Jean van den Bosch
Jean van den Bosch was a Belgian diplomat.Biography
Jean van den Bosch was born on 27 January 1910 in Ghent, Belgium. He received a doctorate in law from the Université catholique de Louvain in 1931. The following year he earned degrees in history and diplomatic political science.Career
Van den Bosch began his diplomatic career in 1934. On 2 July 1960 van den Bosch arrived in Léopoldville, capital of the newly independent Republic of the Congo to serve as ambassador. Two days later he presented his credentials to President Joseph Kasa-Vubu. Relations between Belgium and the Congo quickly deteriorated, however, and van den Bosch was accused by the Congolese government of instigating unrest throughout the country. He was ordered to be expelled from the Congo, but did not receive any notice until the morning of 9 August when a Congolese Foreign Ministry official informed him that he had until noon that day to leave. Facing a large crowd of angry Congolese, van den Bosch left the Belgian embassy under the escort of United Nations peacekeepers to the docks, where he took a boat to Brazzaville and from there flew back to Belgium.Citations
