View source for Joseph Luns

{{short description|Dutch politician and diplomat (1911–2002)}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image               = Luns, J.M.A.H. - SFA008007314.jpg
| caption             = Luns in 1979
| office              = 5th [[Secretary General of NATO]]
| term_start          = 1 October 1971
| term_end            = 25 June 1984
| predecessor         = [[Manlio Brosio]]
| successor           = [[Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington|The Lord Carrington]]
| office1             = [[List of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
| term_start1         = 13 October 1956
| term_end1           = 6 July 1971
| primeminister1      = {{List collapsed|title=See list|1=[[Willem Drees]] (1956–1958)<br/> [[Louis Beel]] (1958–1959)<br/>[[Jan de Quay]] (1959–1963)<br/> [[Victor Marijnen]] (1963–1965)<br/>[[Jo Cals]] (1965–1966)<br/>[[Jelle Zijlstra]] (1966–1967)<br/>[[Piet de Jong]] (1967–1971)}}
| predecessor1        = [[Johan Beyen]]
| successor1          = [[Norbert Schmelzer]]
| office2             = [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|Member of the House of Representatives]]
| term_start2         = 11 May 1971
| term_end2           = 1 October 1971
| term_start3         = 23 February 1967
| term_end3           = 5 April 1967
| term_start4         = 3 July 1956
| term_end4           = 3 October 1956
| parliamentarygroup4 = [[Catholic People's Party]]
| office5             = [[List of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands#List of Ministers without Portfolio|Minister for Foreign Policy]]
| term_start5         = 2 September 1952
| term_end5           = 13 October 1956
| primeminister5      = [[Willem Drees]]
| predecessor5        = [[Eelco van Kleffens]] (1947)
| successor5          = ''Office abolished''
| birthname           = Joseph Antoine Marie Hubert Luns {{ref_label|note1|Note}}
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|df=y|1911|08|28}}
| birth_place         = [[Rotterdam]], Netherlands
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|df=y|2002|07|17|1911|08|28}}
| death_place         = [[Brussels]], Belgium
| height              = {{convert|2.01|m}}
| party               = [[Catholic People's Party]] (1945–1972)
| otherparty          = {{ubl|[[Independent politician|Independent Christian Democrat]] ([[Christian democracy in the Netherlands|Conservative Catholic]]) (from 1972)}}
| spouse              = {{marriage|Baroness Lia van Heemstra|10 January 1939|30 May 1990|reason=her death}}
| relations           = {{ubl|{{ill|Theo Luns|nl}} (brother)|[[Ella van Heemstra]] (niece in law)|[[Audrey Hepburn]] (first niece-in-law once removed)}}
| children            = 2
| father              = [[Huib Luns]] (1881–1942)
| residence           = 
| alma_mater          = {{ubl|[[Leiden University]]|([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]], [[Master of Laws|LLM]])|[[London School of Economics]] ([[Bachelor of Economics|BEcon]])}}
| occupation          = {{hlist|Politician|diplomat|civil servant|[[jurist]]|economist|historian}}
| signature           = Joseph Luns Signature.jpg
| allegiance          = <!-- Netherlands; obvious -->
| branch              = [[Royal Netherlands Navy]]
| serviceyears        = {{ubl|1930–1931 ([[Conscription]])|1931–1936 ([[Military reserve force|Reserve]])}}
| rank                = [[Warrant officer]]
| unit                = [[Netherlands Coastguard]]
| commands            = 
| battles             = [[Cold War]]
| awards              = 
}}

'''Joseph Marie Antoine Hubert Luns''' ({{IPA|nl|ˈjoːzəf ˈlʏns}}; 28 August 1911{{snd}}17 July 2002) was a [[politics of the Netherlands|Dutch politician]] of the defunct [[Catholic People's Party]] (KVP), now merged into the [[Christian Democratic Appeal]] (CDA), diplomat, and jurist. He served as [[Secretary General of NATO]] from 1 October 1971 until 25 June 1984.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/who_is_who_7301.htm?|title=Joseph Luns|publisher=NATO|access-date=28 October 2019}}</ref>

