1.
Tilburg
–
Tilburg is a city in the Netherlands, in the southern province of Noord-Brabant. With a population of 210,289, it is the second largest city in Noord-Brabant, Tilburg University is located in Tilburg, as are Avans University of Applied Sciences and Fontys University of Applied Sciences. Tilburg is known for its ten-day-long funfair, held in July each year, the Monday during the funfair is called Roze Maandag, and is primarily LGBT-oriented. There are three stations within the municipality, Tilburg, Tilburg Universiteit and Tilburg Reeshof. The 75-hectare Spoorzone area around Tilburg Central station, once a Dutch Railways train maintenance yard, has purchased by the city and is being transformed into an urban zone. Little is known about the beginnings of Tilburg, the name Tilburg first appeared in documents dating from 709 AD but after that there was no mention for several centuries. This village centred around a castle or Motteburcht on an equally small hill. Of this first Tilburg Castle, nothing remained c,2000, except for a few remnants of its moat in the suburbs of Oisterwijk. In the 14th century, Tilburg was proclaimed a manor, together with Goirle, it acquired the title of The Manor of Tilburg, successively, the manorial rights fell into the hands of several lords of noble lineage. They derived their income taxes, fines and interest paid by the villagers. In the 15th century, one of the lords of Tilburg, Jan van Haestrecht and that stone chamber at Hasselt is mentioned in several historical documents. In 1858, however, the castle was pulled down to make way for a factory, a replica of the foundations of the castle was restored in ca.1995 in its original location, after the factory was demolished. In 1803, Goirle was separated from Tilburg and on 18 April 1809, in that year, it had about 9,000 inhabitants. In 2009 Tilburg hosted several festivities in celebration of 200 years as a city, Tilburg grew around one of the so-called herd places or Frankish triangles, triangular plots where a number of roads met. These herd places were collective pasturelands for flocks of sheep and their shape is still reflected in the layout of many places in Tilburg. Many districts, including Korvel, Oerle, Broekhoven, Hasselt, Heikant, De Schans, as so-called drapers they supplied the weavers with the raw materials for their home working, and the first Tilburg mill houses came into existence. From then on, the industry underwent rapid growth. Home weaving continued, however, until the early 20th century, woollen textiles from Tilburg were known far and wide
2.
Netherlands
–
The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
3.
House of Representatives (Netherlands)
–
The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of the Netherlands, the States General, the other one being the Senate. It has 150 seats which are filled through elections using a party-list proportional representation and it sits in the Binnenhof in The Hague. Although this body is called the House of Representatives in English, this is not a translation of its Dutch name. Rather than representatives, members of the House are referred to as Tweede Kamerlid, the House of Representatives is the main chamber of parliament, where discussion of proposed legislation and review of the actions of the cabinet takes place. Both the Cabinet and the House of Representatives itself have the right to propose legislation, review of the actions of the cabinet takes the form of formal interrogations, which may result in motions urging the cabinet to take, or refrain from, certain actions. No individual may be a member of parliament and cabinet, except in a caretaker cabinet that has not yet been succeeded when a new House is sworn in. The House of Representatives is also responsible for the first round of selection for judges to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands and it submits a list of three names for every vacant position to the Government. Furthermore, it elects the Dutch Ombudsman and his subsidiaries, the normal term of the House of Representatives is four years. Anybody eligible to vote in the Netherlands also has the right to establish a political party, parties wanting to take part must register 43 days before the elections, supplying a nationwide list of at most 50 candidates. The candidate lists are placed in the hands of the voters at least 14 days before the election, each candidate list is numbered, with the person in the first position known as the lijsttrekker. The lijsttrekker is usually appointed by the party to lead its election campaign, two or more parties can agree to combine their separate lists, which increases the chance of winning a remainder seat. Only large parties usually have some regional candidates at the bottom of their lists, a single vote can be placed on any one candidate. Many voters select one of the lijsttrekkers, but alternatively a preference vote may be made for a lower down the list. Once the election results are known, the seats are allocated to the parties, the number of valid national votes cast is divided by 150, the number of seats available, to give a threshold for each seat, 1/150th is approximately 0. 67% of the valid votes. Each partys number of votes is divided by this threshold to give a number of seats. Any party that received fewer votes than the threshold fails to gain representation in the House of Representatives, the threshold is one of the lowest for national parliaments in the world, and there are usually multiple parties winning seats with 2% or less of the vote. Any party that received more than 75% of the threshold will have its deposit refunded, after the initial seats are allocated, the remainder seats are allocated using the DHondt method of largest averages. This system slightly favours the larger parties, list combinations compete for the remainder seats as one list of the combined size of all parties in the combination, thus having more chance to gain remainder seats
4.
Democrats 66
–
Democrats 66 is a social-liberal and progressive political party in the Netherlands. D66 was formed in 1966 by a group of politically unaligned young intellectuals, the partys main objective was to democratise the political system, it proposed to create an American-style presidential system. In the 1967 general election, the party won 7 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives, the electoral history of the party is characterised by large fluctuations. At one point they had 24 seats, currently they have 19, the party was in government from 1973 to 1977,1981 to 1982,1994 to 2002 and 2003 to 2006. Over time the party began to other issues in addition to democratic reform. In addition to its nineteen seats in the House of Representatives, it holds ten in the Senate, the party leader and Parliamentary leader is Alexander Pechtold. The party has a number of elected local and provincial politicians and supplies a relatively large proportion of mayors. The partys voters are concentrated in cities, especially among people who hold a university degree. The organisation of D66 is based on principles of direct democracy, important decisions are made per referendum. D66 is a member of the Liberal International and the Alliance of Liberals, Democrats 66 was founded on 14 October 1966 by 44 people. Its founders were described as homines novi, although 25 of the 44 had previously been members of a political party, the initiators were Hans van Mierlo, a journalist for the Algemeen Handelsblad and Hans Gruijters, a municipal councillor in Amsterdam. Van Mierlo became the political leader and Gruijters the partys chair. The foundation of the party was preceded by the Appeal 1966 on October 10, the party renounced the 19th-century political ideologies, which dominated the political system and wanted to end pillarisation. It called for democratisation of the Dutch society and its political system. The party entered in the 1967 general election with Hans van Mierlo as their top candidate, the party won an unprecedented seven seats in parliament. In the 1971 general election the party won an additional four seats and it formed a Shadow Cabinet with the Labour Party, in the 1972 general election, the three parties formed a political alliance called the Progressive Accord and presented a common electoral program. In the elections D66 lost nearly half its seats, leaving only six, the alliance became the largest political force in the country, but it did not gain a majority. After long cabinet formation talks the three PAK-parties formed an extra-parliamentary cabinet joined by members of the Protestant Anti Revolutionary Party
5.
