Education
Utrecht University; University of Amsterdam.
Utrecht University; University of Amsterdam.
Van Boetzelaer van Oosterhout"s father was mayor of Leusden. After studying at Utrecht University and obtaining a Master of Laws at the University of Amsterdam in 1921, he held many diplomatic positions abroad including in Washington District of Columbia (1926-1929), Brussels (1930-1934), and Berlin (1934-1940). After the German invasion of the Netherlands he led the diplomatic affairs in London from May to August 1940 after which he became ambassador for the Netherlands in Washington District of Columbia. He held this position until he was asked, as a non-partisan, to become Minister of Foreign Affairs in the first cabinet Beel (3 July 1946 to 7 August 1948).
As minister he voted in August 1947 against expansion of military actions in the Dutch Indies, pushed through laws enabling the Benelux treaties, signed the Organisation for European Economic Company-operation and the subsequent Marshall plan contracts, and prepared the way for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization by signing the Treaty of Brussels in March 1948.