Luns attended [[Saint Ignatius Gymnasium]] in Amsterdam from April 1924 until June 1930. He was [[Conscription|conscripted]] in the [[Netherlands Coastguard|Coastguard]] of the [[Royal Netherlands Navy]] serving as a [[warrant officer]] from June 1930 until July 1931. He applied at the [[University of Amsterdam]] in July 1931 [[Major (academic)|majoring]] in law before transferring to the [[Leiden University]] in November 1932, obtaining a [[Bachelor of Laws]] degree in June 1933 and graduating with a [[Master of Laws]] degree in July 1937. He applied at the [[London School of Economics]] of the [[University of London]] in January 1938 for a [[postgraduate education]] in economics, obtaining a [[Bachelor of Economics]] degree in June 1938. 

In September 1971 Luns was nominated as the next [[Secretary General of NATO]]. He resigned as a Member of the House of Representatives the same day he was installed as secretary general, serving from 1 October 1971 to  25 June 1984. He retired after 31 years in national politics and became active in the [[public sector]], where he was a diplomat and lobbyist for several economic delegations on behalf of the government and as an advocate for [[United States–European Union relations]] and [[European integration]].

==Biography==
===Early life===
Luns was born in a [[Roman Catholic]], [[Francophile]] and artistic family. His mother's family originated from [[Alsace-Lorraine]] but had moved to [[Belgium]] after the annexation of the region by the [[German Empire]] in 1871. His father, [[Huib Luns]], was a versatile artist and a gifted educationalist who ended his career as professor of architectural drawing at the [[Delft University of Technology]].<ref>Kersten, A.E., ''Luns. Een politieke biografie.'' Amsterdam 2010 p.26-28</ref> Luns received his secondary education in Amsterdam and Brussels. He opted to become a commissioned officer of the [[Royal Netherlands Navy|Dutch Royal Navy]] but registered too late to be selected. Therefore, Luns decided to study law at [[Amsterdam University]] from 1932 to 1937.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.parlement.com/id/vg09ll31g3x6/j_m_a_h_joseph_luns | title=Mr. J.M.A.H. (Joseph) Luns | language=nl | publisher=Parlement & Politiek | access-date=10 February 2018 }}</ref>

