User:Unichive2/sandbox53

Early Life
Paul Carl Rijkens was born to Luppo Rijkens, a margarine manufacturer, and Franzisca Tenbult on September 14, 1888. Rijkens had a difficult childhood due to paralysis in one leg, the worst of which was overcome by surgical intervention.

After completing his HBS in Rotterdam, he quickly obtained the MO deed in accounting. The family business of Rijkens Sr. enjoyed a close business relationship with Van den Bergh's Fabrieken NV, eventually merging with the larger company.

Career
Paul started working for Van den Bergh's Limited, Rotterdam, in 1910. Three weeks after joining the firm he was transferred to the London office as assistant to the chief accountant and financial officer. He returned to Rotterdam in 1913 and was appointed as a proxy holder in 1916 as secretary to the management. By 1919 Paul was appointed director of the Company.

In 1922 he was appointed director of the N.V. Hollandsche Vereeniging for Exploitation of Margarine factories "Hovema", Rotterdam. He was subsequently appointed director or supervisory director of numerous other related companies.

When Van den Bergh and Jurgens merged in 1927, Paul Rijkens became director of Margarine Union Ltd. in London and of the N.V. Margarine Unie in Rotterdam, the two legal entities that shaped the new commercial unit.

Unilever came into being January 1st 1930, formed by the merger of the Dutch Margarine Union and the English Lever Brother Limited. The two companies had operated wildly different financial organizations, and uniting the two structures into one lead to much discussion. It was decided by John McDowell of Lever Brothers and Paul Rijkens of the Margarine Union that the share capitals would be amalgamated so that interest would be invested equally. 'The Equalisation Agreement' provided for two holding companies with identical boards- to be known as 'Unilever Limited' and 'Unilever NV' (Netherlands).

Paul Rijkens was appointed to the Board of Directors of the two newly established companies, Unilever Ltd. in London and Unilever N.V. in Rotterdam.

By 1937 due to the mounting difficulties in trading in Europe and especially Germany, NV's contribution had fallen to one-third. This led to a re-organization of assets between the dual companies- the principles and objectives of the original Equalisation Agreement were therefore reinforced and a new agreement signed 31st December 1937.

In 1939 Dr. R.J.H. Patijn became Chairman. In 1945 he was joined by Paul Rijkens and they shared the role until 1954.

He has held many other positions, including his role in the preparation of the first Bilderberg conference in 1954.

World War II
Before the Second World War, Rijkens’ international activities were mainly business driven. When Nazi-Germany occupied the Netherlands and the Dutch government fled to Great Britain, he became otherwise drawn into world affairs. He devoted the Unilever enterprise to the allied cause, acted as main advisor and supporter of the Dutch refugee community in London, and aided the Dutch cabinet in every possible way. He was a member of the Extraordinary Advisory Board of the Dutch Government in Exile and Chairman of a Dutch Study Group on Reconstruction Issues.

Later Years
When he stepped down as president of the board in 1955 he decided to devote his time to a great variety of societal activities, domestically as well as internationally. He returned to the Netherlands in 1954 but withdrew from the day-to-day management of the company due to his age, resigned from his board posts at the end of 1955, and continued to perform special activities for the group until 1958.

Death
Paul Rijkens died on April 20, 1965. He had been ill for over a month at the time of his death.

Awards
Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau

Knight in the Durch Lion

Prof. Honoris Causa in Economic Sciences at the Dutch Economic College in Rotterdam

Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire