan Willem Beyen

Johan Willem (Wim) Beyen (2 May 1897 in Utrecht – 29 April 1976 in 's-Gravenhage) was a Dutch banker, civil servant, politician, and diplomat. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands 1952–1956. Beyen played an important role in the creation of the European Economic Community, and is regarded as one of the founding fathers of the European Union. The 1981–1982 academic year at the College of Europe was named in his honour.

The official surname of Johan Willem (Wim) Beyen was Beijen, but he preferred to write his name as Beyen because he thought that this name was more appropriate for his international connections (the "ij" digraph only occurs in Dutch).

His father, Karel Hendrik Beijen, was a lawyer. He was the company secretary of the Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen, one of the Dutch railroad companies. His mother, Louisa Maria Coenen, stemmed from a family of musicians. He had two brothers. One of them was the archeologist Hendrik Gerard Beyen.

In 1922, Wim Beyen married Petronella J.G. (Nelly) Hijmans van Anrooij. They had two sons and a daughter. At the end of the 1930s Beyen had a relationship with the Austrian Margaretha Antonia (Gretel) Lubinka. After World War II his first marriage was dissolved and he married Gretel. This marriage was a very happy one.

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