The Catholic People's Party ( nl, Katholieke Volkspartij, KVP) was a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands
This article lists political parties in the Netherlands, which has a multi-party system with numerous political parties, in which any one party has little chance of gaining power alone, and parties often work with each other to form coalition go ...
. The party was founded in 1945 as a continuation of the
Roman Catholic State Party
The Roman Catholic State Party ( nl, Roomsch-Katholieke Staatspartij, RKSP) was a Catholic Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1926 as a continuation of the General League of Roman Catholic Caucuses ...
, which was a continuation of the
General League of Roman Catholic Caucuses
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...
. During its entire existence, the party was in government. In 1977, a federation of parties including the Catholic People's Party, the
Anti-Revolutionary Party
The Anti-Revolutionary Party ( nl, Anti-Revolutionaire Partij, ARP) was a Protestant conservative and Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1879 by Abraham Kuyper, a neo-Calvinist theologian and m ...
(ARP) and the
Christian Historical Union
The Christian Historical Union ( nl, Christelijk-Historische Unie, CHU) was a Protestant Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), into which it merged i ...
(CHU) ran together under the
Christian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal ( nl, Christen-Democratisch Appèl, ; CDA) is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. It was originally formed in 1977 from a confederation of the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolution ...
(CDA) banner. The three participating parties formally dissolved to form the CDA in 1980.
History
1945–1965
The KVP was founded on 22 December 1945. It was a continuation of the pre-
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
Roman Catholic State Party
The Roman Catholic State Party ( nl, Roomsch-Katholieke Staatspartij, RKSP) was a Catholic Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1926 as a continuation of the General League of Roman Catholic Caucuses ...
(RKSP). Unlike the RKSP, the KVP was open to people of all denominations, but mainly
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
s supported the party. The party adopted a more progressive course and a more modern image than its predecessor.
In the
elections of 1946 the party won a third of the vote, and joined the newly founded
social democratic
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...
Labour Party (PvdA) to form a government coalition. This
Roman/Red coalition (Roman (Rooms) for the Roman Catholic KVP, Rood, Red for the social democratic PvdA) lasted until 1958. In the first two years the KVP's
Louis Beel
Louis Joseph Maria Beel (12 April 1902 – 11 February 1977) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Roman Catholic State Party (RKSP) and later co-founder of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) now the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and j ...
led the
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
. Beel was not the party's leader a post which was taken by
Carl Romme
Carl Paul Maria Romme (21 December 1896 – 16 October 1980) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Roman Catholic State Party (RKSP) and later co-founder of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA ...
, who led the KVP between 1946 and 1961, from the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
. After the
1948 election the PvdA became larger and supplied the prime minister
Willem Drees
Willem () is a Dutch and West FrisianRienk de Haan, ''Fryske Foarnammen'', Leeuwarden, 2002 (Friese Pers Boekerij), , p. 158. masculine given name. The name is Germanic, and can be seen as the Dutch equivalent of the name William in English, G ...
. The PvdA and the KVP were joined by combinations of the
protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
-Christian
Anti-Revolutionary Party
The Anti-Revolutionary Party ( nl, Anti-Revolutionaire Partij, ARP) was a Protestant conservative and Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1879 by Abraham Kuyper, a neo-Calvinist theologian and m ...
(ARP) and
Christian Historical Union
The Christian Historical Union ( nl, Christelijk-Historische Unie, CHU) was a Protestant Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), into which it merged i ...
(CHU) and the
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party in ...
(VVD) to form oversized cabinets, which often held a comfortable two-thirds majority. The cabinets were oriented at rebuilding the Dutch society and
economy
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
after the ravages of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and grant independence to the
Dutch colony Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. That last point was caused a split within the KVP, in 1948 a small group of Catholics broke away to form the
Catholic National Party
The Catholic National Party (in Dutch: ''Katholieke Nationale Partij'', KNP) was a Dutch conservative Catholic political party. The KNP served as a Catholic protest party against Indonesian independence.
Party History
The KNP was founded on Decem ...
(KNP): it was opposed to the decolonisation of Indonesia and to cooperation between the Catholics and social-democrats. Under pressure of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
the two parties united again in 1955.
