Auke Bloembergen

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Auke Reitze Bloembergen (28 August 1927 – 1 November 2016) was a Dutch jurist and legal scholar. He spent most of his career shaping civil law in the Netherlands, first as a professor and later as a leading judge.

Early life and education
Bloembergen was born in De Bilt, the son of Auke Bloembergen Sr. and Rie Quint, and was one of six children. His brother Nicolaas Bloembergen was a Nobel laureate in physics. He earned his law degree from Utrecht University in 1949. After two years of compulsory military service, he worked as a lawyer in The Hague. He later became a scientific employee at Utrecht University in 1957 and served as a substitute judge in the Utrecht court from 1962 to 1966, and in Rotterdam from 1966 to 1975. He earned his PhD cum laude at Utrecht University in 1965 with the thesis Schadevergoeding bij onrechtmatige daad (Compensation for damages in tort).

Academic and professional career
Bloembergen was a professor of civil law at Leiden University from 1965 to 1979. During this period, he also contributed as a substitute judge in the Dutch judiciary. He was a fellow at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (NIAS) from 1975 to 1976, where he researched the relationship between administrative and private law.

Judicial service and later achievements
In 1979, Bloembergen was appointed a justice of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, serving until 1993 and continuing four more years in extraordinary service. He also served on the Council of State in extraordinary service from 1984 to 1989. He was elected as a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1991, recognizing his significant contributions to Dutch law.

Death
Bloembergen passed away in Wassenaar on 1 November 2016.