Former Dutch Prime Minister Dries van Agt and his wife have both opted for euthanasia and died hand in hand, the Rights Forum, an organization he founded, announced Friday.
Dries van Agt and his wife, Eugenie, both 93, passed away in his hometown of Nijmegen on Monday. The couple had both been suffering from deteriorating health for some time.
The former prime minister suffered a brain hemorrhage in 2019 and never fully recovered. The couple’s director said that they opted for euthanasia because they were very ill and couldn’t live without each other.
Twenty-nine couples opted for euthanasia in 2022, up from 16 in 2021 and 13 the year before. Van Agt was the prime minister of the Netherlands from 1977 until 1982. Following a visit to Israel in 1999, he became increasingly vocal about his support for Palestinian people.
After his political career, van Agt founded The Rights Forum in 2009, which advocates for a just and sustainable Dutch and European policy regarding the Palestine/Israel issue.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte referred to van Agt as his “great-great-grandfather in office” and remember him as an authentic leader, expressing that the former prime minister gave color and substance to Dutch politics in a time of polarization.
The Dutch royal family also praised van Agt, saying that he took administrative responsibility in a turbulent time and managed to inspire a lot of people with his striking personality and colorful style.