Senate (Netherlands)
–
The Senate is the upper house of the States General, the legislature of the Netherlands. Its 75 members are elected by the members of the twelve States-Provincial every four years, members of the Senate are part-timers who often hold other positions as well. They receive an allowance which is about a quarter of the salary of the members of the House of Representatives, unlike the politically more significant House of Representatives, it meets only once a week. Its members tend to be veteran politicians or part-time politicians at the national level and it has the right to accept or reject legislative proposals but not to amend them or to initiate legislation. Directly after a bill has passed by the House of Representatives. The committee decides whether the bill can be put on the agenda of the full chamber or there should first be preparatory study of the bill. If a bill is immediately put on the agenda of the full chamber, the Senate was instituted by King William I in 1815. When the Netherlands and Belgium were united in 1815, the Belgians in particular pressed for the introduction of a bicameral system, in its early years, the Senate served as a bulwark of the Crown since it was still able to block bills that displeased the king. Such bills were usually private members bills from the House of Representatives, at that time, the members of the House of Representatives too were elected indirectly. The members of the Senate were not elected, but were confidants of the king and were appointed for life, the Senate remained in existence after the separation from Belgium in 1830. Much changed in the sphere as a result of the introduction of a new constitution in 1848. The position of the Senate and the criteria governing eligibility to stand for election were among the changes, monitoring the quality of legislation gradually came to be the main function of the Senate after 1848. * Reformatory Political Federation and Reformed Political League Historic composition of the Senate of the Netherlands List of Presidents of the Senate Official website Official website
6.
AFC Ajax
–
Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax, also AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam. Historically, Ajax is the most successful club in the Netherlands, Ajax is historically one of the most successful clubs in the world, according to the IFFHS, Ajax were the seventh-most successful European club of the 20th century. The club is one of the five teams that has earned the right to keep the European Cup and to wear a multiple-winner badge, in 1972, they completed the continental treble by winning the Eredivisie, KNVB Cup, and the European Cup. It also won the first organized UEFA Super Cup in 1972 against Glasgow Rangers, Ajax is also one of three teams to win the continental treble and the Intercontinental Cup in the same season/calendar year, This was achieved in the 1971–72 season. Ajax, Juventus, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea are the four clubs to have won all three major UEFA club competitions. They have also won the Intercontinental Cup twice, the 1991–92 UEFA Cup, as well as the Karl Rappan Cup, Ajax plays at the Amsterdam Arena, which opened in 1996. They previously played at De Meer Stadion and the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium, Ajax was founded in Amsterdam on 18 March 1900. The club achieved promotion to the highest level of Dutch football in 1911 and had its first major success in 1917, winning the KNVB Beker, the following season, Ajax became national champion for the first time. The club defended its title in 1918–19, becoming the team to achieve an unbeaten season in the Netherlands Football League Championship. Throughout the 1920s, Ajax was a regional power, winning the Eerste Klasse West division in 1921,1927 and 1928. This changed in the 1930s, with the winning five national championships. In 1956, the first season of the Netherlands new professional league, the team were again Eredivisie champions in 1960 and won a third KNVB Cup in 1961. A year earlier, Johan Cruyff, who would go on to become the greatest Dutch footballer of all time, between them, Michels and Cruyff led Ajax through the most successful period in its history, winning seven Eredivisie titles, four KNVB Cups and three European Cups. Ajax won the Dutch championship in 1966,1967, and 1968, during the 1966–67 season, Ajax scored a record 122 goals in an Eredivisie season and also won the KNVB Cup to achieve its first league and cup double. In 1969–70, Ajax won a fourth Dutch league championship and second league and cup double in five seasons, winning 27 out of 34 league games, after this success, Michels departed to become manager of Barcelona and was replaced by the Romanian Ștefan Kovács. In Kovács first season, Ajax completed a treble of the European Cup, the Eredivisie, in 1973, Michels Barcelona broke the world transfer record to bring Cruyff to Catalonia. Kovács also departed to become manager of the France national team, in 1976–77, Ajax won its first domestic championship in four seasons and recorded a double of the Eredivisie and KNVB Cup two years later. The early 1980s saw the return of Johan Cruyff to the club, as well as the emergence of young players Marco van Basten, the team won back-to-back Eredivisie titles in 1982 and 1983, with all three playing a significant role in the latter
7.
Nederlandse Spoorwegen
–
Nederlandse Spoorwegen or NS is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. NS provides rail services on the Dutch main rail network, the rail infrastructure is maintained by network manager ProRail, which was split off from NS in 2003. Freight services, formerly operated by NS Cargo, merged with the DB Schenker group in 2000, NS runs 4,800 scheduled domestic trains a day, serving 1.1 million passengers. Also, NS provides international rail services from the Netherlands to other European destinations, the NS was founded in 1938 when the two largest Dutch railway companies, the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij and the Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen, formally merged. These two companies had already been intensively cooperating as early as 1917, There were both economic and ideological reasons for the cooperation. As a result of the First World War, the Dutch economy had declined causing HSM, given their national importance, allowing them to slip into bankruptcy was not considered acceptable. While remaining independent companies, HSM and SS improved overall efficiency by cooperatively integrating their operations, the Dutch government further supported HSM and SS by purchasing shares in both firms. In 1938, the government merged the two companies to form the Nederlandse Spoorwegen, in the process, the government bought all remaining shares, yet never nationalized the company. Therefore, NS remained, and still is, a company solely owned by the Dutch government. The NS went on a strike once during the war, in the winter of 1944-45, the NS played a pivotal role in the reconstruction of the country. There was little alternative transport in the country besides the train, while the 1950s were a good time for the company, it started to decline in the 1960s, like most other railways around the world. The NS had been involved in the transport of coal from the mines in Limburg to the remainder of the country, the NS responded with an aggressive strategy named Spoorslag 70. This strategy meant, among other things, that the NS substantially increased the number of trains per hour, however, it was quite clear that this would never return the company to profitability. Nevertheless, the company was declared to be of national importance, in the early 1990s, the government started to question the subsidies given to the NS. Not only were there questions regarding the way the NS spent the subsidies, the government decided on the verzelfstandiging of the NS. The idea was not only rail transport was economically viable. There were two external circumstances which allowed for this to happen, secondly, the old CEO of the NS, Leo Ploeger, retired, which allowed the government to name a new CEO which would execute the governments plans. The new CEO was Rob den Besten, the plans entailed that the government would remain responsible for the rail infrastructure, while the NS would provide the transport on a commercial basis
8.
Rail transport in the Netherlands
–
Rail transport in the Netherlands uses a dense railway network, that connects virtually all major towns and cities, counting as many train stations as there are municipalities in the Netherlands. The network totals 3,223 route km, three quarters of which has been electrified, the Dutch rail network supports predominantly passenger transport and also most distance travelled on Dutch public transport is done by rail. The national rail infrastructure is managed and maintained by public task company ProRail, the entire network is standard gauge. The Netherlands is a member of the International Union of Railways, the UIC Country Code for the Netherlands is 84. Public transport authorities in the Netherlands issue concessions for collections of lines, most trains consist of both 1st and 2nd class compartiments, Syntus and occasionally Arriva only offer 2nd class compartiments. The largest cargo carrier in the Netherlands is DB Schenker, others are ACTS, Crossrail, ERS Railways, Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln, Rail4chem, the whole network itself is maintained from the public owned agency ProRail, which is also responsible for allocating slots to the different companies. The first Dutch railway was built and opened in 1839, on a stretch between Amsterdam and Haarlem, and was expanded between 1840 and 1847 to The Hague and Rotterdam. It was originally built to a gauge of 1,945 mm. Further expansion happened in the 19th century to connect the rest of the country, during the 20th century most of the main lines were electrified, starting in 1908 with the Hofpleinlijn. Most freight routes run east-west, connecting the Port of Rotterdam, freight trains usually share the tracks with passenger trains, the only exception is the new Betuweroute, which opened in 2007 as the first freight-only route. The network is developed and dense. One focuses on upgrading the network in terms of efficiency and capacity, more over, some sections might need an increase of the maximum speed up to 160 km/h. Some important new lines were built in recent years, however and these include the HSL-Zuid high speed line, the Betuweroute and the Hanzelijn, connecting the province of Flevoland with the railway node Zwolle. Most of the network is electrified at 1.5 kV DC, both the HSL-Zuid and the Betuweroute have been electrified at 25 kV AC, and it is planned to convert old lines to this voltage in the future. Speed is generally limited to 130–140 km/h, but on most secondary lines actual maximum speed is significantly lower, on the HSL-Zuid line, the maximum speed is much higher at 300 km/h. Technically, more recent lines have been constructed to allow for higher speeds, an overview of maximum speeds on all lines is available in the Train routes in the Netherlands article. Trains are frequent, with one or two trains per hour on lines, two to four trains per hour on rural sections and up to 8 or 10 trains an hour in urban regions. One could distinguish two types of trains, stoptreinen and intercities, providing faster long-distance services, an intermediate category of sneltreinen is being phased out, starting in 2007, although regional operators continue to use this brand
9.
Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations
–
The Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations is the head of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and a member of the Cabinet of the Netherlands. Stef Blok has been the acting Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations since 29 June 2016, because it shares so many responsibilities, and has twin buildings with the Ministry of Security and Justice, they are sometimes called the twin ministries. The ministry is headed by one minister and one state secretary. It employs almost 3,000 civil servants, the ministrys main office is located in the centre of The Hague in the same building as the ministry of Justice. An important autonomous agency of the ministry is the General Intelligence, the ministry was founded in 1798 as the department for internal policy and supervision on the state of water works in Batavian Republic. Since 1801 it has been named Ministry of the Interior, and some other responsibilities have been added to its name, Agriculture, list of Ministers of the Interior of the Netherlands Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties
10.
Barend Biesheuvel
–
Barend Willem Biesheuvel was a Dutch politician of the defunct Anti Revolutionary Party now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal. He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from July 6,1971 until May 11,1973. A Civil servant and Trade Union Leader by occupation, he was General Secretary of the Christian Farmers and Gardeners Association of the Netherlands from 1952 until 1959, Biesheuvel became a Member of the House of Representatives on November 6,1956 after the Dutch general election of 1956. On March 7,1961 he was selected as a Member of the European Parliament, Biesheuvel became the lijsttrekker of the Anti Revolutionary Party for the Dutch general election of 1963 and served as Party leader from July 1,1963 until March 7,1973. For the Dutch general election of 1967 Biesheuvel again as lijsttrekker won two seats, primarily due to the popularity of Prime Minister Jelle Zijlstra, however Zijlstra announced he didnt wanted the serve a full term as Prime Minister and endorsed his Party leader Biesheuvel. The following cabinet formation failed to result in an agreement to form a Cabinet Biesheuvel. Biesheuvel became the Parliamentary leader of the Anti Revolutionary Party in the House of Representatives on February 16,1967, Biesheuvel became Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister of General Affairs. On July 19,1972 the Cabinet Biesheuvel I fell and a rump Cabinet Biesheuvel II was formed on August 9,1972, Biesheuvel remained as Prime Minister until the Cabinet Den Uyl was installed on May 11,1973. Biesheuvel had three brothers and two sisters, after completing his secondary education at local schools, he graduated in law at the Free University of Amsterdam in September 1945. For the next two years Biesheuvel worked in Alkmaar as secretary to the Food Commissioner for the Province of North Holland, in 1947 he became secretary to the Foreign Division of the Agricultural Society. In 1952 Mr Biesheuvel became general secretary of the Christian Farmers and Gardeners Association of the Netherlands, from the same year he was also a member of the Agricultural Board, the Labour Foundation and the boards of the Centrale Raifeissen Bank and Heidemij. Between 1956 and 1963 he represented the Anti Revolutionary Party in the House of Representatives, from 1957 to 1961 he held a seat on the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe and from 1961 to 1963 in the European Parliament. In 1967 he returned to the House of Representatives and became leader of the parliamentary Anti Revolutionary Party, during the same period he also chaired the Shipbuilding Board and the Committee on Government Information Reform. Following his political career, Biesheuvel went on to many other positions in the public. On November 22,1945 Biesheuvel married his longtime girlfriend Wilhelmina Jacoba Mies Meuring and they had two daughters and one son. Mies Meuring died on January 17,1989 at the age of sixty-nine, barend Biesheuvel died in a hospital in Haarlem after a long illness on April 29,2001 at the age of eighty-one. Biesheuvel and his wife were buried at the cemetery in Bloemendaal. Netherlands Order of Orange-Nassau Officer Grand Officer Knight Grand Cross Order of the Netherlands Lion Commander Mr. B. W
11.
Pierre Lardinois
–
Pierre Joseph Lardinois was a Dutch politician. Lardinois married Maria Hubertina Gerardina on 14 October 1950 and they had two sons and three daughters. In 1963 he was first elected to the Dutch House of Representatives for the Katholieke Volkspartij, from 1963 to 1967 he was member of the European Parliament. From 1977 to 1986 he was the chairman of the Rabobank and he died on 16 July 1987 from an undisclosed cause
12.
Gaius de Gaay Fortman
–
Wilhelm Friedrich Gaius de Gaay Fortman was a Dutch politician of the Anti Revolutionary Party. Wilhelm Friedrich Gaius de Gaay Fortman was born in Amsterdam on 8 May 1911 to an orthodox Reformed Protestant family and he was a Public servant, secretary of the government labour negotiation team and a teacher at the CNV-school. Later he became a professor at the Vrije Universiteit and its Rector Magnificus, in 1956 he was unsuccessful as informateur during the long 1956 cabinet formation. However, he was able in 1960 to quickly resolve a cabinet crisis, in 1973 he, together with Boersma, were persuaded to become a minister in the Cabinet Den Uyl. He had a relationship with the formerly Reformed social-democrat party leader Joop den Uyl. As Minister of Home Affairs he proposed a plan to divide the Netherlands into 24 mini-provinces, in 1981 he again acted in a cabinet formation as informateur and managed to pave the way for a government of CDA, PvdA and D66. De Gaay Fortman was in favor of co-operation of the ARP and he refuted offered positions in Christian Democrat – Liberal coalitions. De Gaay Fortman became a member of the CDA, but he alienated from the party mainstream. In his view the CDA too much emphasised policies that resulted in the dismantling of social security, in the parliamentary elections of 1994 he endorsed Gert Schutte, the leader of the Reformed Political League. He is buried at Zorgvlied cemetery
13.
