Environment group’s board resigns for not disclosing director’s pro-apartheid past

The full supervisory board of Milieudefensie has stepped down following criticism over its handling of revelations about former director Donald Pols. Board members acknowledged that they had been aware since 2015 of Pols' past involvement in a far-right student organization in South Africa, but failed to act on the information. According to the board members, this led to "significant unrest" and "a lack of trust." In a statement on Thursday, they said they hope their departure will help restore calm within the organization.

Pols joined steel producer Tata Steel on Monday, but his employment was terminated a day later after scrutiny of his past affiliations. Born in South Africa to a Dutch father and a South African mother, Pols was involved in the Afrikaner Student Front during his youth.

The organization supported the continuation of apartheid and sought to undermine anti-apartheid activism, including by disrupting gatherings of Nelson Mandela’s ANC. Its emblem incorporated a rune symbol that was also associated with the SS under the Nazi regime.

The chair of the supervisory board, Marty Smits, said that Pols' past was known to the recruitment committee that appointed him in 2015. Pols also publicly distanced himself from his past within the organization in 2021. "No individual's interests are greater than those of Milieudefensie as an association," the six departing supervisors said.

Pols departed Milieudefensie in early May ahead of his move to Tata Steel. Interim director Jacqueline Smit said employees and management were taken by surprise both by details of his past and by the disclosure that the supervisory board had been aware of them for years. According to Smit, the resulting turmoil makes the board's decision to resign a logical and understandable one.