Sicco Mansholt was a Dutch politician who served in various roles for the European Commission from 1958 to 1973. He was vice president from 1958 to 1967 and president from 1972 to 1973. As president, he advocated for policies promoting conservation, recycling, and zero economic growth in light of concerns around pollution and limited resources. Previously, he had played a key role in establishing the Common Agricultural Policy while serving as the agriculture commissioner.

1. Farmer, resistance fighter and a genuine 'European'

2. Member of the
European
Commission (EC). He
was vice president of
the EEC Commission
from January 1, 1958,
continued to be
victims of the
Commission of the
European
Communities to unify
European executives
from July 1, 1967.
During all this time he
was responsible for
the portfolio of
agriculture and
therefore the
implementation of the
Common Agricultural
Policy (CAP).

3. The March 22, 1972 after the resignation of Franco Maria Malfatti, became
President of the European Commission (see Commission Mansholt). His
mandate, which was greatly influenced by the report of the Club of Rome
Meadows, ended January 6, 1973. Thus, commenting on economic growth:
For me, the most important issue is how we can achieve zero growth in this
society. [...] If we do not, the distance, the tensions between rich and poor
is growing. I worry if get under control these powers fighting for permanent
growth. Our entire social system insists on growth. [An economy without
growth, would it still a capitalist economy as we know it? The issue is not
new, was openly debated in Paris on June 13, 1972 by Sicco Mansholt, who
was opposed to economic growth after having read the report of the MIT
Meadows Club of Rome and its many years of experience as rector
European agricultural policy. The debate, organized by Le Nouvel
Observateur (n. 397, 1972), attracted three thousand people. He had
another bright star, André Gorz (who used the nickname Michel Bosquet),
along with Herbert Marcuse, Edmond Maire (CFDT union), the philosopher
Edgar Morin, British ecologist Edward Goldsmith who had published
Blueprint for Survival in 1971 and the writer Philippe Saint Marc spoke not yet
climate change but the scarcity of resources, and also discussed the
increasing population, the absurdities of macroeconomic accounting of
GDP, happiness, capitalism, socialism, militarism , the technology and the
complexity. Sicco Mansholt announced preferred the BNB (Bonheur
National Brut, Gross National Happiness) gross national product, which had

4. Sicco Mansholt, who was 63, had started the European debate with a
letter to European Commission President Franco Malfatti in February 1972.
The letter was written shortly before the UN conference in Stockholm, the
first major environmental conference particularly concerned about
chemical contamination. The intention was to promote Mansholt European
public policies directed towards conservation and recycling and to
growth. Scientific research should support this new line. Mansholt clearly
ruled by a democratic socialism planned at European level. Had proposals
directly aimed against capitalist profits. He proposed certification of
recyclables that would tax breaks. A tariff on imports European recyclables
protect these certificates because otherwise impede international
competition that production less harmful. He was in favor of banning the
production of many non-essential. Masholt not think the "corporate
production method" out right now.
Other topics such as the class character of the environmental movement,
criticism against modernity of Cartesian science, complexity and resulting
uncertainties preventing naively use the notion of "ecological balance",
were discussed by André Gorz and Edgar Morin in debate Le Nouvel
Observateur on June 13, 1972, which starred Mansholt. Sicco Mansholt
coincided with several of the protagonists of this debate of 1972 when
environmentalism was not a luxury of the rich but a necessity for all, and
that those most affected by pollution and by the inhuman urban poor
were the banlieues. The problems were not just for humans, whether rich or

5. The Malfatti letter of February 1972 has three thousand words. Then, the
most important paragraphs.
Dear President: It is fitting that our Commission, in its final year, intensely
engaged in determining economic policy to follow (...) First, some facts. 1.
It seems increasingly that national governments can not ensure a balance
in the development of their economies. That is not just a European
phenomenon occurs in all industrialized states such as the U.S., Japan, etc..
The inflationary spiral accompanied by a rise in unemployment is a general
phenomenon. 2. No monetary equilibrium is achieved. At most, we can
talk about a temporary lull but there are all the elements that have
monetary difficulties again (...) These are some of the problems of today,
but those who come to us with increasing clarity are much more serious (...
) These are problems associated with the following which essentially
determine the future of humanity.
- The population growth in the world. - Food production - Industrialization. -
Pollution - Consumption of natural resources
I limit myself to these because they are the basis of the report of the
System Dynamics Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge, Massachusetts (July 1971). We might add:-Job creation-
Achieving meaningful real democracy-creating equal opportunities for all-
Our relations with developing countries with respect to this second list of
questions we could ask if they fall within the legal responsibility of the
Commission. Personally, I'm not interested in the legal aspect, I think we

6. I wonder: What can we do as "Europe" and what to do to not get
caught? The problems are so fundamental, so complex and so
intertwined that one wonders:
(...) Therefore, Europe has a job to do! The population problem is crucial
(...) In particular, in developing countries there is a birth rate that takes
terrifying dimensions but also in the industrial West can not escape the
control of the population. If nothing happens, the world population will
double in about 30 years, which means that in 2000 we will have
increased from 3500 to 7000 million. As for the West, it should be noted
that in industrial countries, the consumption of materials and energy per
capita is about 25 times greater than the average of developing
countries. If in 30 years we could ensure that "replacement family" is now
the norm, even then the population would grow to 6 billion. (...) In
part, we have the task of identifying the economic elements that will
facilitate the promotion of birth control. That could include fiscal policy
and the abolition of subsidies for large families. Here we could make
concrete proposals Can we really do something about it? Can Europe do
something? Not an issue for everyone together? (...) If Europe is a clear
policy, then it is best placed to force a policy in the rest of the
world, particularly in the United States and Japan.

7.  (Ulrum, 1908-Wapserveen, 1995) Político
holandés. Ministro de Agricultura (1945-
1958), vicepresidente de la comisión de la CEE
(1958-1967), vicepresidente (1967-1972) y
presidente (1972-1973) de la Comisión de las
tres Comunidades Europeas. Presidió las
comisiones que, a principios de los años
sesenta y en 1968, elaboraron sendos planes
para organizar la política agraria europea y las
reformas para corregir los desajustes que se
habían producido. En 1971 fue uno de los
máximos defensores del crecimiento cero.

8.  1908 - Born on the 13th of September in Ulrum, Groningen, Netherlands.
1938 - He became member of the SDAP (Sociaal Democratische Arbeiders Partij ) as a
secretary of the local party.
- He married with Henny J. Postel.
1945 - He was appointed as Minister of Agriculture, Fishery and Food distribution in Netherlands.
- He was a member of "Schermerhorn-Drees " a first Dutch Cabinet after World War II.
1948 - He was a member of the cabinet "Drees-Van Schaik".
1958 - He became the Commissioner of European Commission as a Commissioner for
Agriculture, modernising European Agliculture
 - He was also vice-president of the Commission of European Communities.
1972 - On the 22nd of March, he became the President of the European Commission.
1995 - He died on the 30th of June in Wapserveen, Drenthe, Netherlands.