[[File:Ministers Foster Dulles en Stassen, aankomst Schiphol, Bestanddeelnr 905-5287.jpg|thumb|left|220px|[[United States Secretary of State]] [[John Foster Dulles]], [[Mutual Security Agency|Director of the Mutual Security Agency]] [[Harold Stassen]] and Minister for United Nations Affairs Joseph Luns at [[Amsterdam Airport Schiphol|Airport Schiphol]] on 6 February 1953]]
[[File:David Ben Goerion met echtgenote arriveert op Ypenburg, Bestanddeelnr 911-3571.jpg|thumb|left|220px|Minister of Justice [[Albert Beerman]], Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Luns and [[Prime Minister of Israel]] [[David Ben-Gurion]] at [[Ypenburg Airport]] on 22 June 1960]]
[[File:Veldmaarschalk Montgomery houdt lezing t.g.v. het 16e lustrum van de Koninklijke, Bestanddeelnr 911-7518.jpg|thumb|left|220px|Retired United Kingdom [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field marshal]] [[Bernard Montgomery]] and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Luns during a visit at the [[University of Amsterdam]] on 9 November 1960]]
[[File:De Amerikaanse minister van Justitie, Robert Kennedy begroet door minister Luns , Bestanddeelnr 913-5665.jpg|thumb|left|220px|[[United States Attorney General]] [[Robert F. Kennedy]] and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Luns during a meeting at the [[Ministry of General Affairs]] on 26 February 1962]]
[[File:Actualiteiten binnenland, dhr j. luns, Bestanddeelnr 137-0057.jpg|thumb|left|220px|Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Luns and President of France [[Charles de Gaulle]] at [[Amsterdam Airport Schiphol|Airport Schiphol]] on 16 March 1963]]
[[File:Ministers, bezoeken, politici, Croetsjov N, Gromyko A, Luns, JAMH, Bestanddeelnr 083-0921.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Luns, [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] [[Nikita Khrushchev]] and [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Russia)|Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union]] [[Andrei Gromyko]] during a meeting at the [[Kremlin Senate]] on 8 July 1964]]
[[File:Ion Gheorghe Maurer Joseph Luns.jpg|thumb|left|220px|[[Prime Minister of Romania]] [[Ion Gheorghe Maurer]] and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Luns during a meeting in [[Bucharest]] on 13 January 1967]]
[[File:Aankomst Premier Wilson en Minister Brown op vliegvel Ypenburg, Bestanddeelnr 920-1138.jpg|thumb|right|220px|[[Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs|Secretary of State for Foreign of the United Kingdom]] [[George Brown, Baron George-Brown|George Brown]], [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] [[Harold Wilson]], Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Luns and Prime Minister [[Jelle Zijlstra]] during a press conference at [[Ypenburg Airport]] on 26 February 1967]]
[[File:Aankomsten, ministers, internationale organisaties, Luns, JAMH, Thant, Oe, Bestanddeelnr 090-1040.jpg|thumb|right|220px|[[Secretary-General of the United Nations]] [[U Thant]] and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Luns during a press conference at [[Amsterdam Airport Schiphol|Airport Schiphol]] on 7 April 1968]]
[[File:Congres Europese Beweging in Den Haag v.l.n.r. Ministe Willy Brandt , Premier de, Bestanddeelnr 921-8375.jpg|thumb|right|220px|[[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany)|Minister of Foreign Affairs of West-Germany]] [[Willy Brandt]], Prime Minister [[Piet de Jong]], former [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] [[Harold Macmillan]] and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Luns at a [[European Economic Community]] in the [[Ridderzaal]] on 8 November 1968]]
[[File:President Tito in Rotterdam, Bestanddeelnr 923-9501.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Luns and [[President of Yugoslavia]] [[Josip Broz Tito]] during a meeting in [[Rotterdam]] on 21 October 1970]]
[[File:Harold Brown (l) en Joseph Luns, Bestanddeelnr 930-5407.jpg|thumb|right|220px|United States Secretary of Defense [[Harold Brown (Secretary of Defense)|Harold Brown]] and Secretary General of NATO Joseph Luns at a press conference in [[The Hague]] on 14 November 1979]]

Like his father, Luns demonstrated a preference for conservative and authoritarian political parties and an interest in international politics. As a young student he positioned himself on the political right, favouring a strong authority for the state and being of the opinion that socialism, because of its idealistic ideology, had fostered the rise of fascism and nazism.<ref>Kersten, A.E., ''Luns. Een politieke biografie.'' Amsterdam 2010 p.42-44.</ref> Luns joined the [[National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands]] (NSB) in 1933 and left three years later but when questioned about it in later years, never admitted that it might have been "a youthful misjudgment".<ref name="van der Vat">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/jul/18/guardianobituaries |title=Joseph Luns  |first=Dan |last=van der Vat |date=18 July 2002 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=19 October 2018}}</ref>

His choice for a diplomatic career was inspired by his father. He joined the Dutch Diplomatic Service in 1938 and, after a two-year assignment at the Private Office of the Foreign Minister, was appointed as attaché in Bern ([[Switzerland]]) in 1940. In late 1941, he moved to [[Lisbon]], Portugal. In both countries, he was involved in assistance to Dutch refugees, political espionage and counterintelligence. In 1943, he was transferred to the Dutch embassy in London. Ambassador [[Edgar Michiels van Verduynen]] discovered Luns's great affinity for the political element in international affairs and entrusted him with important files on Germany, which Luns handled with great skill.<ref>Kersten, A.E., ''Luns. Een politieke biografie.'' Amsterdam 2010 p.67-72.</ref>

