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Juancho Yrausquin

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Juancho Yrausquin
Yrausquin in 1954
Minister of Finance
In office
1 April 1956 (1956-04-01) – 20 June 1962 (1962-06-20)
Prime MinisterEfraïn Jonckheer
Preceded byFrederick Beaujon
Succeeded byOscar Henriquez [pap; nl]
Minister of Welfare
In office
5 December 1957 (1957-12-05) – 20 June 1962 (1962-06-20)
Prime MinisterEfraïn Jonckheer
Preceded byA. E. Booi
Succeeded byOscar Henriquez [pap; nl]
Leader of the Aruban Patriotic Party
In office
23 October 1949 (1949-10-23) – 20 June 1962 (1962-06-20)
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded by
President of the Estates
In office
8 December 1954 (1954-12-08)[1] – 20 March 1956 (1956-03-20)[2]
Preceded byCharles Voges
Succeeded byRonchi Isa
In office
12 May 1949 (1949-05-12) – 5 May 1950 (1950-05-05)
Preceded byElias Römer [pap]
Succeeded byWilliam Plantz
Member of the Estates
In office
28 October 1947 (1947-10-28) – 1 April 1956 (1956-04-01)
Preceded byVictor Henriquez[3]
ConstituencyAruba
Member of the Island Council of Aruba
In office
2 July 1951 (1951-07-02) – 1 April 1956 (1956-04-01)
Succeeded byJosé Leonard[4]
Personal details
Born
Juan Enrique Yrausquin

(1904-12-03)3 December 1904
Oranjestad, Curaçao and Dependencies (present-day Aruba)
Died20 June 1962(1962-06-20) (aged 57)
Willemstad, Netherlands Antilles (present-day Curaçao)
Political partyAruban Patriotic Party
Other political
affiliations		Aruban People's Party (until 1949)
Spouse
​
(m. 1943)​
Occupation
  • Banker
  • politician

Juan Enrique "Juancho" Yrausquin (3 December 1904 – 20 June 1962), also spelled Irausquin, was a Netherlands Antillean banker and politician of the Aruban Patriotic Party (PPA). He served as Minister of Finance and Welfare in the first and second Jonckheer cabinets until his death on 20 June 1962.

Biography

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Early life and career

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Juan Enrique Yrausquin was born on 3 December 1904 in Oranjestad on the island of Aruba, which at the time was a part of the Dutch colony of Curaçao and Dependencies. His parents were of Basque Venezuelan descent.[5][6] After completing his primary education on Aruba, Yrausquin continued his studies on Curaçao, taking courses in accounting and commerce. At the age of fourteen, he began working for the Hollandsche Bank. In 1929, he switched to the John G. Eman Bank, the first commercial bank of Aruba, which co-founded the Aruba Bank [pap] in 1936. Yrausquin was appointed director of the newly formed bank, and retired from this position in 1951.[6]

Political career

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Yrausquin unsuccessfully participated in the 1945 general election as the third candidate on the electoral list led by Henny Eman, which won two of the three Aruban seats in the Estates. Nonetheless, he was appointed to the body by acting governor Cornelius Süthoff on 28 October 1947, after one of the five governor-appointed members had vacated their seat.[7] In 1949, he participated in the first parliamentary election after the introduction of universal suffrage, winning a seat on behalf of the Aruban People's Party (AVP).[8] Shortly after, he succeeded Elias Römer [pap] as president of the Estates.[9]

Due to disagreements with party leader Henny Eman, Yrausquin and Porfirio Croes [pap; nl] left the AVP and founded the Aruban Patriotic Party (PPA) on 23 October 1949.[10] Yrausquin was re-elected into the Estates in the 1950, 1954 and 1958 general elections, and won a seat in the island council of Aruba in the 1951 and 1955 island council elections. During his tenure as member of the Estates, he was part of the Antillean delegation to the round table conferences on the restructuring of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, held between 1948 and 1954 in The Hague.[6]

Following the 1954 election, he was tasked with leading the formation of a coalition government.[11] As formateur, he formed the first Jonckheer cabinet, but did not become a member of the cabinet himself.[12][13] Instead, he was given a second term as president of the Estates.[14] In April 1956, a cabinet reshuffle led to the appointment of Yrausquin as Minister of Finance.[15][16][17] Later, in 1957, responsibility for the Ministry of Welfare was added to his portfolio.[18] After the 1958 election, he held on to the position of Minister of Finance and Welfare in the second Jonckheer cabinet, which was installed on 3 October 1958.[19]

Personal life

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Yrausquin married Maria Wajcberg on 17 June 1943 in Miami.[20] The couple did not have children.[21] Juan David Yrausquin, who served as Minister of Finance of Aruba from 2013 to 2014, is his second cousin twice removed.[22][23]

Death and legacy

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Yrausquin died on 20 June 1962 in the Sint-Elisabeth Hospital in Willemstad, after suffering a heart attack during a meeting of the Council of Ministers.[6][21] A politician of the Radical People's Party (PRP), Willem van Lamoen, later claimed that the police investigated his death to rule out a possible poisoning.[24] According to Van Lamoen, a maid working for Prime Minister Efraïn Jonckheer was suspected of poisoning Yrausquin's coffee, but was released after three days in custody.[24]

Statue of Yrausquin in Oranjestad

Yrausquin is acknowledged for his role in advancing the tourism industry and economic infrastructure of Aruba and the other islands of the Dutch Caribbean.[6][25] Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, the airport of Saba, was named after him in honor of his efforts to secure funding for its construction.[6][26][27] A statue of Yrausquin was erected in Oranjestad in 1968.[25]

Electoral history

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Electoral history of
Year Body Party Pos. Votes Result
Party seats Individual
1945 Estates (Territory of Curaçao) Eman List 3 18 2 Lost[a]
1949 Estates (Netherlands Antilles) Aruban People's Party 2 192 5 Won
1950 Estates (Netherlands Antilles) Aruban Patriotic Party 2 1,103 2 Won
1951 Island council of Aruba Aruban Patriotic Party 1 [?] 8 Won
1954 Estates (Netherlands Antilles) Aruban Patriotic Party 1 3,668 5 Won
1955 Island council of Aruba Aruban Patriotic Party 1 [?] 15 Won
1958 Estates (Netherlands Antilles) Aruban Patriotic Party 1 3,683 5 Won

Honors

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Notes

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  1. ^ Yrausquin was appointed to the body later during the term due to a vacancy.

References

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  1. ^ "Voorzitter en vicevoorzitter Staten benoemd". Amigoe di Curaçao (in Dutch). 9 December 1954.
  2. ^ "Yrausquin legt het Statenvoorzitterschap neer". Amigoe di Curaçao (in Dutch). 21 March 1956.
  3. ^ "Statenlid V. Henriquez bedankt". Amigoe di Curaçao (in Dutch). 3 September 1947.
  4. ^ "Mutatie in de Eilandsraad". Amigoe di Curaçao (in Dutch). 7 April 1956.
  5. ^ Jhr. H. Iden Frigerio (2022). Arubaans Patriciaat. Archivo Nacional Aruba. pp. 222–225.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Johnson, Will (30 October 2015). "Juan Enrique Irausquin". The Saba Islander. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  7. ^ "Statenlid beëdigd". Amigoe di Curaçao (in Dutch). 29 October 1947.
  8. ^ "Uitslag van de verkiezingen op Aruba". Het nieuws: algemeen dagblad (in Dutch). Paramaribo: A. J. Morpurgo. 25 March 1949.
  9. ^ "Irausquin tot voorzitter benoemd". Amigoe di Curaçao (in Dutch). 12 May 1949.
  10. ^ "Onenigheid in de A.V.P." Het nieuws: algemeen dagblad (in Dutch). Paramaribo: A. J. Morpurgo. 4 June 1949.
  11. ^ "Vorming kabinet in Antillen is geen sinecure". Algemeen Handelsblad (in Dutch). 30 November 1954.
  12. ^ "Antillen hebben nieuwe regering Efrain Jonckheer premier van coalitie-kabinet". Algemeen Handelsblad (in Dutch). 8 December 1954.
  13. ^ "Antillen hebben na veel gezwoeg nieuw kabinet". Het Vrije Volk (in Dutch). 9 December 1954.
  14. ^ "Regeringsraad Antillen: Staten accoord met voordracht". De Tijd (in Dutch). 8 December 1954.
  15. ^ "Yrausquin op 1 April minister". Amigoe di Curaçao (in Dutch). 29 March 1956.
  16. ^ "Yrausquin minister van Financiën". Amigoe di Curaçao (in Dutch). 4 April 1956.
  17. ^ "Nieuwe taakverdeling in Antilliaanse kabinet". Algemeen Handelsblad (in Dutch). 5 April 1956.
  18. ^ "Portefeuilleverdeling in Antilliaans kabinet". De Maasbode (in Dutch). 12 December 1957.
  19. ^ "De portefeuilles zijn verdeeld". De Tijd (in Dutch). 8 October 1958.
  20. ^ "Entry for Juan E Yrausquin and Maria Waisberg" (17 June 1943). Florida, Marriages, 1830-1993, ID: 23947. FamilySearch.
  21. ^ a b "Minister J. Irausquin op Curaçao overleden". De Tijd / De Maasbode (in Dutch). 21 June 1962.
  22. ^ "Familia Yrausquin: Árbol genealógico de Venezuela". roberto-yrausquin.tripod.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  23. ^ Jhr. H. Iden Frigerio (2022). Arubaans Patriciaat. Archivo Nacional Aruba. p. 290.
  24. ^ a b "Van Lamoen: min. Irausquin vermoord". Amigoe di Curaçao (in Dutch). 8 June 1966.
  25. ^ a b "Antillen huldigen Juancho Irausquin". Amigoe di Curaçao (in Dutch). 21 June 1968.
  26. ^ "Saba kreeg vliegveld en luchtlijn". Algemeen Handelsblad (in Dutch). 24 September 1963.
  27. ^ "Saba airport celebrates 60 years with launch of its new IATA logo". The Daily Herald. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
  28. ^ "Koninklijke onderscheidingen". Amigoe di Curaçao (in Dutch). 29 April 1950.
  29. ^ "Yrausquin, J.E." (24 April 1950). 2.02.32 Inventaris van het archief van de Kanselarij der Nederlandse Orden, 1815-1994, ID: 897ED.10 897ED6. Nationaal Archief.
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