The KVP was at the height of its power from 1958 to 1965. It was the dominant force in all cabinets, and every prime minister during this time was a party member. In 1958 the
Fourth cabinet of Drees fell and Louis Beel formed an interim-cabinet with KVP, ARP and CHU. After the
1959 elections the KVP formed a centre-right
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
with ARP, CHU and VVD, led by KVP member
Jan de Quay
Jan Eduard de Quay (26 August 1901 – 4 July 1985) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and psychologist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 19 Ma ...
. It continued to strengthen the welfare state. After the
1963 elections this cabinet was succeeded by a new
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
of KVP-CHU-ARP-VVD, which was led by the KVP's
Victor Marijnen
Victor Gerard Marie Marijnen (21 February 1917 – 5 April 1975) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 2 ...
. This coalition oversaw an
economic boom
An economic expansion is an increase in the level of economic activity, and of the goods and services available. It is a period of economic growth as measured by a rise in real GDP. The explanation of fluctuations in aggregate economic activit ...
.
Norbert Schmelzer
Wilhelm Klaus Norbert Schmelzer (22 March 1921 – 14 November 2008) was a Dutch politician, diplomat and economist who served as Leader of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) from 1963 to 1971 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1971 to 1973. ...
became the party's new leader, again operating within the House of Representatives and not the cabinet. A cabinet crisis over the
Netherlands Public Broadcasting
(; abbreviated to NPO ; literally "Dutch Public Broadcaster") or Dutch Foundation for Public Broadcasting () is a Dutch public broadcasting organisation that administers public broadcasting services in the Netherlands. The NPO is also the owner ...
however caused the cabinet to fall in 1965. The KVP and ARP formed a
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
with the PvdA, led by the KVP's
Jo Cals
Jozef Maria Laurens Theo "Jo" Cals (18 July 1914 – 30 December 1971) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherland ...
. This cabinet also fell in the Night of Schmelzer, in which Norbert Schmelzer forced a cabinet crisis over the cabinet's financial policy. This was the first fall of cabinet, which was directly broadcast on television. An interim government of KVP and ARP was formed, led by the ARP's
Jelle Zijlstra
Jelle Zijlstra (; 27 August 1918 – 23 December 2001) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) now the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and economist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 N ...
.
1965–1980
The period 1965–1980 is period of decline, crisis and dissent for the KVP. The share of votes for the KVP began to decline after 1966, because of
depillarisation and
secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
isation: There were fewer Catholics and Catholics no longer supported a Catholic party.
In the
1967 elections the KVP lost 15% of its votes and 8 seats. During the election campaign the KVP, ARP and CHU declared that they wanted to continue cooperating with each other. Cooperation with the PvdA was much less important. This led to unrest under young and
left wing KVP supporters, including
Ruud Lubbers
Rudolphus Franciscus Marie "Ruud" Lubbers (; 7 May 1939 – 14 February 2018) was a Dutch politician, diplomat and businessman who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1982 to 1994, and as United Nations High Commissioner for Re ...
,
Jo Cals
Jozef Maria Laurens Theo "Jo" Cals (18 July 1914 – 30 December 1971) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherland ...
,
Erik Jurgens and
Jacques Aarden
Jacobus Maria “Jacques” Aarden (11 August 1914 - 23 November 1997) was a Dutch politician. His father was Petrus Jacobus Maria Aarden. In 1940 Aarden finished his education in economics. After the World War II, Second World War he joined the n ...
, who called themselves Christian Radicals. After the elections this promise was upheld and the KVP formed a
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
with its old partners, led by
Piet de Jong
Petrus Jozef Sietse "Piet" de Jong (; 3 April 1915 – 27 July 2016) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and naval officer who served as Prime Minister of the Neth ...
. After much debate some of the Christian Radicals broke away from the KVP in 1968 to form the
Political Party of Radicals
The Political Party of Radicals ( nl, Politieke Partij Radikalen, PPR) was a progressive Christian and green political party in the Netherlands. The PPR played a relatively small role in Dutch politics and merged with other left-wing parties to ...
(PPR). These include three members of parliament, who form their own
parliamentary party
A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council.
Parliame ...
