Born in Indonesia in 1937, Dr. Bernard Bot studied at Leiden and Harvard Universities, entering the Dutch diplomatic service in 1963. He served in a.o. Buenos Aires, East Berlin and as Ambassador in Ankara, deputy-permanent representative to NATO and, from 1992 until 2002, as permanent representative to the European Union. Dr. Bot was the Dutch Minister of Foreign affairs between 2003 and 2007. Part of this article is an adaptation of his Beyen lecture, delivered in Utrecht on 6 March 2004.