Ladies and gentlemen,
On May 16th, we lost a rare kind of public figure: a scientist who understood politics, a politician who wrote novels, and above all a humanist who believed in progress with purpose.
Jan Terlouw was many things: a bestselling author, a Dutch statesman, a lifelong advocate for climate action. But here, in this setting, it is especially right to remember him as Secretary-General of the European Conference of Ministers of Transport; the predecessor of this very Forum.
From 1983 to 1991 he helped shift the conversation. From vehicles to values. From engineering to ethics. Under his guidance, the ECMT grew into a platform where mobility was understood as a social force – a driver of equality, opportunity, and sustainability. He reminded us that transport is not about abstract flows or distant targets, but about people: a mother on a night bus, a child cycling to school, cleaner air for our children and grandchildren – not tomorrow, but today!
He saw climate change not as a future threat, but as a present injustice. And he insisted – long before it became common political language – that clean transport is a moral imperative.
His conviction was rooted in science, but also in storytelling. He knew that facts alone don't move people, but stories do. Through books, speeches, and countless public appearances – even into his nineties – he urged us to act. To protect not just the planet, but each other. As he often said: "Don't look away. Face the facts. Looking away leads to denial. Facing reality leads to action."
And this, perhaps, is his most lasting legacy: a call to moral clarity in a time of complexity. A belief that politics begins with trust. And that real leadership means standing up, even – or especially – when it's uncomfortable.
We at the ITF are proud to stand on the foundations he helped build. The path toward clean, fair, and inclusive transport is not easy – but it is necessary. And we walk it in his spirit. Jan Terlouw is no longer with us. But his voice still echoes – calm, clear, and full of purpose. Let us listen. And let us continue his work.
Thank you.