Joop den Uyl
–
Johannes Marten den Uijl, known as Joop den Uyl was a Dutch politician of the Labour Party. He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 11 May 1973 until 19 December 1977, Den Uyl previously served as a Member of the House of Representatives from 6 November 1956 until 5 June 1963. He became Minister of Economic Affairs from 14 April 1965 until 22 November 1966 in the Cabinet Cals, Den Uyl became Prime Minister of the Netherlands, leading the Cabinet Den Uyl. He served as a Member of the House of Representatives for the last time from 16 September 1982 until his death on 24 December 1987 and he was seen as an idealistic, but also polarizing politician. Throughout history, Dutch political leaders have tended to soothing manners - Den Uyl was one of a few exceptions. People either loved him or hated him, followers of his idealistic policies called him Ome Joop. He was criticized for creating a deficit and polarizing Dutch politics. Associated with Den Uyl was the maakbare samenleving, another idea associated with Den Uyl was de verbeelding aan de macht. Johannes Marten den Uijl was born on 9 August 1919 in the town of Hilversum and he was born in a Calvinist reformed family. His father, Johannes den Uyl, was a shopkeeper and a basketweaver who died when Den Uyl was only 10, Den Uyl attended the Christian Lyceum in Hilversum from 1931 to 1936. Following this he studied economics at the University of Amsterdam, during this period in his life he left the church. In 1942 he attained the doctorandus degree, until 1945 he was a civil servant at the National Bureau for Prices of Chemical Products, part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. During that period he was part of the newspaper group that published the clandestine Het Parool. After the Second World War he worked for Het Parool, Vrij Nederland, from January 1949 to 1963 he was head of the Wiardi Beckman Stichting, the think tank of the Partij van de Arbeid. In 1953, at the invitation of the American government, Den Uyl stayed for a few months in the United States, in 1953 Den Uyl was elected to the city council of Amsterdam and in 1956 he was elected to the House of Representatives. In 1963 he became administrator for economic affairs in Amsterdam. He resigned that post in 1965 to become minister of economic affairs in the Cals administration, as the responsible minister, he decided to close the uneconomic coal mines of Limburg, causing high local unemployment. Following the parliamentary elections of 1967, he became leader of the Labour Party in parliament, Den Uyls Labour Party won the 1973 elections in alliance with the progressive liberal Democrats 66 and radical Christian Political Party of Radicals, but failed to achieve a majority in parliament
14.
Ruud Lubbers
–
Rudolphus Franciscus Marie Ruud Lubbers is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat of the Christian Democratic Appeal. He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 4 November 1982 until 22 August 1994, Lubbers, a businessman and economist by occupation, worked for the Hollandia Corporate as a corporate director from 1963 until 1973. After the Dutch general election of 1972, Lubbers was asked by the Catholic Peoples Party to become Minister of Economic Affairs in the Cabinet Den Uyl, he accepted, taking office on 11 May 1973. After the 1977 election, he was elected as Member of the House of Representatives, serving from 8 June 1977 until 8 September 1977 and again from 22 December 1977 until 4 November 1982. The first Lubbers cabinet was formed by a coalition with the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy, on 29 January 1994, Lubbers announced his retirement from national politics and resigned as Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal. Lubbers remained Prime Minister until the first Kok cabinet was installed on 22 August 1994, Lubbers served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1 January 2001 until 20 February 2005, and finally retired from active politics at the age of sixty-five. Following the end of his political career, Lubbers occupied numerous seats on supervisory boards on international non-governmental organizations. Lubbers is known for his abilities as a leader and consensus builder. He holds the distinction of being both the longest-tenured and the youngest serving Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Lubbers also has been active as a conservation and humanitarian activist and as an advocate in promoting sustainable development. Lubbers continues to comment on political affairs as a statesman, on 31 January 1995, he was granted the honorary title of Minister of State. Rudolphus Franciscus Marie Lubbers was born on 7 May 1939 in Rotterdam in the Province of South Holland and he studied economics at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, and was a student of the first Nobel Prize in Economics laureate Jan Tinbergen. He originally planned a career, but was compelled by family circumstances to join the management of Lubbers Construction Workshops. From 11 May 1973 to 19 December 1977, Ruud Lubbers was Minister of Economic Affairs in the Den Uyl-government and he was an effective, if sometimes somewhat bad-tempered minister. Lubbers succeeded him and suddenly found himself in a political position. In 1982, after the election won by Prime Minister Dries van Agt. He was the youngest prime minister in Dutch history, he had turned 43 only six months earlier, after leaving office in 1994, Lubbers was put forward as a candidate for the head of NATO, but the US vetoed his appointment. He is on the board of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum. Lubbers was regarded by many during his time in office as an heir to Margaret Thatcher
15.
Ernst Hirsch Ballin
–
Ernst Maurits Henricus Hirsch Ballin is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal. Hirsch Ballin served as Minister of Justice and Minister for Suriname, and as acting Minister of the Interior from 10 January 1994 until 18 January 1994 following the death of Ien Dales. After the Dutch general election of 2006 and the inauguration of the Cabinet Balkenende IV he remained Minister of Justice serving from 22 September 2006 until 14 October 2010. He became again acting Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations from 23 February 2010 until 14 October 2010 following the resignation of Guusje Ter Horst. After the Dutch general election of 2010, he made an appeal to his party not to work with Party for Freedom to begin a cabinet formation for a new cabinet, Hirsch Ballin is also an active member of the Justice Leadership Initiative. Hirsch Ballin was born to a Jewish father Prof. Dr. Ernst Danny Hirsch Ballin, after completing his secondary education, he studied law at the University of Amsterdam and became a practicing Catholic. He graduated in 1974, and he received a Master of Laws degree, Hirsch Ballin was a research assistant in constitutional law at the University of Amsterdam from 1974 to 1977. He was subsequently employed as an officer at the Ministry of Justice. In 1981 he was appointed professor of constitutional and administrative law at the Tilburg University, from 7 November 1989 to 27 May 1994 Hirsch Ballin served as Minister of Justice and Minister for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs in the Cabinet Lubbers III. In 1994 he offered his resignation, after turmoil about the Dutch Criminal Investigation Department, during this period he was also professor of legislative issues at the Tilburg University. In 1995 he was appointed professor of law at the same university. He was elected as a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts, in 2000 Hirsch Ballin was appointed to the Dutch Council of State and he resigned as a Member of the Senate. He has been editor of the Dutch administrative law journal Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Bestuursrecht, on 23 May 2008 satirical cartoonist Gregorius Nekschot was arrested which caused national controversy. Hirsch Ballin wanted to pass a bill on blasphemy, but failed and he was accused of causing the cartoonist to be brought to court for blasphemy to get a verdict to bypass the parliament. Ernst Hirsch Ballin is married, he and his wife, have two children, Order of the Netherlands Lion Knight Order of Orange-Nassau Officer Legion dHonneur Officer Media related to Ernst Hirsch Ballin at Wikimedia Commons Prof. Dr
16.
Joris Voorhoeve
–
Joris Jacob Clemens Voorhoeve is a Dutch politician, former minister, and university professor. Voorhoeve was the leader of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy between 1986 and 1990 and served as the Dutch Minister of Defence between 1994 and 1998 and he received severe criticism for his role in the Srebrenica massacre but did not resign. He is a member of the Dutch Council of State, in 2010 he left the VVD and joined the liberal Democrats 66 party. Voorhoeve is also a member of the Dutch Foreign Ministrys Advisory Council on International Affairs and his son is the political philosopher Alex Voorhoeve
17.
