Petrus Albertus Kasteel

Petrus Albertus "Piet" Kasteel (4 November 1901 – 13 December 2003) was a Dutch journalist, diplomat, and colonial administrator. He was parliamentary editor of , and fled to England during World War II where he served for the Dutch government-in-exile. He served as Governor of Curaçao and Dependencies from 15 July 1942 until 4 August 1948, Dutch Ambassador to Chile (1948–1956), to Ireland (1956–1966) and briefly to Israel.

Biography Kasteel was born on 4 November 1901 in Zwolle, Netherlands. He converted to the Catholic Church. In 1923, he moved to Amsterdam, where he became a journalist for De Tijd, and founded the Catholic association De Klare Waarheid. In October 1929, he became parliamentary editor of , then the largest Catholic newspaper in the Netherlands. In 1938, he received his doctorate in political and social sciences from KU Leuven on a biography of prime minister Abraham Kuyper.

On 14 May 1940, after the German invasion of the Netherlands, Kasteel as a known anti-fascist boarded a fishing boat leaving his wife and children behind, and arrived in England two days later. He offered his services to the Dutch government-in-exile under the nom de guerre "Chateau neuf du Pape". In 1947 negotiations started for political autonomy of Curaçao and Dependencies. The island of Aruba no longer wanted remain subordinate to Curaçao, and demonstrations were organised. In January 1948, the delegations of Aruba and Curaçao demanded the resignation of Kasteel. In June 1948, Kasteel announced his resignation, and left on 4 August 1948. Commander in the Legion of Honour. Order of the Southern Cross. Medal of Freedom with Silver Palm. Knight in the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.