Editing Joseph Luns (section)

===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>