Bram Peper
–
Abraham Peper is a Dutch sociologist and former politician. Peper was Mayor of Rotterdam and Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and is member of the Dutch Labour Party, Peper became researcher, and fulfilled several academic functions, including professor at the Erasmus University until he became Mayor of Rotterdam in 1982 at the age of 42. Rotterdam is the second largest city of the Netherlands, and Peper was one of the youngest mayors of a city at the time. In 1984 an interview with Peper and his wife with Ischa Meijer was published in Vrij Nederland, the interview was perceived as arrogant, and seemed to be made while Peper was in a drunk condition. Peper made his apologies, and soon after he and his wife divorced, while Peper was mayor, the city completed its process of rebuilding after World War II, which resulted in a new skyline for Rotterdam. In the second half of his mayorship, Peper had a time with for instance his defeat on the formation of a city province. Peper was mayor until 1998, when he joined the government as minister of the interior of the Netherlands in the cabinet Kok II, starting 1999, rumours were spreading that Peper had made incorrect declarations while he was mayor of Rotterdam. On 13 March 2000 Peper resigned as minister, according to himself to no longer bring problems to the public government, although a report on 17 March suggested that Peper did not act properly regarding the declarations, Peper won the legal procedures finally two years later. From 2002 until 2004 Peper was professor at the University Nijenrode, a private university, from which he resigned due to a disagreement regarding a study trip to the European Union in Brussels
18.
Klaas de Vries (Labour Party)
–
Klaas George de Vries is a Dutch politician. He was member of the Dutch House of Representatives for the PvdA between 1973 and 1988 and once more from 2002 and 2006 and he was a Minister and was involved in forming both Kok cabinets. De Vries was member of the Senate between 2007 and 2015, after attending a protestant grammar school in the Catholic Heerlen between 1949 and 1955, De Vries attended to the Grotius College since 1955. In the period 1961-62 he attended Hamline University in St. Paul where he studied Liberal Arts, in 1962 he returned to the Netherlands to study law at the University of Utrecht. In the same year De Vries joined the PvdA, between 1968 and 1971 De Vries worked for the ministry of Justice. Between 1970 and 1971 De Vries was member of the Delft City Council, after the 1971 he became chairperson of the PvdA-branch in Delft. In 1971 De Vries became research fellow at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, in 1973 De Vries gave up his scientific career to become a member of the Dutch House of Representatives. Initially De Vries was the Defense specialist of the parliamentary party and he was chairperson of the Defence Committee of parliament between 1978 and 1981. He also served in the North-Atlantic Assembly, between 1981 and 1988 he was member of the board of the PvdA parliamentary party. From 1981 to 1985 he was active as vice-president and president of the Parliamentary Association for Euro-Arab Cooperation, between 1981 and 1986 De Vries was member of the Presidium of the House. Between 1986 and 1988 he was vice-chairperson of parliamentary party, during this period De Vries also chaired the parliamentary research committee on building subsidies. In 1988 De Vries became director of the Association of Dutch Municipalities, in 1994 De Vries informateur of the first Kok cabinet. He became chair of the Social-Economic Council in 1996, in 1998 De Vries was informateur of the second Kok cabinet. In 1998 he became Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, when minister Apotheker left the cabinet in 1999, De Vries temporarily took over as Minister of Agriculture, Fishery and Environmental Conservation. In 2000, when minister Peper left the cabinet, De Vries became Minister of Home Affairs, as Minister of Home Affairs, De Vries initiated several government reform programs. Nationally he initiated the referendum law. Locally he was responsible for the revision of the number of municipalities, the revision of the system of municipal government, in 2002 De Vries returned to parliament. He contested in the 2002 PvdA leadership election, which he lost to Wouter Bos and he entered originally because no one would oppose Bos, who was sure to win
19.
Thom de Graaf
–
Thomas Carolus de Graaf is a Dutch jurist and politician. He is a member of social liberal party Democrats 66, since 7 June 2011 he has been a member of the Senate, and since 1 February 2012 he is President of the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences. Previously he was Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Minister for Government Reform and Kingdom Relations, De Graaf was born in Amsterdam and studied law at the Catholic University Nijmegen where he obtained his LL. M. in 1981. He was a member of the House of Representatives in the period 1994-2003, De Graaf served in the second Balkenende cabinet as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Government Reform and Kingdom Relations from 23 May 2003 until 23 March 2005. The proposal was especially important as it had become a symbol of the government reform that D66 had wanted since its creation, alexander Pechtold took his place in the cabinet. From 8 January 2007 until 1 February 2012, De Graaf was mayor of Nijmegen, De Graafs father, Theo de Graaf, was a KVP member of parliament and from 1968 until 1977 mayor of Nijmegen. Since 1 February 2012 Thom de Graaf is President of the HBO-raad
20.
Alexander Pechtold
–
Alexander Pechtold is a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 party. He is the Parliamentary leader of the D66 in the House of Representatives, he has been that partys Leader since 24 June 2006, Pechtold, an art historian by training, worked for Van Stockums Auctions as a auctioneer from 1992 until 1997. He was elected Chairman of the D66 on 16 November 2002, Pechtold accepted the position, and resigned as Chairman and Mayor the same day that he took office as Minister on 31 March 2005. The D66 retracted its support for the Balkenende cabinet on 29 June 2006 and he was elected the Leader of the D66 on 24 June 2006, after the partys leadership election of 2006. In the general election of 2006 Pechtold became Lijsttrekker, the D66 lost three seats, and became an opposition party, in the election of 2010, when Pechtold was again Lijsttrekker, the D66 gained seven seats, for a total of ten, but remained an opposition party. Alexander Pechtold was born on 16 December 1965 in Delft in the Dutch province of South Holland, Pechtold and his elder brother Roland Pechtold grew up in the village of Rhoon. He went to a Lyceum in Rotterdam, Pechtold studied art history and archaeology with a specialization in 17th-century painting at the Leiden University, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts degree in 1996. During that time Pechtold obtained certification as an auctioneer, and worked for the Van Stockums Veilingen during his studies, Pechtold became a member of the Democrats 66 party in 1989. He was elected as a Municipal councillor in Leiden in 1994, on 16 November 2002 he was elected as Chairman of the D66. Pechtold was tasked with reforming the party after its disastrous results in the election of 2002. On 1 October 2003, Pechtold was selected as Mayor of Wageningen, the proposal was especially important, it had become a symbol of the government reform that the D66 had wanted since the partys creation. Pechtold was asked to succeed him as Minister, Pechtold resigned as Chairman and Mayor the same day that he took office as the new Minister for Government Reform and Kingdom Relations, on 31 March 2005. On 29 June 2006 the D66 retracted its support for the Balkenende cabinet, the next day, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende offered the resignation of the full cabinet to Queen Beatrix. Pechtold resigned as Minister for Government Reform and Kingdom Relations on 3 July 2006 and his fellow D66 cabinet member Laurens Jan Brinkhorst, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs, resigned on 7 July 2006. Pechtold was elected the Leader of the D66 on 24 June 2006 in the election of 2006, defeating Lousewies van der Laan. Van der Laan had only a few months earlier succeeded Boris Dittrich, in 2007 the parliamentarian press chose Pechtold with 31% of the votes as the Dutch Politician of the Year 2007. For the Dutch general election of 2006 Pechtold became Lijsttrekker and the Democrats 66 lost three seats and became an opposition party, for the Dutch general election of 2010, Pechtold again as Lijsttrekker won ten seats but the Democrats 66 remained an opposition party. With the following Dutch general election of 2012, Pechtold again as Lijsttrekker won two seats with the Democrats 66 again remaining an opposition party, during the Fourth Balkenende cabinet administration Pechtold served as opposition leader against the cabinet
21.
