Den Uyl cabinet

Den Uyl cabinet
55th cabinet of the Netherlands
The installation of the Den Uyl cabinet on 11 May 1973
Date formed	11 May 1973 (1973-05-11)
Date dissolved	19 December 1977 (1977-12-19) (Demissionary from 22 March 1977 (1977-03-22))
People and organisations
Head of state	Queen Juliana
Head of government	Joop den Uyl
Deputy head of government	Dries van Agt (1973–1977) Gaius de Gaay Fortman (1977)
No. of ministers	16
Ministers removed (Death/resignation/dismissal)	3
Total no. of ministers	18
Member party	Labour Party (PvdA) Catholic People's Party (KVP) Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) Political Party of Radicals (PPR) Democrats 66 (D'66)
Status in legislature	Left-wing Majority government
Opposition party	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
Opposition leader	Hans Wiegel
History
Election(s)	1972 election
Outgoing election	1977 election
Legislature term(s)	1972–1977
Incoming formation	1972–1973 formation
Outgoing formation	1977 formation
Predecessor	Second Biesheuvel cabinet
Successor	First Van Agt cabinet

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The Den Uyl cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 11 May 1973 until 19 December 1977. The cabinet was formed by the political parties Labour Party (PvdA), Catholic People's Party (KVP), Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP), Political Party of Radicals (PPR) and the Democrats 66 (D'66) after the election of 1972. The left-wing cabinet was a majority government in the House of Representatives. Joop den Uyl, the Leader of the Labour Party was Prime Minister, with Dries van Agt of the Catholic People's Party and Gaius de Gaay Fortman of the Anti-Revolutionary Party serving as Deputy Prime Ministers.^[1]

Formation

After the 1972 election the Labour Party (PvdA) of Joop den Uyl was the winner of the election which won four new seats and had now a total of 43 seats. Prior to the election the Labour Party had formed a Political alliance with the progressive Christian Political Party of Radicals and the social-liberal Democrats 66 but failed to achieve a majority in the House of Representatives. After lengthy negotiations the Christian-democratic Catholic People's Party and Anti-Revolutionary Party agreed to start talks about joining the coalition. During the formation negotiations between the parties were difficult because of disputes between uncompromising left-wing radicals and the moderate factions of the left-wing parties and the left-wing Christians. In the end both the Catholic People's Party and Anti-Revolutionary Party joined the cabinet.

Term

The cabinet Den Uyl was confronted with many problems. An early problem was the 1973 oil boycott following the Dutch support of Israel in the Yom Kippur War. Prime Minister Joop den Uyl said in a speech on national television that "things would never return to the way they were" and implemented fuel rationing and a ban on Sunday driving.

Domestically the cabinet had several major conflicts. The terrorist attacks by Moluccans seeking independence from Indonesia where a major source of problems. The Lockheed affair (bribes accepted by the queen's husband) and the closing of the abortion clinic Bloemenhove. Many plans could not be implemented because of these problems.

The cabinet fell because of a disagreement over land development plans. A deeper cause was the left-wing distrust of the Christian ministers, especially in the case of war criminal Menten, where Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Dries van Agt was ridiculed (so believed Van Agt) by some party members of Prime Minister Joop den Uyl.^[2]

Changes

On 1 November 1973 Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Tiemen Brouwer (KVP) resigned because of health reasons shortly after he took office he was struck with a brain haemorrhage. That same day State Secretary for Finance Fons van der Stee (KVP) was installed as Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries. On 21 December 1973 Martin van Rooijen (KVP), who until then had been working as the head of the fiscal tax department for Royal Dutch Shell was appointed as State Secretary for Finance.

On 1 March 1974 State Secretary for Defence Joep Mommersteeg (KVP) resigned because of health problems. On 11 March 1974 brigadier general Cees van Lent (KVP), who until then has been working as Chief of the Personnel Department of the Royal Netherlands Army was installed as his successor.

On 27 May 1975 State Secretary for Justice Jan Glastra van Loon (D'66) resigned due to a conflict with top officials at the Ministry of Defence after criticizing the department's leadership in an interview. On 6 June 1975 former Utrecht Alderman Henk Zeevalking (D'66) was appointed his successor.

On 1 September 1975 State Secretary for Education and Sciences Antoon Veerman (ARP) resigned because of health reasons.That same day Klaas de Jong (ARP), who until then has been working as rector of the Christian school in Amersfoort was installed as his successor.

On 1 January 1977 Minister of Defence Henk Vredeling (PvdA) resigned after he was appointed as European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs. That same day State Secretary for Defence Bram Stemerdink (PvdA) was appointed as his successor.

On 1 May 1977 State Secretary for the Interior Wim Polak (PvdA) resigned after he was appointed as Mayor of Amsterdam and because the cabinet was already demissionary he was not replaced.