In 1949, Luns was appointed as deputy Dutch permanent representative to the United Nations. He worked closely with his new chief, Von Balluseck, a political appointee without diplomatic experience. After the Netherlands became a member of the Security Council, he temporarily chaired the Disarmament Commission. Luns was sceptical of the importance of the United Nations for international peace, believing it at times to be more like a forum for propaganda than a centre for solving international conflicts. Still, he thought that it was worthwhile to keep the UN in shape because it was the sole international organisation which offered opportunities for discussions between all states.<ref>Kersten, A.E., ''Luns. Een politieke biografie.'' Amsterdam 2010 p.83-87.</ref>

===Minister of Foreign Affairs (1952–1971)===
Because of the tenacity of the Dutch [[Catholic People's Party]] to occupy the Foreign Ministry after the 1952 elections, Luns entered Dutch politics as the favourite of its political leader [[Carl Romme]]. His co-minister was [[Johan Beyen]], an international banker not affiliated to any political party but the protégé of Queen [[Juliana of the Netherlands|Juliana]]. The two ministers had a completely different style of operating and clashed repeatedly on policy even before the end of 1952. However, they accommodated and avoided future conflicts by a very strict division of labour. Luns was responsible for bilateral relations, [[Benelux]] and international organisations. After the 1956 elections, Beyen left office and Luns stayed as Foreign Minister until 1971 in both centre-left and centre-right governments. Bilateral relations with [[Indonesia]] and the [[Federal Republic of Germany]], security policy and European integration were the most important issues during his tenure.
Atlantic co-operation was a fundamental aspect of Luns's foreign policy, and Dutch foreign policy in general. Luns believed that Western Europe could not survive the [[Cold War]] without American nuclear security and so he promoted strong and intensified political and military co-operation in NATO. Luns accepted American leadership of NATO as such but expected better co-operation between the United States States and its allies since, he thought that the United States too often acted independently of its allies, particularly in decolonisation issues.<ref>Until 1962, Luns was notorious for his highly critical statements on the US's Indonesian policy, Kersten, A.E., ''Luns. Een politieke biografie.'' Amsterdam 2010 p.620</ref> Luns could also be critical of US foreign policy, and, in bilateral relations, he defended Dutch national interests strongly and expected American support in the bilateral difficulties with Indonesia.

In 1952 Luns expected to improve relations with Indonesia without transferring the disputed area of [[Dutch New Guinea|West New Guinea]] to the former colony. By 1956, however, this policy had proved ineffectual, but Luns and the Dutch government were still determined not to transfer West New Guinea to the [[Republic of Indonesia]]. When, in 1960, it became obvious that allied support for this policy, particularly from the United States, was waning, Luns tried to find an intermediate solution by transferring the administration of the territory to the United Nations, but that attempt to keep West New Guinea out of Indonesian hands failed as well. After difficult negotiations, the area was finally transferred to the Republic of Indonesia in 1963 after a short interim administration of the UN. Despite his personal anger over this outcome, which was considered a personal defeat by Luns, the foreign minister still worked to restore relations with Indonesia in the aftermath of the West New Guinea problem.

Luns was more successful in the normalisation of the bilateral relations with [[West Germany]]. Luns shared Dutch public opinion in demanding that Germany recognise the damage it had caused during the Second World War, and so a ''mea culpa'' required. He demanded that before any negotiations on other bilateral disputes could start, the amount of damages to be paid to Dutch war victims had to be agreed upon. During the final stages of the negotiations on bilateral disputes between the two countries, Luns decided to come to an arrangement with his German colleague on his own accord. He made concessions and so the Dutch parliament threatened not to ratify the agreement. With the full support of the government however, Luns was able to overcome the crisis.<ref>Kersten, A.E., ''Luns. Een politieke biografie.'' Amsterdam 2010 p.128-132</ref>

European integration was permanently on Luns's political agenda. Beyen had introduced the concept of the [[European Economic Community]]. In March 1957, Luns signed the [[Treaties of Rome]] establishing the EEC and [[Euratom]]. Although he preferred integration of a wider group of European states he accepted the treaty and defended the supranational structure it was based on. The endeavours of French president [[Charles de Gaulle]] to subordinate the institutions of the Six to an intergovernmental political structure, could count on strong opposition from Luns: such plans would, in his view, serve only French ambitions of a Europe independent of the United States.

