Mr. Dries van Agt, born February 2, 1931 is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from December 19, 1977, until November 4, 1982. After his premiership, Van Agt remained in active politics and became a diplomat for the European Communities, serving first as ambassador to Japan from April 1, 1987 until April, 1 1989 when he became the ambassador to the United States until April 1, 1995. For some years he has taken an outspoken stance regarding the Middle East, resulting in a fierce criticism of the policies undertaken by the government of Israel with regard to the Palestinians. At the Clio Conference of 2012 Mr. van Agt will discuss the Israel/Palestine conflict in its broad context, the burdened relation with Turkey and Iran, and especially the complicated relations with the precarious administration in Washington and Europe.