On 8 September 1977 Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Dries van Agt (KVP) resigned because of the dualism of the constitutional convention in the States General of the Netherlands after he was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives. Minister of the Interior Gaius de Gaay Fortman (ARP) took over both positions until the new cabinet was installed on 19 December 1977.

For the same reason, on 8 September 1977 State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (D'66), State Secretary for Justice Henk Zeevalking (D'66), State Secretary for Economic Affairs Ted Hazekamp (KVP), State Secretary for Education and Sciences Ger Klein (PvdA), State Secretaries for Housing and Spatial Planning Jan Schaefer (PvdA) and Marcel van Dam (PvdA) and State Secretary for Culture, Recreation and Social Work Wim Meijer (PvdA) also resigned.

First Lady of Gabon Patience Dabany, Queen Juliana, President of Gabon Omar Bongo and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld at Soestdijk Palace op 14 May 1973.

President of the European Commission François-Xavier Ortoli and Prime Minister Joop den Uyl at the Catshuis op 22 October 1973.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Porugal Mário Soares, Maria Barroso, Minister of Foreign Affairs Max van der Stoel and Prime Minister Joop den Uyl at the Catshuis op 4 May 1974.

Prime Minister Joop den Uyl and Prime Minister of Australia Gough Whitlam at Airport Schiphol on 3 January 1975.

Prime Minister of Suriname Henck Arron and Prime Minister Joop den Uyl at the Catshuis on 25 June 1975.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel Yigal Allon and Prime Minister Joop den Uyl at the Ministry of General Affairs on 10 November 1975.

Prime Minister of Belgium Leo Tindemans and Prime Minister Joop den Uyl during a Benelux conference in The Hague on 23 March 1976.

United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Prime Minister Joop den Uyl at the Catshuis om 11 August 1976.

Prime Minister Joop den Uyl and First Secretary of the French Socialist Party François Mitterrand at the Catshuis om 28 September 1976.

Prime Minister Joop den Uyl and Minister of Foreign Affairs of East-Germany Oskar Fischer at the Ministry of General Affairs on 24 January 1977.

President of Zambia Kenneth Kaunda, Prime Minister Joop den Uyl and Minister of Foreign Affairs Max van der Stoel at the Ministry of General Affairs on 13 June 1977.

Secretary-General of the African National Congress Oliver Tambo, Treasurer General of the African National Congress Thomas Nkobi and Minister for Development Cooperation Jan Pronk on 5 October 1977.