Initially, Luns stood alone and was afraid that Franco-German co-operation would result in anti-Atlantic and anti-American policies that harmed the interests of the West. He made British membership of the European institutions conditional for his political co-operation. Gradually his views on Gaullist foreign policies were shared by the other EEC members and they joined Luns in his objections. Two of De Gaulle's decisions stiffened the opposition: his denial of EEC membership to the United Kingdom in January 1963 and France's retreat from the integrated military structure of NATO in 1966. Luns played a vital role in the negotiations unwinding French participation and continuing its political membership of the Alliance. By then, Luns had internationally established his reputation as an able and reliable negotiator and was seen as an important asset in London and Washington. After the retreat of De Gaulle in 1968, the EEC Summit of The Hague, in December 1969, ended the long crisis of the EEC integration process, opened the way to British membership and agreed on new venues for political co-operation, a common market and monetary union.

Throughout his years as Dutch foreign minister, Luns had gained an international status uncommon for a foreign minister of a small country. He owed this to his personal style in which duress, a high level of information, political leniency and diplomatic skills were combined with wit, gallant conversation and the understanding that diplomacy was a permanent process of negotiations in which a victory should never be celebrated too exuberantly at the cost of the loser.

===NATO Secretary-General (1971–1984)===
In 1971, Luns was appointed as [[NATO]] secretary-general. At the time of his appointment, public protests against American policies in Vietnam were vehement throughout Western Europe and among European politicians the credibility of the American nuclear protection was in doubt. Though there were initial doubts about his skills for the job he soon proved that he was capable of managing the alliance in crisis. He regarded himself as the spokesman of the alliance and he aimed at balancing the security and political interests of the alliance as a whole.

Luns was in favour of negotiating with the [[Soviet Union]] and the [[Warsaw Pact]] members on the reduction of armaments if the Western defence was kept in shape during such negotiations. European members of NATO, according to Luns, should understand that the United States carried international responsibilities while the latter should understand that in-depth consultation with the European governments was conditional to forging a united front on the international stage, which could be accepted and endorsed by all members of NATO.

US-Soviet negotiations on mutual troop reductions and the strategic nuclear arsenal caused severe tensions. Luns convinced American leaders that it undermined the credibility in Western Europe of their nuclear strategy by neglecting European fears of a change of strategy which would leave Europe unprotected in case of a Soviet nuclear attack. The modernisation of the [[tactical nuclear weapon|tactical nuclear forces]] by the introduction of the neutron bomb and cruise missiles caused deep divisions. In the end, Luns succeeded in keeping NATO together in the so-called [[NATO Double-Track Decision|Double-Track Decision]] of December 1979.<ref>Kersten, A.E., ''Luns. A political biography.'' Amsterdam 2010 p.592</ref> The deployment of these new weapon systems was linked to success in American-Soviet arms reduction talks.

It was also the duty of the secretary-general to mediate in cause of conflicts within the alliance. He was successful in the conflict between Great Britain and Iceland, the so-called [[Cod War|Second Cod War]] not by pressuring the Icelandic government to end its aggressive behaviour against British trawlers but by convincing the British government that it had to take the first step by calling back its destroyers to open the way to negotiations. Luns failed however in the conflict between Greece and Turkey over the territorial boundaries and Cyprus. Lack of co-operation on both sides made Luns unable to mediate or advise on procedures to find a way out.

Between 1964 and 1984 he participated in every annual conference of the [[Bilderberg Group]].