Guusje ter Horst
–
Guus ter Horst is a Dutch politician of the Dutch Labour Party. Between 7 June 2011 and 9 June 2015 she was member of the Senate, from 22 February 2007 till 23 February 2010 she was Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations in the Cabinet Balkenende IV. She was Mayor of Nijmegen from 15 April 2001 until 1 January 2007, Ter Horst attended school in The Hague and subsequently studied at University of Amsterdam where she obtained a MSc degree in psychology. In 1984 she received a PhD degree in science on her thesis concerning the question how people who never go to the dentist can be made to do so. Between 1986 and 1994 she was professor of Social Dentistry at the subfaculty of Dentistry of the University of Amsterdam. In 1984 Ter Horst joined the Dutch Labour Party, in 1986 she was elected into the Amsterdam city council. In 1994 she became alderwoman, responsible for planning, she initiated a major renovation of the city of Amsterdam. In 2001 she became mayor of Nijmegen, during her six-year term, she moved to a new house every year, to get to know the city. In August 2006 Ter Horst was fined for driving, strangely. On 1 January 2007 her term as mayor ended and she did not pursue a second one and she was succeeded by Thom de Graaf. In 2010 Ter Horst received one of the Dutch Big Brother Awards for her lack of nuance in the privacy debate and her project of a centrally organised fingerprint database for passports won an award as well. She resigned, together with all PvdA ministers, on the morning of 20 February 2010, the Queen accepted the resignation on 23 February 2010
22.
Piet Hein Donner
–
Jan Pieter Hendrik Piet Hein Donner is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal. He is the Vice-President of the Council of State since 1 February 2012, Donner served as the Director of the Scientific Council for Government Policy from 1 January 1993 until 22 December 1997 when he became a Member of the Council of State. After the Dutch general election of 2002 Donner was asked by the Christian Democratic Appeal to become informateur for the next cabinet, Donner remained Minister of Justice in the Cabinet Balkenende II following the Dutch general election of 2003. Donner was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the Dutch general election of 2006 taking office on 30 November 2006. After the cabinet formation of the Cabinet Balkenende IV Donner was asked to become Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, on 16 December 2011 Donner was selected as the new Vice-President of the Council of State and resigned the same day, he took office on 1 February 2012. The Donner family has produced a number of Calvinist judges and his grandfather was Jan Donner, who served as Minister of Justice for the Anti Revolutionary Party in the first cabinet of Dirk Jan de Geer and was later president of the Dutch Supreme Court. His uncle Jan Hein Donner, however, was a chess grandmaster, Piet Hein Donner studied Law at the Free University of Amsterdam, obtaining a degree in 1974. During his study, he joined the student society L. A. N. X. in 1968, in 2006, Piet Hein Donner recorded a rap song together with Meester G to explain his point of view on the Dutch soft-drug policy. It was a reply to a song by Gerd Leers, Mayor of Maastricht, which called for a progressive policy which would not only regulate the selling of soft drugs. On 13 September 2006, Donner was the subject of controversy when he suggested Islamic law could be established in the Netherlands by democratic means and he responded by a clarification that he was not advocating such a scenario but warning against it. That same month, a report of the commission into a fire at Schiphol Airport jail was released. Donner, as justice minister, resigned in aftermath of the reports conclusions. His successor was Ernst Hirsch Ballin, who had been justice minister in the third Lubbers cabinet, four months later, Donner was appointed Minister of Social Affairs and Employment in the new Cabinet, Balkenende IV
23.
Liesbeth Spies
–
Jantje Wilhelmina Elisabeth Liesbeth Spies is a former Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal. She served as Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations in the Cabinet Rutte I from December 16,2011 to November 5,2012. She was named to this post on December 16,2011, following the appointment of her predecessor, Piet Hein Donner, to be the new Vice President of the Council of State. She was a Member of the House of Representatives from May 23,2002 to June 17,2010, following her departure from the House of Representatives she became the top candidate for the CDA in the 2011 elections for the States-Provincial of South Holland. In the election the CDA lost over half its seats and went from largest party in the province to the fourth-largest when compared with the election in 2007. Despite this the CDA joined the coalition for the government and Spies was appointed as a member of the States Deputed, with a portfolio including spatial planning. She vacated this position following her ministerial appointment, as of 8 July 2014 she is interim mayor of Stichtse Vecht
24.
Ronald Plasterk
–
Ronald Hans Anton Plasterk is a Dutch politician of the Labour Party. He is the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations since November 5,2012 in the Cabinet Rutte II and he was Minister of Education, Culture and Science from February 22,2007 until February 23,2010 in the Cabinet Balkenende IV. He served as a Member of the House of Representatives from June 17,2010 until November 5,2012, a successful scientist and professor, Plasterk is a highly cited and prize-winning molecular geneticist. Since 1995 he has also been an author and columnist for national publications. Plasterk attended the Sint Janscollege in The Hague, where he graduated in 1975, after graduation he studied biology at the Leiden University and economics at the University of Amsterdam. During this period he wrote for the student newspaper, in 1981 he obtained cum laude the Dutch doctorandus degree in biology. He also graduated for his propaedeuse in economics in the same year, between 1981 and 1984 he worked as a PhD-student at Leiden University. In 1984 he was awarded a doctorate in Mathematics and the Natural Sciences at Leiden University for his thesis Inversion of the G segment of bacteriophage Mu and his study focused on transposon sequences in DNA. While a PhD-student Plasterk also was a member of the Leiden city council for the Labour Party, between 1985 and 1986, he worked as post-doc at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. There he studied the transposon sequences in DNA in the parasite Borrelia hermsii, between 1986 and 1987 he was a post-doc at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, where he worked with John Sulston. He studied Caenorhabditis elegans, a nematode that is used as a model organism, in 1987 he returned to the Netherlands where he became group leader and member of the board of the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam. In 1989 he became director of the school of oncology at the institute. Between 1993 and 1997 he occupied the chair in molecular microbiology at the Free University of Amsterdam. Between 1997 and 2000 he was professor of genetics at the University of Amsterdam. In February 2000 he became director of the Netherlands Institute for Developmental Biology, also known as the Hubrecht Laboratory and he combined this with a position as professor in developmental genetics at Utrecht University from May 2000. He retained these positions until February 2007, since 2001 Plasterk has been a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Plasterks research was in the area of genetics and functional genomics, Plasterk started as a columnist in the Intermediair, a weekly magazine oriented at young professionals and academics, in 1995. In the early years he wrote on the political and ethical aspects of genetic research
25.
Stef Blok
–
Stephanus Abraham Stef Blok is a Dutch politician of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy. He is the Minister of Security and Justice in the Cabinet Rutte II since 27 January 2017, Blok previously served as a Member of the House of Representatives from 25 August 1998 until 23 May 2002, and again from 3 September 2002 until 5 November 2012. He became the Parliamentary leader of the Peoples Party for Freedom, on 5 November 2015 he became Minister for Housing and the Central Government Sector in the second Rutte cabinet. Blok served as Minister of Security and Justice after the resignation of Ivo Opstelten from 10 March 2015 until 20 March 2015, stephanus Abraham Blok was born on 10 December 1964 in Emmeloord, now in the Province of Flevoland. After attending Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden, he studied Business Administration at the University of Groningen from 1977 until 1983, Blok worked for ABN AMRO from 1989 until 1998. He was a member of the council of Nieuwkoop from 1994 to 1998. Drs. S. A. Blok Parlement & Politiek
26.
