Dirk Fock

Dirk Fock (19 June 1858 – 17 October 1941) was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the defunct Liberal State Party (LSP) now merged into the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). He served as Governor of Suriname (1908–1911), Speaker of the House of Representatives (1917–1921) and Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (1921–1926). Biography Fock was born on 19 June 1858 in Wijk bij Duurstede. After attending Gymnasium Haganum, Fock studied law at Leiden University from 1875 to 1880. After graduating, Fock went to the Dutch East Indies (now: Indonesia) were he worked as a lawyer and prosecutor in Batavia until 1898. In 1899, Fock returned to the Netherlands and started practising law in Rotterdam. On 17 September 1901, he was first elected to the States General of the Netherlands for the Liberal State Party. On 17 August 1905, he was appointed Minister of Colonial Affairs in the De Meester cabinet. During his tenure, he enhanced and extended education in the colonies, and served until 12 February 1908. On 10 Augustus 1908, Fock was appointed Governor-General of Suriname. During his tenure, he tried to stimulate the economy by developing the banana industry. There was increased immigration of indentured workers from British India and Java. Plans to further develop the healthcare and educational system were blocked by the States General. He served until 1 July 1911.