===Late life===
Luns retired as secretary-general in 1984, staying in office for almost 13 years, more than anyone else. Because of the changes the 1960s and 1970s had brought to Dutch society and culture, the strongly conservative Luns decided not to return to his home country but instead settled in Brussels to spend his remaining years in retirement.<ref>Kersten, A.E., ''Luns. Een politieke biografie.'' Amsterdam 2010 p.611</ref> Luns died at 90.

==Honours and awards==
Luns was awarded many high-ranking awards during his lifetime, among them the Grand Cross of the [[Legion of Honour|Légion d'Honneur]] in 1954, Member of [[Order of the Companions of Honour]] by [[Queen Elizabeth II]] in 1971 and the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] by then President [[Ronald Reagan]] in 1984.<ref>[http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1984/53084b.htm Presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom]</ref> In his home country, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Netherlands Lion]], the highest civil decoration of the Netherlands, in 1953. In 1986, he was awarded the [[Atatürk International Peace Prize]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Atatürk Uluslararası Barış Ödülü – AYK|url=https://www.ayk.gov.tr/s9-hakkmzda/baris-odulu/ataturk-uluslararasi-baris-odulu-2/|access-date=2020-06-25|website=www.ayk.gov.tr|date=3 July 2015 }}</ref>

==Personal life==
Luns married Baroness Lia van Heemstra, who was a niece of Baroness [[Ella van Heemstra]], the mother of actress [[Audrey Hepburn]]. The Lunses had two children − a son and a daughter.<ref name="van der Vat"/>

He remained a practising Catholic throughout his life and was generally sympathetic to the [[traditionalist Catholic]] position but never affiliated himself with dissident groups. Luns visited the [[Tridentine Mass]] held by the Assumptionist priest Winand Kotte, who opposed the modernising policies of the [[Second Vatican Council]], in [[St. Willibrord's Church, Utrecht]] in August 1971. This seems to have been something of a misunderstanding on Luns' part however, since he had never heard of Kotte's anti-Council movement and did not wish to be affiliated with it.<ref>Kersten, A.E., ''Luns. Een politieke biografie''. Amsterdam 2010 pp.448-449</ref>

An avid stamp collector, his favourite reading material included classical literature, history books (Luns was an expert on the history of the [[Napoleonic era]]) and detective novels. Because of his interests in international navies, the latest edition of ''[[Jane's Fighting Ships]]'' was always within his reach in his office.

