Former Nato chief Luns dies at 90

Joseph Luns, a former Dutch foreign minister and Nato chief who guided the Western alliance through a critical Cold War decade, died today. He was 90.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Luns died at his Netherlands home during the night. He had been in poor health and had not been seen at public functions for many years.

Luns was one of the foremost statesmen in the West during 19 years as the Netherlands’ foreign minister, followed by more than a decade as Nato’s secretary general.

Luns served in eight successive Dutch Cabinets until 1971, when the NATO council formally invited him to take over from Italy’s Manlio Brosio as its secretary general.

He was regarded as one of the most vigorous and effective architects of postwar European unity and held an unshakable belief in Atlantic partnership. He always stressed the need for good relations between Europe and the United States.

Lanky and joke-loving, Luns brought a breezy personal style to the North Atlantic alliance. He liked to clown if he thought it would thaw the atmosphere or help him get his way. His unorthodox approach made him a favourite of newsmen; sometimes at lengthy international conferences, he wore his bedroom slippers.

Asked once how many people worked at Nato headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Luns responded like a comic working a nightclub: “About half of them,” he quipped.

Before Luns took over, Nato had made a start on increasing the European share of the Atlantic defence. He continued that trend, pushing reluctant governments, including his own, into making a greater defence effort.

He laid heavy emphasis on building a stronger and more united Europe and took great satisfaction in the French change of heart on Britain’s entry into the common market, which he had worked tirelessly to achieve.

With the United States there were occasional disagreements, especially over the Dutch loss of western New Guinea. He had a particular dislike for Bobby Kennedy, who once, visiting Holland, was acclaimed by Dutch students after telling them that Dutch New Guinea needed to become independent.

In 1981, he criticised the US for the “tactless” way in which it announced the decision to go ahead with production of the neutron bomb. He said the Reagan administration was “too lax in putting its positive interest in effective arms control across in public.”

But Luns was deeply convinced the free world existed by virtue of US strength.

His career in international politics was sprinkled with controversy, but never more so than in 1979, when a major storm erupted over disclosures of his prewar membership of a Nazi organisation.