Composition

Ministers			Title/Ministry		Term of office	Party
		Joop den Uyl (1919–1987)	Prime Minister	General Affairs	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Labour Party
		Dries van Agt (born 1931)	Deputy Prime Minister / Minister	Justice	6 July 1971 – 8 September 1977 [Retained] [Res]	Catholic People's Party
		Dr. Gaius de Gaay Fortman (1911–1997)			8 September 1977 – 19 December 1977	Anti-Revolutionary Party
			Minister	Interior	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977
		Max van der Stoel (1924–2011)	Minister	Foreign Affairs	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Labour Party
		Dr. Wim Duisenberg (1935–2005)	Minister	Finance	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Labour Party
		Ruud Lubbers (1939–2018)	Minister	Economic Affairs	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Catholic People's Party
		Henk Vredeling (1924–2007)	Minister	Defence	11 May 1973 – 1 January 1977 [Appt]	Labour Party
		Bram Stemerdink (born 1936)			1 January 1977 – 19 December 1977	Labour Party
		Irene Vorrink (1918–1996)	Minister	Health and Environment	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Labour Party
		Jaap Boersma (1929–2012)	Minister	Social Affairs	6 July 1971 – 19 December 1977 [Retained]	Anti-Revolutionary Party
		Dr. Jos van Kemenade (born 1937)	Minister	Education and Sciences	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Labour Party
		Tjerk Westerterp (born 1930)	Minister	Transport and Water Management	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Catholic People's Party
		Tiemen Brouwer (1916–1977)	Minister	Agriculture and Fisheries	11 May 1973 – 1 November 1973 [Res]	Catholic People's Party
		Fons van der Stee (1928–1999)			1 November 1973 – 5 March 1980	Catholic People's Party
		Hans Gruijters (1931–2005)	Minister	Housing and Spatial Planning	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Democrats 66
		Harry van Doorn (1915–1992)	Minister	Culture, Recreation and Social Work	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Political Party of Radicals
Ministers without portfolio			Title/Portfolio/Ministry		Term of office	Party
		Jan Pronk (born 1940)	Minister	Development Cooperation (within Foreign Affairs)	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Labour Party
		Boy Trip (1921–1990)	Minister	Science Policy (within Education and Sciences)	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Political Party of Radicals
		Dr. Gaius de Gaay Fortman (1911–1997)	Minister	Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs (within Interior)	11 May 1973 – 25 November 1975	Anti-Revolutionary Party
				Netherlands Antilles Affairs (within Interior)	25 November 1975 – 19 December 1977
State Secretaries			Title/Portfolio/Ministry		Term of office	Party
		Wim Polak (1924–1999)	State Secretary	• Central Government Affairs • Local Government Affairs • Government Real Estate (within Interior)	11 May 1973 – 1 May 1977 [Appt]	Labour Party
		Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (born 1937)	State Secretary	• European Affairs • NATO Affairs • Benelux Affairs • International Aviation Policy (within Foreign Affairs)	11 May 1973 – 8 September 1977 [Res]	Democrats 66
		Dr. Pieter Kooijmans (1933–2013)		• United Nations Affairs • International Cooperation (within Foreign Affairs)	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Anti-Revolutionary Party
		Fons van der Stee (1928–1999)	State Secretary	• Fiscal Affairs • Tax and Customs Administration • National Mint (within Finance)	11 May 1973 – 1 November 1973 [Appt]	Catholic People's Party
		Martin van Rooijen (born 1942)			21 December 1973 – 14 October 1977 [Res]	Catholic People's Party
		Aar de Goede (1928–2016)		• Local Government Finances • Gambling Policy • State Lottery (within Finance)	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Democrats 66
		Dr. Jan Glastra van Loon (1920–2001)	State Secretary	• Integration • Immigration • Asylum Affairs • Privacy Policy • Administrative Law • Family Law • Youth Justice (within Justice)	13 June 1973 – 27 May 1975 [Res]	Democrats 66
		Henk Zeevalking (1922–2005)			6 June 1975 – 8 September 1977 [Res]	Democrats 66
		Ted Hazekamp (1926–1987)	State Secretary	• Small Business Policy • Retail Policy • Competition Policy • Regional Development • Consumer Protection • Tourism Affairs (within Economic Affairs)	11 May 1973 – 11 September 1981	Catholic People's Party
		Joep Mommersteeg (1917–1991)	State Secretary	• Personnel Affairs (within Defence)	11 May 1973 – 1 March 1974 [Res]	Catholic People's Party
		Brigadier general Cees van Lent (1922–2000)			11 March 1974 – 11 September 1981	Catholic People's Party
		Bram Stemerdink (born 1936)		• Equipment Policy • Military Justice (within Defence)	11 May 1973 – 1 January 1977 [Appt]	Labour Party
		Jo Hendriks (1923–2001)	State Secretary	• Elderly Policy • Disability Affairs • Veteran Affairs • Environmental Policy (within Health and Environment)	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Catholic People's Party
		Jan Mertens (1916–2000)	State Secretary	• Social Security • Occupational Safety (within Social Affairs)	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Catholic People's Party
		Dr. Ger Klein (1925–1998)	State Secretary	• Higher Education • Adult Education • Teacher Policy (within Education and Sciences)	11 May 1973 – 8 September 1977 [Res]	Labour Party
		Dr. Antoon Veerman (1916–1993)		• Secondary Education • Special Education (within Education and Sciences)	11 May 1973 – 1 September 1975 [Res]	Anti-Revolutionary Party
		Klaas de Jong (1926–2011)			1 September 1975 – 11 September 1981	Anti-Revolutionary Party
		Dr. Michel van Hulten (born 1930)	State Secretary	• Transport Infrastructure • Water Infrastructure • Public Transport • Postal Service • Weather Forecasting Service (within Transport and Water Management)	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Political Party of Radicals
		Jan Schaefer (1940–1994)	State Secretary	• Urban Planning • Spatial Planning (within Housing and Spatial Planning)	11 May 1973 – 8 September 1977 [Res]	Labour Party
		Marcel van Dam (born 1938)		• Public Housing (within Housing and Spatial Planning)	11 May 1973 – 8 September 1977 [Res]	Labour Party
		Wim Meijer (born 1939)	State Secretary	• Unemployment Affairs • Social Services • Youth Policy • Poverty Policy • Nature Policy • Recreation Affairs • Sport (within Culture, Recreation and Social Work)	11 May 1973 – 8 September 1977 [Res]	Labour Party
Source: (in Dutch) Rijksoverheid

^Retained Retained this position from the previous cabinet.

^Appt Appointment: Henk Vredeling appointed European Commissioner; Wim Polak appointed Mayor of Amsterdam; Fons van der Stee appointed Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries; Bram Stemerdink appointed Minister of Defence.

^Res Resigned.

References

External links

Official

• (in Dutch) Kabinet-Den Uyl Parlement & Politiek
• (in Dutch) Kabinet-Den Uyl Rijksoverheid

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