Willem Eduard Bok
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name=Willem Eduard Bok
| image=WE Bok NP.jpg
| order=State Secretary of the South African Republic
| term_start= 1880
| term_end= 1889
| predecessor=New office
| successor=W.J. Leyds
| order2=Government Commissioner at Johannesburg
| term_start2=
| term_end2=
| predecessor2=New office
| successor2=
| birth_date={{birth date|1846|06|28|df=y}}
| birth_place=Den Burg, Texel, Netherlands
| death_date={{death date and age|1904|11|01|1846|06|28|df=y}}
| death_place=Johannesburg, Transvaal Colony
| spouse=Martina Gerardina Johanna Eekhout
|children=5, including Willem Eduard Bok Jr.
| occupation=Merchant, civil servant
| signature=
}}
Willem Eduard Bok, also known as W. Eduard Bok (Den Burg, Texel, Netherlands, 28 June 1846 – Johannesburg, Transvaal Colony, 1 November 1904) was a Dutch-born South African Boer politician, civil servant and statesman, who served as first State Secretary of the South African Republic (Transvaal) from 1880 to 1889.
Biography
=Career=
Bok started his career as sales-agent in Zaandam, Netherlands. In 1876 he moved to Pretoria, where he gained the confidence of Paul Kruger and Piet Joubert and acted as their secretary during negotiations about the position of the Transvaal in 1877–1878. At the declaration of independence he became the first State Secretary of the South African Republic, a position he would hold for almost a decade.{{Cite book|title=A Concise Historical Dictionary of Greater Johannesburg|last=Musiker|first=Naomi|last2=Musiker|first2=Reuben|publisher=Francolin|year=2000|isbn=1868590712|location=Cape Town}}{{rp|71}} Afterwards he was appointed Government Commissioner in Johannesburg.{{rp|71}}
In his capacity as State Secretary Bok registered the gold claims in the East Rand area of the Transvaal.Keller, Bill. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE0D81531F93AA2575AC0A965958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 Boksburg's Goofy White Smiles.] New York Times September 19, 1993. The town of Boksburg outside Johannesburg was named after him.Room, Adrian. Placenames of the World. McFarland & Company, 2006. {{ISBN|0-7864-2248-3}} Bok Street in the Johannesburg CBD is named after him.{{rp|71}}
Bok was decorated by the French Republic with a knighthood in the Legion of Honour and by the Portuguese government with a knighthood in the Order of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa.
=Family=
Bok married Pretoria 23 December 1878 with Martina Gerardina Johanna Eekhout (1856-1910), with whom he had five children. His eldest son and namesake Willem Eduard Bok, Jr. studied law and became a justice in the Supreme Court of the Union of South Africa.{{Cite journal |last=Holden, C |date=Apr 1991 |title=Bok |journal=Science |volume=252 |issue=5002 |pages=34 |doi=10.1126/science.252.5002.34-a |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=17739067}}
References
=Notes=
{{reflist|2}}
=Literature=
- {{cite journal|title=Bok (Paesens, Oostdongeradeel)|journal = Nederland's Patriciaat|volume = 64| pages = 10–37| publisher = Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie| location = Den Haag| date = 1978}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bok, Willem Eduard}}
Category:South African Republic politicians