Freddy Heineken

Freddy Heineken
Freddy Heineken on May 8, 1987.
Born	Alfred Henry Heineken (1923-11-04)November 4, 1923 Amsterdam Netherlands
Died	January 3, 2002(2002-01-03) (aged 78) Noordwijk, Netherlands
Cause of death	Pneumonia
Resting place	General Cemetery in Noordwijk
Monuments	Freddy Heineken Bridge
Residence	Noordwijk, Netherlands
Nationality	Dutch
Education	Kennemer Lyceum Overveen
Occupation	Businessman Corporate director
Years active	1941-2002
Net worth	flƒ 9.5 billion (2002)
Board member of	Heineken International
Spouse(s)	Lucille Cummins
Children	Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken

Alfred Henry "Freddy" Heineken (November 4, 1923 – January 3, 2002) was a Dutch businessman for Heineken International the brewing company bought in 1864 by his grandfather Gerard Adriaan Heineken in Amsterdam. He served as Chairman of the Board of directors and CEO from 1971 until 1989. After his retirement as Chairman and CEO, Heineken continued to sit on the Board of directors until his death and served as Chairman of the Supervisory board from 1989 till 1995. At the time of his death, Heineken was one of the richest persons in the Netherlands with a net worth of 9.5 billion guilders.

Biography

Early life

He entered the service of the company (which by then was no longer owned by the family) on 1 June 1941 and bought back stock several years later, to ensure the family controlled the company again. He created the Heineken Holding that owned 50.005% of Heineken International; he personally held a majority stake in Heineken Holding. By the time of his resignation as chairman of the board in 1989 he had transformed Heineken from a brand that was known chiefly in the Netherlands to a brand that is currently famous worldwide.

Kidnapping

Freddy Heineken and his driver Ab Doderer were kidnapped in 1983 and released on a ransom of 35 million Dutch guilders (about 16 million Euros). The kidnappers Cor van Hout, Willem Holleeder, Jan Boelaard, Frans Meijer, and Martin Erkamps, were eventually caught and served prison terms. Before being extradited, Van Hout and Holleeder stayed for more than three years in France, first on the run, then in prison, and then, awaiting a change of the extradition treaty, then with house arrest, and finally in prison again. Meijer escaped and lived in Paraguay for years, until he was discovered by Peter R. de Vries and imprisoned there. In 2003, Meijer stopped resisting his extradition to the Netherlands, and was transferred to a Dutch prison to serve the last part of his term.

Contemporary media coverage and popular culture

A film of the kidnapping De Heineken Ontvoering, with Rutger Hauer playing Freddy Heineken, was released in October 2011. A second film, The Kidnapping of Freddy Heineken based on De Vries' book about the kidnapping, is planned to be produced by Informant Media, with the scenario to be written by William Brookfield. In this film Heineken will be played by Sir Anthony Hopkins.

Personal

Freddy Heineken married Lucille Cummins, an American from a Kentucky family of bourbon whiskey distillers. Heineken died unexpectedly from pneumonia on January 3, 2002 at the age of seventy-eight in his home in Noordwijk. The businessman died around 18:00 in the presence of his immediate family, including his daughter Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken. Heineken struggled for some time with a deteriorating health, in 1999 he suffered a mild stroke, but he recovered. Shortly before his death he broke his arm after a fall. Heineken was buried at the General Cemetery in Noordwijk. Heineken's daughter, Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken, inherited his fortune.