Jacob de Kempenaer
–
Jacobus Mattheüs de Kempenaer was a Dutch politician, lawyer, and second Prime Minister of the Netherlands from November 1848 to November 1849. He served as a member of the House of Representatives, chairman of the board of Commerce for Arnhem, a member of the city board, initially in the House of Representatives, de Kempenaer was considered a liberal. In 1844, he was among nine men to propose amending the Constitution of the Netherlands, de Kempenaer was appointed to the Constitution Commission headed by Johan Rudolph Thorbecke in 1848, and as Minister of the Interior. He soon became de facto Prime Minister, playing an important role in the revision of the national Constitution and he resigned his offices in 1849 and subsequently became a conservative, opposing Thorbecke. De Kempenaer was married in Haarlem on 19 August 1818 to Arnoldina Jacoba Gerlings and they had three sons and three daughters. NP Official Parliamentary Biography, parliament. com, accessed 16 June 2015
27.
Johan Rudolph Thorbecke
–
Johan Rudolph Thorbecke was a Dutch politician and statesman of liberal signature, one of the most important Dutch politicians of the 19th century. In 1848 he virtually single-handedly drafted the revision of the Constitution of the Netherlands, giving power to the king. His father Frederik Willem was a Lutheran tobacco manufacturer of German descent, johan Rudolph proved to be diligent and exemplary at a young age, showing intelligence and curiosity. Because of the sacrifices of his parents, who continued to struggle financial problems. He enjoyed primary education in his birthplace and in Amsterdam, where he lived until 1806, Thorbecke began studying classical literature and philosophy in Amsterdam, studies he finished in Leiden defending a thesis on Asinius Pollio in 1820. Shortly after his promotion, Thorbecke was granted a scholarship for a journey through Germany. At Giessen he lectured as a professor, and at Göttingen, in 1824, published his treatise. He would spend four years travelling, during which he was introduced to historism and Romanticism, upon his return to the Netherlands in 1824, he settled in Amsterdam, where he wrote his first political work of significance, Bedenkingen aangaande het Regt en Den Staat. The climax of series was Over het hedendaags burgerschap, literally On contemporary citizenship, published in 1844. On 21 May 1844, Thorbecke was elected into the House of Representatives for South Holland, four years later, with much of Europe convulsed by the Revolutions of 1848, William II agreed upon the formation of a committee for revision of the constitution. Thorbecke was appointed as head of committee on 17 March. The changes were all created by Thorbecke, as the other members of the committee did little. The drafted constitution was reluctantly approved by the States General. Despite initial reluctance, William II appointed Thorbecke as formateur in late October 1849, in this cabinet, Thorbecke served as minister of the Interior and chaired the Council of Ministers, thus becoming de facto Prime Minister of the Netherlands. Thorbeckes first cabinet passed several acts of importance, including the Electoral Act and the Province Act in 1850. Despite these successes, Thorbeckes reforms were increasingly subjected to resistance, in 1853, the Catholic Church sought to restore the episcopal hierarchy in the Netherlands. Common people, pastors and conservative notables showed resistance to this in a movement known as the Aprilbeweging. Thorbecke, who remained passive in the issue in defence of the separation of church and state, was accused of catholic sympathies, Thorbecke spent nine years as leader of the opposition in the House of Representatives
28.
Gerlach Cornelis Joannes van Reenen
–
Gerlach Cornelis Joannes van Reenen was a Dutch politician. He was Mayor of Amsterdam from 1850-1853 and later a member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands for Amsterdam and he served as Ministers of the Interior from 1853-1856. He was president of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands in the period 23 September 1858 -20 September 1869, after being a minister he became a member of the Council of State of the Netherlands serving as vice-chairman from 1876-1893. After the passing of king William III, the heir, Wilhelmina, was underage, and he became chairman of the regency committee
29.
Jan Heemskerk
–
Jan Heemskerk Abrahamszoon was a Dutch politician who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1874 to 1877, and again from 1883 to 1888. His son, Theo Heemskerk also served as Prime Minister, Jan Heemskerk Abrahamszoon was born on 30 July 1818 in Amsterdam. He was the son of Abraham Heemskerk and Joanna Jacoba Stuart and he studied law and became a lawyer, then a member of the House of Representatives. Originally a liberal politician, he became a conservative in 1866 and he was three times Ministers of the Interior and three times temporary chairman of the Council of Ministers, similar to the present-day Prime Minister. He was Minister of State from 1885 to his death, Heemskerk died on 9 October 1897, at the age of 79, in The Hague. Heemskerk married his first cousin Anna Maria Heemskerk on 1 October 1846 in Utrecht and they had 5 sons, one of whom died in infancy, and 3 daughters. His son Theo Heemskerk was Prime Minister from 1908 to 1913 and his son Jan Frederik Heemskerk was a member of the House of Representatives. Heemskerks published works include De praktijk onzer grondwet, speciminis inauguralis de Montesquivio pars prior. Media related to Jan Heemskerk at Wikimedia Commons
30.
Pieter Philip van Bosse
–
Mr. Pieter Philip van Bosse was a Dutch liberal politician. Serving as minister of Finance in six cabinets throughout the middle of the 19th century and he led a cabinet himself as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 4 June 1868 to 4 January 1871. Pieter Philip van Bosse was born in Amsterdam, to an insurance broker, three of his siblings died at a young age, and his father died when he was eleven years old, after which his mother successfully took over the brokerage firm. He attended the Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam, and studied Roman, after his graduation, Van Bosse settled in Weesp as a manufacturer before returning to Amsterdam to work as a lawyer. In 1845, he was appointed referendary of the import and export rights department of the Ministry of Finance, on 3 June 1848, Van Bosse was appointed Minister of Finance. At the time, most of the revenue came from excises, and Van Bosses attempts to introduce a limited income tax. Under the premiership of Johan Rudolph Thorbecke, Van Bosse introduced reforms that liberalised the economy, a strong supporter of free trade, he procured the right of transit and discontinued levy on shipping rights on the Rhine and the IJssel. He reformed the coinage by introducing the standard and a simpler system of nickels, dimes, quarters. Moreover, he reformed the system, establishing a government monopoly of postal service. Van Bosses first ministership came to an end in 1853 with the fall of Thorbeckes cabinet, Van Bosse was elected to the House of Representatives for the constituency of Rotterdam on 14 June 1853, and was re-elected in 1856. In his five years in opposition, he insisted on tax reform. Moreover, Van Bosse won a seat in the council of The Hague in 1857. He served another term as minister of Finance from 12 March 1858 to 22 February 1860 and this term was marked by the introduction of inheritance tax. In 1860, Van Bosse returned to the House of Representatives for Zutphen, on 3 June 1868, Van Bosse started another term as minister of Finance in a cabinet formed by Thorbecke as formateur. However, Thorbecke did not proceed to lead the cabinet, and Van Bosse himself headed the cabinet as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, as Prime Minister, Van Bosse executed a policy based on financial solidity. The cabinet was responsible for the abolition of the death penalty, when several ministers in the cabinet resigned for different reasons in late 1870, Van Bosse was forced to resign as Prime Minister. On 4 January 1871, he was succeeded by Thorbecke, Van Bosse was given the honorary title of Minister of State in 1872. However, to his surprise, Van Bosse was appointed Minister of Colonial Affairs at the age of 68 and he ceased to be minister in 1872, but served another term as minister of Colonial Affairs from 1877
31.
