TEHRAN - The wife of the European Central Bank Head Wim Duisenberg has been threatened with death for her views in support of Palestinians, the Central News Bureau reported in a dispatch from Amsterdam yesterday.

Dutch newspapers have published reports on several previous death threats against the Duisenberg family. The most recent death threats came after the outspoken Gretta Duisenberg flew a Palestinian flag from the balcony of her Amsterdam home on November 4 to show solidarity with Palestinians suffering immense cruelty and barbarism under 54 years of Israeli occupation.

Zionist circles also harshly condemned her when she agreed to head an organization called Stop the Occupation and have orchestrated a well-organized campaign against her and her husband in the European media.

Duisenberg himself has mostly kept silent about the intense propaganda barrage unleashed against him and his wife by the Zionist media Mafia and has declined public comment on the death threats.

Known as the Dutchman who has headed the European Central Bank since its inception, he oversaw the successful launching of the euro - the common currency currently used by 300 million European citizens despite predictions of fraud and chaos before its launching.

Duisenberg's appointment to head the ECB came at the behest of Germany, which wanted to ensure the bank operated on the model of the German Central Bank, the Bundesbank, i.e. insulated from political pressure and focused solely on long-term stability and low inflation.

An economist by training, Duisenberg worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a spell before returning to the Netherlands to teach at Amsterdam University and serving as an advisor to the Dutch Central Bank.

He then rose to the top and presided over the Dutch Central Bank for 11 years -- an era recalled for the country's "economic miracle" that made his reputation.

Described by some as an enigmatic man, he has succeeded in the enormous task of turning the euro into a respectable, stable currency in a brief time. However, with the death threats against his wife and family, it remains to be seen whether Europe's top banker can concentrate on the financial affairs of the union.