Den Uyl cabinet

Den Uyl cabinet
Den Uyl cabinet
; Cabinet of the Netherlands
	The installation of the Den Uyl cabinet on 11 May 1973
Date formed	11 May 1973
Date dissolved	19 December 1977 ; (Demissionary from 22 March 1977)
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	3
Total no. of members	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	Centre-left ; Majority government ; (Grand coalition)
History
Election	1972 election
Outgoing election	1977 election
Legislature terms	1972–1977
Incoming formation	1972–1973 formation
Outgoing formation	1977 formation
Predecessor	Second Biesheuvel cabinet
Successor	First Van Agt cabinet

The Den Uyl cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch Government from 11 May 1973 until 19 December 1977. The cabinet was formed by the social-democratic Labour Party (PvdA), the christian-democratic Catholic People's Party (KVP) and Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP), the progressive Political Party of Radicals (PPR) and the social-liberal Democrats 66 (D'66) after the election of 1972. The cabinet was a Centre-left^[1] grand coalition and had a substantial majority in the House of Representatives with Labour Leader Joop den Uyl serving as Prime Minister. Prominent Catholic politician Dries van Agt, the Minister of Justice from the previous cabinet, served as Deputy Prime Minister until his resignation. Prominent Protestant politician Gaius de Gaay Fortman the Minister of the Interior assumed the office of Deputy Prime Minister on 8 September 1977.

The cabinet served during the tumultuous 1970s and had to deal with several major crises such as the 1973 oil crisis, the Lockheed scandal, the Moluccans incidents and the fallout of the Yom Kippur War. Internally the cabinet suffered several conflicts, including the poor working relationship between Prime Minister Den Uyl and Deputy Prime Minister Van Agt, and multiple resignations. The cabinet fell on 22 March 1977, just before the end of its term, following a major political crisis, and continued in a demissionary capacity until it was replaced following the election of 1977.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Formation

After the 1972 election the Labour Party (PvdA) of Joop den Uyl was the winner of the election, winning four new seats and having now a total of 43 seats. Prior to the election the PvdA had formed a political alliance with the progressive Christian Political Party of Radicals and the social-liberal Democrats 66, but this alliance failed to achieve a majority in the House of Representatives. After lengthy negotiations the Christian-democratic Catholic People's Party (KVP) and Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) 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 KVP and the ARP joined the cabinet.

Term

The Den Uyl cabinet was confronted with many problems, starting with the 1973 oil crisis following 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.^[5]

Domestically the cabinet had several major conflicts, including the terrorist attacks by Moluccans seeking independence from Indonesia, 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 Pieter 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.^[6]

Changes

On 1 November 1973, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Tiemen Brouwer (KVP) resigned for reasons of health; shortly after he took office, he suffered 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 had 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 had 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 Mayor of Amsterdam; 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.

ANC Secretary-General Oliver Tambo, ANC Treasurer-General Thomas Nkobi and Minister Jan Pronk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 5 October 1977