Jan Kappeyne van de Coppello
–
Joannes Kappeyne van de Coppello was a Dutch liberal politician. He was prime minister of the Netherlands between 1877 and 1879, after attending the public primary school Outercourt in the Hague, Kappeyne was home schooled by his father, who was rector of the gymnasium of the Hague and taught Greek, as secondary education. Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, a prominent Protestant-Christian politician, became his guardian after the death of his father in 1840, in that year he began to study Roman and contemporary law at the University of Leiden. In 1845 he became lawyer in the Hague, in 1860 Kappeyne was elected into the city council of the Hague, as a liberal. In 1862 Kappeyne was elected into the Dutch House of Representatives as a liberal for the Hague and he was elected on a Puttian ticket. Fransen van de Putte, who was a minister at the time, in the 1866 elections he was defeated by the conservative F. de Casembroot. In 1871 he was elected into the House of Representatives as a liberal for Haarlem, in the 1875 elections he defeat the conservative M. J. van Lennep. He was political leader of the liberals between 1876 and 1877, in parliament he was known for his comical amendments. In 1877 Kappeneye was formateur of a liberal cabinet, Kappeyne became minister of Home Affairs, and he gave up his seat in parliament. He was appointed chairperson of the council of ministers, formally temporarily, as minister he enacted important laws, such as a new law on primary education. This law put higher demands on the quality of school buildings and this raised the financial burdens of primary schools, only public schools received state subsidies however. Religious schools, which were not able to sustain the financial burdens, were in effect forbidden and this led to staunch opposition as part of the School struggle of anti-revolutionary and catholic members of parliament, and a citizens petition. Kappeyene however did not change his mind, on 10 June 1879 the law on the channels which he proposed was rejected by parliament. Kappeyne asked the King to dismiss him, on 2 July, he asked the King to allow a constitutional revision, William III refused, and Kappeyne asked the King to dismiss him again, and William III finally dismissed Kappeyne. Behind the fall of the Kappeyne cabinet lay a conflict between the factions of the liberals and the more moderate liberals. In 1879 he returned to his lawyers office in the Hague, but Kappeyne attempted to gain a seat in parliament in the 1880,1883 and 1884 elections, he was however defeated every time. In 1880 he was defeated over the district of Amsterdam by the liberal J. G, gleichman, in 1883 in Amsterdam by the liberal-conservative A. Gildemeester, and in 1884 by the liberal J. Duijvis. He remained lawyer until his death in 1895, in this period he refused a request by the University of Leiden to become honorary professor of law
32.
Alexander de Savornin Lohman
–
Jonkheer Alexander Frederik de Savornin Lohman was a Dutch politician and leader of the Christian Historical Union during the first quarter of the 20th century. He was a member of the lower Dutch nobility and held the predicate of jonkheer and he was born into a family of Walloon Reformed extraction. He remained a member of parliament until 1921, throughout his career he would serve as member of the House of Representatives, member of the Senate and, for a short while, minister. He was noted for his vehement attacks against his opponents, but was considered to be receptive of the arguments of his peers. De Savornin Lohman got involved in politics whilst serving as a judge at the court of s-Hertogenbosch, there he became party to a conflict over Christian schools. He soon met Abraham Kuyper, another politician who would dominate Dutch politics in the years to come. When Kuyper was suffering from burnout in 1876 and 1877 De Savornin Lohman replaced him as editor of the Standaard. De Savornin Lohman went on, at times reluctantly, to become Kuypers most important collaborator in his many projects, De Savornin Lohmans entry in politics coincided with the introduction of party discipline into Dutch politics. Further conflict ensued when De Savornin Lohman became Minister of the Interior, replacing Æneas Mackay, the Dutch parliament had refused supply to Keucheniuss budget and Mackay wanted to save the government. Kuyper wanted to have an election and sought the fall of the government. De Savornin Lohman and most of the Anti Revolutionary Party supported the government, two factions in the ARP now emerged, one led by Kuyper the other by De Savornin Lohman. When the liberal minister Tak van Poortvliet presented a proposal to introduce universal suffrage in 1893, the aristocrat De Savornin Lohman was against extension, while Kuyper saw an electoral advantage for the ARP. Universal suffrage would give the bote to orthodox Protestant farmers and small entrepreneurs, when Kuyper managed to persuade ARP members to support his position, De Savornin Lohmans faction, the Free Anti Revolutionaries, became directly opposed to Kuypers Anti Revolutionaries. The conflict led to a split in the ARP with De Savornin Lohman, in 1908, after a series of mergers with like-minded political groups, De Savornin Lohman and his VAR founded the Christian Historical Union. Religiously, De Savornin Lohman, who was Reformed, was involved in the schism called the Doleantie. The schism was a reaction against the practices of the Dutch Reformed Church. While Kuyper favoured cooperation with Roman Catholics in parliament, De Savornin Lohman, professionally, De Savornin Lohman was employed by the Free University of Amsterdam to teach law and a Reformed outlook on science. In 1895 the conflict with Kuyper forced him to resign his post and it was twenty years before the two gentlemen were on speaking terms again
33.
Johannes Tak van Poortvliet
–
Johannes Pieter Roetert Tak van Poortvliet, lord of the manor of Poortvliet and Cleverskerke, was a Dutch politician. He was born in Engelen, North Brabant where his father and his father was a wealthy man, being the largest landowner in Zeeland. Johannes Tak studied law in Leiden, but he didnt practise law and he entered the public service and was one of the secretaries of de House of Representatives, the lower house of the Dutch parliament. In 1868 he became the secretary of the State Commissioner for water management in Zeeland, Johannes Tak van Poortvliet was attracted to liberalism. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1870 and was a supporter of Jan Kappeyne van de Coppello. In 1877 he entered the Kappeyne van de Coppello cabinet as Minister of Water Management, in 1878 his Canal Act, intended to improve the Dutch waterways, mainly by adding some major canals, was rejected by the House of Representatives. Tak and the ministers of the cabinet resigned. Tak van Poortvliet returned to the House of Representatives in 1880, from 1884 to 1888 he was a member of the Senate, but he returned in the House of Representatives in 1888. He was an ardent supporter of suffrage extension, an issue which divided the Liberals. After the liberals won the election in 1891, he was asked to become Minister of the Interior in the Van Tienhoven cabinet. However, he wanted to join the cabinet if the question of suffrage extension would become the main priority. As Minister of the Interior, he proposed a bill which would extend the right to vote to the adult male population. However, the right, including the old liberals, were opposed and he dissolved the House, and hoped that new elections would result in a progressive majority. However, the Takkianen lost the elections, although he returned in the House of Representatives, he had lost most of his influence. From 1901 to 1904 he was again a member of the Senate, Johannes Tak van Poortvliet was also a Dijkgraaf of the water board of Delfland. He died on 26 January 1904 in The Hague, at the time of his death he was a very rich man. Leader of the Kappeynianen from February 1880 till 16 November 1884, member of the Party Executive of the Liberal Union. In 1874 his name was changed from Johannes Pieter Roetert Tak in Johannes Pieter Roetert Tak van Poortvliet
