John Loudon (politician)

John Loudon (18 March 1866 – 11 November 1955) was a Dutch diplomat and minister of foreign affairs during the First World War.

He was born on 18 March 1866 to James Loudon, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1872 to 1875.

Loudon Jr. obtained a doctorate in public international law at Leiden University in 1890.

He served as a diplomat in China, Britain, France, Japan, and the United States.

His careful policies, aimed to keep the Netherlands strictly neutral during the war—although personally he was pro-French—eventually led to conflict with the Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.