Abraham "Bram" Stemerdink (born 6 March 1936) is a retired

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and army officer. Stemerdink was

conscripted Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

in the

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army ( nl, Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised – making the Dutc ...

serving as a

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

from July 1955 until August 1956 and attended the Royal Military Academy and was commissioned as an officer in August 1956 serving in the cavalry

Regiment van Heutsz The Regiment van Heutsz is a line infantry regiment of the Royal Netherlands Army. The regiment was named after J.B. van Heutsz, a former Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, and was formed on July 1, 1950. It is notable for its service as ...

as a

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

from August 1956 until August 1970. Stemerdink was

wounded in action Wounded in Action (WIA) describes combatants who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during wartime, but have not been killed. Typically, it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing ...

after losing an eye from an explosion during a training exercise, after his recovery he studied law at the

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

and he subsequently returned to active service a military lawyer and judge for the

military justice Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bodie ...

system of the Royal Netherlands Army. Stemerdink served on the Provincial-Council of

North Holland North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...

from June 1970 until August 1971 and served on the

Municipal Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

from 1 September 1970 until 11 May 1973. Stemerdink became a Member of the House of Representatives after the resignation of Joan Willems, taking office on 25 August 1970 serving as a

frontbencher In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then kno ...

chairing the special parliamentary committee for Military Justice Reform and

spokesperson A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman, is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

for

Defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

and

Veterans' affairs Veterans' affairs is an area of public policy concerned with relations between a government and its communities of military veterans. Some jurisdictions have a designated government agency or department, a Department of Veterans' Affairs, Minist ...

. After the election of 1972 Stemerdink was appointed as State Secretary for Defence in the Cabinet Den Uyl, taking office on 11 May 1973. Stemerdink was appointed as

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

following the appointment of

Henk Vredeling Hendrikus "Henk" Vredeling (20 November 1924 – 27 October 2007) was a Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA). Decorations References External links ;Official *Ir. H. (Henk) VredelingParlement & Politiek 1924 ...

as the next European Commissioner from the Netherlands, taking office on 1 January 1977. The Cabinet Den Uyl fell on 22 March 1977 after four years of tensions in the coalition and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity. After the election of 1977 Stemerdink returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 14 June 1977 but he was still serving in the cabinet and because of dualism customs in the constitutional convention of Dutch politics he couldn't serve a

dual mandate A dual mandate is the practice in which elected officials serve in more than one elected or other public position simultaneously. This practice is sometimes known as double jobbing in Britain and ''cumul des mandats'' in France; not to be confused ...

he subsequently resigned as a Member of the House of Representatives on 14 September 1977. The Cabinet Den Uyl was replaced by the Cabinet Van Agt-Wiegel following the cabinet formation of 1977 on 19 December 1977 and he subsequently returned as Member of the House of Representatives after the resignation of Adriaan van Mierlo, taking office on 16 January 1978 serving as a frontbencher and spokesperson for Defence and Veterans' affairs. After the election of 1981 Stemerdink was again appointed as State Secretary for Defence in the Cabinet Van Agt II, taking office on 11 September 1981. The Cabinet Van Agt II fell just seven months into its term on 12 May 1982 after months of tensions in the coalition and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until the first cabinet formation of 1982 when it was replaced by the

caretaker Caretaker may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Caretaker'' (film), a 1963 adaptation of the play ''The Caretaker'' * '' The Caretakers'', a 1963 American film set in a mental hospital * Caretaker, a character in the 1974 film '' ...

Cabinet Van Agt III on 29 May 1982. After the election of 1982 Stemerdink once again returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 16 September 1982 serving as a frontbencher chairing the parliamentary committee for European Affairs and spokesperson for Defence, European Affairs,

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

, Veterans' affairs and spokesperson for

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...

. After the election of 1989 Stemerdink was not giving a cabinet post in the new Cabinet Lubbers III and continued serving in the House of Representatives. In October 1993 Stemerdink announced his retirement from national politics and that he wouldn't stand for the election of 1994 and continued to serve until the end of the parliamentary term on 17 May 1994. Stemerdink retired after spending 23 years in national politics and became active in the

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, infra ...

and occupied numerous seats as a nonprofit director on several boards of directors and supervisory boards (

Overloon War Museum The Overloon War Museum (''Dutch: Oorlogsmuseum Overloon'') is located in Overloon, Netherlands. The museum was opened on May 25, 1946, making it one of the oldest museums in Europe dedicated to the Second World War. The museum is located on ...

, Institute for Multiparty Democracy, ProDemos and the

International Institute of Social History The International Institute of Social History (IISH/IISG) is one of the largest archives of labor and social history in the world. Located in Amsterdam, its one million volumes and 2,300 archival collections include the papers of major figur ...

) and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government ( Probation Agency, Public Pension Funds APB,

National Committee for 4 and 5 May The National Committee for 4 and 5 May ( nl, Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei) is a Dutch authority for war monuments and memorials since 1987. The committee is best known for its annual organization of the Remembrance of the Dead observances on May ...

Custodial Institutions Agency The Custodial Institutions Agency ( nl, Dienst Justitiële Inrichtingen, , DJI) is responsible for the incarceration of adults in the Netherlands. It is subordinate to the Ministry of Public Safety and Justice. The agency has its headquarters in T ...

and the

Dutch Safety Board The Dutch Safety Board (DSB; nl, Onderzoeksraad voor Veiligheid, OVV, literally "Investigation Council for Safety") is an organisation based in The Hague, Netherlands.Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

. Then he became secretary of the

Council of War A council of war is a term in military science that describes a meeting held to decide on a course of action, usually in the midst of a battle. Under normal circumstances, decisions are made by a commanding officer, optionally communicated ...

, member of the

North Brabant North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the we ...

province government and councilor for the city

and since 1970

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP). In the Den Uyl administration he was Secretary of State of Defence from 1973 and from 1 January to 19 December 1977

. In the second van Agt administration he was secretary of state again. In the periods 1978–1981 and 1982–1994 he was an MP. Stemerdink was an independent politician with historical interest. He was an activist for the preservation of the old parliament hall. He has been a respected radio commentator for many years. He is also chairman of the foundation National War and Resistance in

Overloon Overloon is a village with 3,626 inhabitants on the outskirts of the Peel region, in the former municipality of Boxmeer, North Brabant. Since 2022 it has been part of the new municipality of Land van Cuijk. Located on the outskirts is the Nati ...

(the Netherlands).

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
Mr. A. (Bram) Stemerdink
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