| Wim Polak | |
| Office: | Member of the Council of State |
| Term Start: | 16 April 1984 |
| Term End: | 1 October 1994 |
| Vicepresident: | Willem Scholten |
| Office1: | Mayor of Amsterdam |
| Term Start1: | 15 June 1977 |
| Term End1: | 1 June 1983 |
| Predecessor1: | Louis Kuijpers (Ad interim) |
| Successor1: | Enneüs Heerma (Ad interim) |
| Office2: | State Secretary for the Interior |
| Term Start2: | 11 May 1973 |
| Term End2: | 1 May 1977 |
| Primeminister2: | Joop den Uyl |
| Predecessor2: | Jan van Stuijvenberg |
| Successor2: | Henk Koning |
| Birthname: | Willem Polak |
| Birth Date: | 1924 9, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Death Place: | Ilpendam, Netherlands |
| Death Cause: | Cancer |
| Nationality: | Dutch |
| Party: | Labour Party (from 1946) |
| Otherparty: | Social Democratic Workers' Party (1945–1946) |
| Children: | 1 son and 1 daughter |
| Alma Mater: | University of Amsterdam (Bachelor of Economics) |
| Occupation: | Politician · Civil servant · Economist · Journalist · Editor · Author · Corporate director · Nonprofit director |
Willem "Wim" Polak (14 September 1924 – 1 October 1999) was a Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and economist.[1]
Polak was born to a Jewish merchant family in Amsterdam on 14 September 1924. His parents were murdered by the Nazis during the German Occupation of the Netherlands. After the Second World War, he worked as a journalist for Het Vrije Volk. Polak was appointed Secretary of State for local finances in Joop den Uyl's government. He worked towards improving the financial position of the larger Dutch cities. Subsequently, he became mayor of Amsterdam for a six-year period, where his challenges included numerous squatting cases as well as riots related to Queen Beatrix's coronation.
He died in 1999 at his home in Ilpendam.
| Honours | |||||
| Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion | Netherlands | 11 April 1978 | |||
| Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 1 June 1983 | |||