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Ciro Domenico Kroon (31 January 1916 – 9 June 2001) was an Curaçao politician and businessman. He served as Minister of Social and Economic Affairs from 1957 until 1968, and Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles from 1968 until 1969. The 1969 Curaçao uprising caused the collapse of his government.
In 1949, Kroon was elected to the Estates. On 16 June 1951, he became a member of the island council of Curaçao, and served until 1957. In 1956, he first served as acting Lieutenant governor of Curaçao. In November 1957, he was appointed Minister of Social and Economic Affairs.
On the outside, Curaçao appeared to be in great shape. It had one of the highest per capita incomes, a 99.5% literacy rate, a tourist friendly capital with luxury hotels and many duty-free shops, however Royal Dutch Shell, the largest employer, had laid off 2,000 workers. About 20% of the population, mainly of African descent, was unemployed, and many were living in slums on the edge of Willemstad. On the other hand, the mainly Caucasian management was living in the segregated and gated community villa wards of Julianadorp and Emmastad.
Royal Dutch Shell announced using plumbers of subcontractor Werkspoor Caribbean (WESCAR), where the employees received significant lower wages. A strike was called for the end of May by the unions. On 30 May 1969, the strikers were joined by disgruntled personnel of Texas Instruments, and a march was organised to the centre of Willemstad which escalated in a riot where houses were set on fire, and shops were looted.
The police were unable to handle the situation, prime minister Kroon could not located, governor Cola Debrot was in New York, therefore, Ronchi Isa, Minister of Justice, called in the Netherlands Marine Corps. The riot ended when it was announced that Shell and WESCAR had given into the demands, and the marines left on 6 June. The riot had resulted in two deaths, 69 wounded, 53 buildings were destroyed, and 190 looted. Damages were estimated at US$40 million. The government of the Netherlands Antilles announced its resignation, and an ad interim government was formed headed by which would act as a place holder until the 1969 elections. Ernesto Petronia was later elected as the first Prime Minister of African descent, however the Democratic Party would remain the largest party in the coalition.
After retiring from politics, Kroon became president of the Curaçao branch of Mercantil Banco, and in December 1985, he was appointed formateur of a new government which resulted in the Don Martina government.
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