Juancho Yrausquin

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 Early life and career 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. 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 in 1936. Yrausquin was appointed director of the newly formed bank, and retired from this position in 1951. 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). Shortly after, he succeeded as president of the Estates.

Due to disagreements with party leader Henny Eman, Yrausquin and left the AVP and founded the Aruban Patriotic Party (PPA) on 23 October 1949. 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. As formateur, he formed the first Jonckheer cabinet, but did not become a member of the cabinet himself. Instead, he was given a second term as president of the Estates. In April 1956, a cabinet reshuffle led to the appointment of Yrausquin as Minister of Finance. Later, in 1957, responsibility for the Ministry of Welfare was added to his portfolio. 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.

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

Death and legacy 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. 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. Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, the airport of Saba, was named after him in honor of his efforts to secure funding for its construction. A statue of Yrausquin was erected in Oranjestad in 1968.