Groep Aarden. Lubbers and Cals stayed with the KVP. The new party became a close partner of the PvdA. In the
1971 elections the KVP lost another 7 seats (18% of its vote). The KVP again joined the ARP, CHU and VVD to form a new centre-right
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
with rightwing dissenters of the PvdA, united in
DS'70. The ARP's
Barend Biesheuvel
Barend Willem Biesheuvel (; 5 April 1920 – 29 April 2001) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) now the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 6 J ...
led the cabinet. In 1972 the cabinet fell because of internal problems of the junior partner, DS'70.
In the
subsequent elections the KVP again lost eight seats, leaving only 27, 23 less than in 1963. The cabinet again lost its majority and the KVP saw no alternative than to cooperate with the PvdA and its allies PPR and
D66. An
extra-parliamentary An extra-parliamentary opposition is a political movement opposed to a ruling government or political party that chooses not to engage in elections. Many social movements could be categorized as an extra-parliamentary opposition.
Europe
The Ger ...
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
is formed by PvdA, PPR and D66 joined by prominent progressives from KVP and ARP. The KVP's ministers include the minister of Justice
Dries van Agt
Andreas Antonius Maria "Dries" van Agt (; born 2 February 1931) is a Dutch politician and diplomat of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) and later the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of t ...
and the minister of the Economy Ruud Lubbers. The KVP does not officially support this cabinet, which is led by social democrat
Joop den Uyl
Johannes Marten den Uijl, better known as Joop den Uyl (; 9 August 1919 – 24 December 1987) was a Dutch politician and economist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1973 to 1977. He was a member of the Labour Party (PvdA).
...
. This cabinet was characterised by infighting and fell just before the
1977 elections.
In the 1970s the KVP realised that if it wanted to continue it needed to find new ways of cooperating. Ideas to form a broad Christian democratic party, like the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
Christian Democratic Union were brought into practice. In 1974 the three parties formed a federation, called
Christian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal ( nl, Christen-Democratisch Appèl, ; CDA) is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. It was originally formed in 1977 from a confederation of the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolution ...
(CDA). In the 1977 elections the CDA won more seats than the KVP, ARP and CHU had together. After the elections, Dries van Agt became prime minister for the CDA. In 1980 the three parties officially dissolved themselves into the CDA.
The Catholics still constitute a powerful group within the CDA. Indeed, the CDA's first two prime ministers, van Agt and
Ruud Lubbers
Rudolphus Franciscus Marie "Ruud" Lubbers (; 7 May 1939 – 14 February 2018) was a Dutch politician, diplomat and businessman who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1982 to 1994, and as United Nations High Commissioner for Re ...
, came from the KVP side of the merger. In the early years a system of equal representation of Catholics and Protestants was practiced, from which the KVP as only Catholic group profited. Nowadays many CDA members, like
Maxime Verhagen and
Maria van der Hoeven
Maria Josephina Arnoldina van der Hoeven (born 13 September 1949) is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and nonprofit director.
Van der Hoeven attended a Lyceum in Maastricht from April 1966 until May 1969 ...
have a background in the KVP's political Catholicism.
Name
The name Catholic People's Party (Dutch: ''Katholieke Volkspartij''; KVP), must be seen in contrast with the name of its predecessor
Roman Catholic State Party
The Roman Catholic State Party ( nl, Roomsch-Katholieke Staatspartij, RKSP) was a Catholic Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1926 as a continuation of the General League of Roman Catholic Caucuses ...
. The party no longer uses the name "
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
", but simply "
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
", de-emphasising its religious affiliation. It is no longer a state party, but a people's party, emphasising its progressive, democratic nature. The new name emphasises the KVP's progressive, democratic and non-denominational image.
Ideology and issues
The KVP was a
Christian democratic party, which based itself on the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
and Catholic
dogma
Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...
.
As such it was a proponent of a
mixed economy
A mixed economy is variously defined as an economic system blending elements of a market economy with elements of a planned economy, markets with state interventionism, or private enterprise with public enterprise. Common to all mixed economi ...
: A strong
welfare state
A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equitabl ...
should be combined with a
free market
In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...
, with a
corporatist
Corporatism is a collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests. The ...
organisation.
Trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
s and
employers' organisation
An employers' organization or employers' association is a collective organization of manufacturers, retailers, or other employers of wage labor. Employers' organizations seek to coordinate the behavior of their member companies in matters of mutua ...
s were to negotiate on wages in a
Social Economic Council
The Social and Economic Council (Dutch: ''Sociaal-Economische Raad'', SER) is a major economic advisory council to the cabinet of the Netherlands. Formally it heads a system of sector-based regulatory organisations. It represents the social par ...
and should make legislation for some economic sectors on themselves, without government intervention, in so called Productschappen.