Cabinet members

Ministers		Title/Ministry/Portfolio(s)			Term of office	Party
	Joop den Uyl (1919–1987)	Prime Minister	General Affairs		11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Labour Party
	Dries van Agt (1931–2024)	Deputy Prime Minister	Justice		11 May 1973 – 8 September 1977 ^[Res]	Catholic People's Party
	Dries van Agt (1931–2024)	Minister	Justice		6 July 1971 – 8 September 1977 ^[Retained] ^[Res]	Catholic People's Party
	Dr. Gaius de Gaay Fortman (1911–1997)	Deputy Prime Minister	Justice		8 September 1977 – 19 December 1977	Anti-Revolutionary Party
		Minister	Justice		8 September 1977 – 19 December 1977
		Minister	Interior		11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977
		Minister		• Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs	11 May 1973 – 25 November 1975
		Minister		• Netherlands Antilles Affairs	25 November 1975 – 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 ^[App]	Labour Party
	Captain Bram Stemerdink (born 1936)	Minister	Defence		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 (1937–2020)	Minister	Education and Sciences		11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Labour Party
	Tjerk Westerterp (1930–2023)	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)	Minister	Agriculture and Fisheries		1 November 1973 – 5 March 1980 ^[Continued]	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/Ministry/Portfolio(s)			Term of office	Party
	Jan Pronk (born 1940)	Minister	Foreign Affairs	• Development Cooperation	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Labour Party
	Boy Trip (1921–1990)	Minister	Education and Sciences	• Science Policy	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Political Party of Radicals
State Secretaries		Title/Ministry/Portfolio(s)			Term of office	Party
	Wim Polak (1924–1999)	State Secretary	Interior	• Municipalities • Civil Service	11 May 1973 – 1 May 1977 ^[App]	Labour Party
	Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (born 1937)	State Secretary	Foreign Affairs	• European Union • Benelux • NATO	11 May 1973 – 8 September 1977 ^[Res]	Democrats 66
	Dr. Pieter Kooijmans (1933–2013)	State Secretary	Foreign Affairs	• United Nations • International Organizations	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Anti-Revolutionary Party
	Fons van der Stee (1928–1999)	State Secretary	Finance	• Fiscal Policy • Tax and Customs	11 May 1973 – 1 November 1973 ^[App]	Catholic People's Party
	Martin van Rooijen (born 1942)			• Fiscal Policy • Tax and Customs	21 December 1973 – 14 October 1977 ^[Res]	Catholic People's Party
	Aar de Goede (1928–2016)			• Governmental Budget	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Democrats 66
	Dr. Jan Glastra van Loon (1920–2001)	State Secretary	Justice	• Immigration and Asylum • Civil Law • Judicial Reform • Youth Justice	13 June 1973 – 27 May 1975 ^[Res]	Democrats 66
	Henk Zeevalking (1922–2005)	State Secretary	Justice		6 June 1975 – 8 September 1977 ^[Res]	Democrats 66
	Ted Hazekamp (1926–1987)	State Secretary	Economic Affairs	• Small and Medium-sized Businesses • Regional Development • Consumer Protection • Tourism	11 May 1973 – 11 September 1981 ^[Continued]	Catholic People's Party
	Joep Mommersteeg (1917–1991)	State Secretary	Defence	• Human Resources	11 May 1973 – 1 March 1974 ^[Res]	Catholic People's Party
	Brigadier general Cees van Lent (1922–2000)			• Human Resources	11 March 1974 – 11 September 1981 ^[Continued]	Catholic People's Party
	Captain Bram Stemerdink (born 1936)			• Equipment • Justice	11 May 1973 – 1 January 1977 ^[App]	Labour Party
	Jo Hendriks (1923–2001)	State Secretary	Health and Environment	• Primary Healthcare • Elderly Care • Disability Policy	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Catholic People's Party
	Jan Mertens (1916–2000)	State Secretary	Social Affairs	• Social Security • Occupational Safety	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Catholic People's Party
	Dr. Ger Klein (1925–1998)	State Secretary	Education and Sciences	• Higher Education	11 May 1973 – 8 September 1977 ^[Res]	Labour Party
	Dr. Antoon Veerman (1916–1993)			• Secondary Education • Special Education	11 May 1973 – 1 September 1975 ^[Res]	Anti-Revolutionary Party
	Klaas de Jong (1926–2011)			• Secondary Education • Special Education	1 September 1975 – 11 September 1981 ^[Continued]	Anti-Revolutionary Party
	Dr. Michel van Hulten (born 1930)	State Secretary	Transport and Water Management	• Public Infrastructure • Public Transport • Postal Service	11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977	Political Party of Radicals
	Jan Schaefer (1940–1994)	State Secretary	Housing and Spatial Planning	• Urban Planning • Spatial Planning	11 May 1973 – 8 September 1977 ^[Res]	Labour Party
	Marcel van Dam (born 1938)	State Secretary	Housing and Spatial Planning	• Public Housing	11 May 1973 – 8 September 1977 ^[Res]	Labour Party
	Wim Meijer (born 1939)	State Secretary	Culture, Recreation and Social Work	• Social Services • Environmental Policy • Nature • Recreation	11 May 1973 – 8 September 1977 ^[Res]	Labour Party
Source: (in Dutch) Rijksoverheid