==Decorations==
{| class="wikitable" style="width:60%;"
|- style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;"
| colspan=5 |'''Honours'''
|-
! style="width:80px;"| Ribbon bar !! Honour !! Country !! Date !! Comment
|-
| [[File:436px ribbon bar of the Order of the Rose (Brazil).svg|80px]]
| [[Grand Cross]] of the [[Order of the Rose]]
| Brazil 
| 10 January 1953
| 
|-
| [[File:St Olavs Orden storkors stripe.svg|80px]]
| [[Grand Cross]] of the [[Order of St. Olav]]
| [[Norway]]
| 25 April 1953
| 
|-
| [[File:Cordone di gran Croce OMRI BAR.svg|80px]]
| [[Grand Cross|Knight Grand Cross]] of the [[Order of Merit of the Italian Republic|Order of Merit]]
| Italy
| 15 September 1953
| 
|-
| [[File:Grand Crest Ordre de Leopold.png|80px]]
| [[Grand Cross]] of the [[Order of Leopold (Belgium)|Order of Leopold]]
| [[Belgium]]
| 10 January 1954
| 
|-
| [[File:GRE Order of George I - Grand Cross BAR.png|80px]]
| [[Grand Cross]] of the [[Order of George I]]
| [[Greece]]
| 14 February 1954
| 
|-
| [[File:ETH Order of Menelik II - Grand Cross BAR.png|80px]]
| [[Grand Cross|Knight Grand Cross]] of the [[Order of Menelik II]]
| [[Ethiopia]]
| 1 July 1954
| 
|-
| [[File:Legion Honneur GC ribbon.svg|80px]]
| [[Grand Cross]] of the [[Legion of Honour]]
| France
| 12 August 1954
| 
|-
| [[File:Ordre de la couronne de Chene GC ribbon.svg|80px]]
| [[Grand Cross]] of the [[Order of the Oak Crown]]
| [[Luxembourg]]
| 30 May 1955 
| 
|-
| [[File:Order of the White Elephant - 1st Class (Thailand) ribbon.svg|80px]]
| [[Grand Cross|Knight Grand Cross]] of the [[Order of the White Elephant]]
| [[Thailand]]
| 5 September 1955 
| 
|-
| [[File:SWE Order of the Polar Star (after 1975) - Commander Grand Cross BAR.png|80px]]
| [[Grand Cross|Commander Grand Cross]] of the [[Order of the Polar Star]]
| Sweden
| 30 September 1955 
| 
|-
| [[File:GER Bundesverdienstkreuz 7 Grosskreuz.svg|80px]] 
| [[Grand Cross]] of the [[Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany|Order of Merit]]
| Germany
| 10 December 1956
| 
|-
| [[File:NLD Order of Orange-Nassau - Knight Grand Cross BAR.png|80px]]
| [[Grand Cross|Knight Grand Cross]] of the [[Order of Orange-Nassau]]
| Netherlands
| 5 December 1966
| <small>Elevated from Grand Officer (29 April 1959)</small>
|-
| [[File:Order of the Companions of Honour Ribbon.gif|80px]]
| Honorary Member of the <br/> [[Order of the Companions of Honour]]
| United Kingdom
| 14 June 1971
| 
|-
| [[File:NLD Order of the Dutch Lion - Grand Cross BAR.png|80px]]
| [[Grand Cross|Knight Grand Cross]] of the [[Order of the Netherlands Lion]]
| Netherlands
| 17 July 1971
| <small>Elevated from Commander (18 October 1956)</small>
|-
| [[File:Presidential Medal of Freedom (ribbon).svg|80px]]
| [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]]
| United States
| 10 June 1984
| 
|-
|}

==Further reading==
* Wilsford, David, ed. ''Political leaders of contemporary Western Europe: a biographical dictionary'' (Greenwood, 1995) pp.&nbsp;287–94.

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist}}

:{{note_label|note1|In 1929 he legally changed his name from Joseph '''Antoine Marie''' Hubert Luns to Joseph '''Marie Antoine''' Hubert Luns}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}

;Official
* {{in lang|nl}} [https://www.parlement.com/id/vg09ll31g3x6/j_m_a_h_joseph_luns Mr.Dr. J.M.A.H. (Joseph) Luns] Parlement & Politiek
* [http://nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_137967.htm NATO Declassified – Joseph Luns (biography)]
* [http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/who_is_who_7301.htm?selectedLocale=en Biography on NATO]

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Eelco van Kleffens]] <br/> <small>(1947)</small>}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands#List of Ministers without Portfolio|Minister for Foreign Policy]]|years=1952–1956}}
{{s-aft|after=''Office discontinued''}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Johan Beyen]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]|years=1956–1971}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Norbert Schmelzer]]}}
{{s-dip}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Manlio Brosio]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Secretary General of NATO]]|years=1971–1984}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington|Lord Carrington]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{NATOSecGens}}
{{Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands}}
{{Ministers without Portfolio of the Netherlands}}
{{Charlemagne Prize recipients}}
{{De Jong cabinet}}
{{Zijlstra cabinet}}
{{Cals cabinet}}
{{Marijnen cabinet}}
{{De Quay cabinet}}
{{Second Beel cabinet}}
{{Third Drees cabinet}}
{{Second Drees cabinet}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luns, Joseph}}
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[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic State Party politicians]]
[[Category:Royal Netherlands Navy personnel]]
[[Category:Secretaries general of NATO]]
[[Category:University of Amsterdam alumni]]
[[Category:Van Heemstra (family)]]