Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy

World War II

The royal family and many leading politicians had fled to London in 1940. There, they formed a government in exile. After De Geer's resignation and because of Gerbrandy's rejection of De Geer's defeatism, Queen Wilhelmina appointed him as prime minister of the Dutch government in exile,^[3] serving in turn as minister of justice, the Colonies, and the general conduct of the War. On his initiative, the Dutch government started to broadcast from Radio Oranje. This station supplied the Dutch population with information from the free world whilst under the occupation of Nazi Germany. His premature broadcast announcement on September 4, 1944 that Allied forces had crossed the border prompted the celebrations of Dolle Dinsdag (Mad Tuesday), and undermined the morale of the German occupiers. Gerbrandy became an inspirational figure to Dutch citizens during the wartime period, as such he was awarded a medal of valour in 1950 and knighted by HRH Princess Wilhelmina.

Postwar

In 1945, after the liberation of the south, he formed a new cabinet without socialists, which was alleged to be strictly subordinated to military rule. He resigned after the total liberation. He strongly opposed the government's ‘Indonesian policy’, and in 1946–50 chaired the National Committee for the Maintenance of the Kingdom's Unity, which was against the separation of Indonesia and supported the idea of a Republic of the South Moluccas.

In 1950 his book, "Indonesia," was published, offering an explanation of the history of the relationship of the two nations from the 1600s to 1948, including "The Indies under Netherlands Rule, The Rule of Law, The Japanese Occupation" and "Chaos," with each section outlining his detailed observations.^[4]

In 1948, he returned in the Dutch Parliament. However, because of his hot temper, he alienated himself from his party members. In 1956 he was member of a commission which investigated the affair around Greet Hofmans. In 1959, he resigned as a member of Parliament.