^Resigned

^{Retained from the previous cabinet}

^{Continued in the next cabinet}

^{Appointed as European Commissioner}

^{Appointed as Mayor of Amsterdam}

^{Appointed as Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries}

^{Appointed as Minister of Defence}

References

^ Changing Liaisons The Dynamics of Social Partnership in 20th Century West-European DemocraciesBy Karel Davids, 2007, P.165
^ (in Dutch) De mythe van het vechtkabinet van Joop den Uyl Archived 9 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine. University of Rotterdam. 2002
^ (in Dutch) Suèr, Henk. "Joop den Uyl: verguisd en inspirerend" (PDF). Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). roodkoper.nl
^ "Onthullende biografie Joop den Uyl" (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 27 June 2009. Retrieved 17 April 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). University of Amsterdam. 21 February 2008
^ "De hobbelstrategie" (in Dutch). De Groene Amsterdammer. 25 October 1995. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
^ "Waarom het kabinet-Den Uyl moest vallen; Bonje om de premier-bonus" (in Dutch). NRC Handelsblad. 22 March 1997. Retrieved 31 July 2018.

External links

Official

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

[1] Changing Liaisons The Dynamics of Social Partnership in 20th Century West-European DemocraciesBy Karel Davids, 2007, P.165

[2] (in Dutch) De mythe van het vechtkabinet van Joop den Uyl Archived 9 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine. University of Rotterdam. 2002

[3] (in Dutch) Suèr, Henk. "Joop den Uyl: verguisd en inspirerend" (PDF). Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). roodkoper.nl

[4] "Onthullende biografie Joop den Uyl" (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 27 June 2009. Retrieved 17 April 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). University of Amsterdam. 21 February 2008

[5] "De hobbelstrategie" (in Dutch). De Groene Amsterdammer. 25 October 1995. Retrieved 15 August 2017.

[6] "Waarom het kabinet-Den Uyl moest vallen; Bonje om de premier-bonus" (in Dutch). NRC Handelsblad. 22 March 1997. Retrieved 31 July 2018.

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v t e Den Uyl cabinet (1973–1977)
Preceded: Second Biesheuvel cabinet Succeed: First Van Agt cabinet
Prime Minister	Joop den Uyl (General Affairs)
Deputy Prime Ministers	Dries van Agt (Justice) (1973–1977) Gaius de Gaay Fortman (Justice) (from 1977)
Ministers	Gaius de Gaay Fortman (Interior and Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs) Max van der Stoel (Foreign Affairs) Wim Duisenberg (Finance) Ruud Lubbers (Economic Affairs) Henk Vredeling (Defence) (1973–1977) Bram Stemerdink (Defence) (from 1977) Irene Vorrink (Health and the Environment) Jaap Boersma (Social Affairs) Jos van Kemenade (Education and Sciences) Tjerk Westerterp (Transport and Water Management) Tiemen Brouwer (Agriculture and Fisheries) (1973) Fons van der Stee (Agriculture and Fisheries) (from 1973) Hans Gruijters (Housing and Spatial Planning) Harry van Doorn (Culture, Recreation and Social Work)
Ministers without portfolio	Jan Pronk (Development Cooperation) Boy Trip (Science Policy)
State Secretaries	Wim Polak (Interior) (1973–1977) Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (Foreign Affairs) (1973–1977) Pieter Kooijmans (Foreign Affairs) Fons van der Stee (Finance) (1973) Martin van Rooijen (Finance) (1973–1977) Aar de Goede (Finance) Jan Glastra van Loon (Justice) (1973–1975) Henk Zeevalking (Justice) (1975–1977) Ted Hazekamp (Economic Affairs) Joep Mommersteeg (Defence) (1973–1974) Cees van Lent (Defence) (from 1974) Bram Stemerdink (Defence) (1973–1977) Jo Hendriks (Health and the Environment) Jan Mertens (Social Affairs) Ger Klein (Education and Sciences) (1973–1977) Antoon Veerman (Education and Sciences) (1973–1975) Klaas de Jong (Education and Sciences) (from 1975) Michel van Hulten (Transport and Water Management) Jan Schaefer (Housing and Spatial Planning) (1973–1977) Marcel van Dam (Housing and Spatial Planning) (1973–1977) Wim Meijer (Culture, Recreation and Social Work) (1973–1977)