Johan Willem "Wim" Beyen (2 May 1897 – 29 April 1976) was a Dutch politician and diplomat of Liberal signature and businessman.

[2] During World War II, he was, in addition to his position at Unilever, a financial advisor to the Dutch government in exile in London.

In 1944, he headed the Dutch delegation to the Bretton Woods conference where the foundations were laid for the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

[2] In 1952 Wim Beyen, who did not belong to a political party, was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Second Drees cabinet.

It was an odd situation that Joseph Luns, who was a member of the Catholic People's Party, was Minister without portfolio in the same Ministry.

In August 1954 the plans had collapsed to create a European Political Community and a common defence force, the European Defence Community, as a substitute for the national armies of France, Germany, Italy and the three Benelux countries, when France refused to ratify the Treaty.

He was convinced that had to be begun with economic cooperation and developed a plan that called for a European common market, combined with the idea of a political community.

[5] On 4 April 1955 he sent a memorandum to his Benelux colleagues Paul-Henri Spaak (Belgium) and Joseph Bech (Luxembourg) in which he proposed his idea of a customs union.

In a meeting of the three Foreign Ministers of the Benelux in The Hague on 23 April 1955 they drafted a joint memorandum to present to their colleagues of the ECSC.