The state should watch over the morality of the people: divorce should be limited, recreation should be moral (for instance different swimming hours for women and men) and the family should be preserved. Families were to be helped by fiscal policies, such as the "kinderbijslag", support by the government, by the newly set up Ministry of Culture, Recreation and Welfare, and the possibility to buy their own home.
Internationally, the KVP was a staunch proponent of
European integration
European integration is the process of industrial, economic integration, economic, political, legal, social integration, social, and cultural Regional integration, integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integrat ...
and cooperation with the
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 ...
. The party sought the middle ground in the issue of decolonisation: Indonesia and
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
should be independent countries within a Dutch
Commonwealth.
Electoral performance
Municipal and provincial government
The party was particularly strong in the southern provinces of
Limburg
Limburg or Limbourg may refer to:
Regions
* Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium
* Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands
* Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...
and
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 ...
, where it often held 90% of the seats in the
provincial and
municipal legislatures and supplied all
provincial and
municipal governments,
provincial governors and
mayors. In regions like
Twente
Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Ge ...
,
West Friesland and
Zeelandic Flanders
Zeelandic Flanders ( ; zea, Zeêuws-Vlaonderen; vls, Zêeuws-Vloandern)''Vlaanderen'' in isolation: . is the southernmost region of the province of Zeeland in the south-western Netherlands. It lies south of the Western Scheldt that separates t ...
it held similar positions in municipalities, but cooperated with other parties on the provincial level.
Organisation
Leaders
*
Chairs
A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vari ...
**
Piet Witteman (22 December 1945 – 4 April 1946)
**
Jan Andriessen (4 April 1946 – 30 May 1953)
**
Harry van Doorn (30 May 1953 – 23 June 1962)
**
Piet Aalberse Jr. (23 June 1962 – 30 March 1968)
**
Fons van der Stee (30 March 1968 – 14 July 1971)
**
Dick de Zeeuw (14 July 1971 – 20 June 1975)
**
Wim Vergeer (20 June 1975 – 27 September 1980)
* ''
Lijsttrekker
In politics, a lead candidate (; , ) is the leader of a political party in an election to a legislative body. In parliamentary systems, it is often the party's nominee for the position of head of government. In open list electoral systems, it is ...
'' –
General election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
**
Carl Romme
Carl Paul Maria Romme (21 December 1896 – 16 October 1980) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Roman Catholic State Party (RKSP) and later co-founder of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA ...
–
1946,
1948,
1952,
1956,
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
**
Wim de Kort –
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...
**
Norbert Schmelzer
Wilhelm Klaus Norbert Schmelzer (22 March 1921 – 14 November 2008) was a Dutch politician, diplomat and economist who served as Leader of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) from 1963 to 1971 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1971 to 1973. ...
–
1967
**
Gerard Veringa –
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
Ja ...
**
Frans Andriessen
Franciscus Henricus Johannes Joseph "Frans" Andriessen (2 April 1929 – 22 March 2019) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) and later the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and businessperson who served as E ...
–
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
*
Parliamentary leader
A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are the ...
s in the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
**
Carl Romme
Carl Paul Maria Romme (21 December 1896 – 16 October 1980) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Roman Catholic State Party (RKSP) and later co-founder of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA ...
(4 June 1946 – 25 October 1960)
**
Jan Andriessen (25 October 1960 – 19 September 1961)
**
Wim de Kort (19 September 1961 – 7 December 1963)
**
Norbert Schmelzer
Wilhelm Klaus Norbert Schmelzer (22 March 1921 – 14 November 2008) was a Dutch politician, diplomat and economist who served as Leader of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) from 1963 to 1971 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1971 to 1973. ...
(7 December 1963 – 28 April 1971)
**
Piet Engels (28 April 1971 – 11 May 1971)
**
Gerard Veringa (11 May 1971 – 16 August 1971)
**
Frans Andriessen
Franciscus Henricus Johannes Joseph "Frans" Andriessen (2 April 1929 – 22 March 2019) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) and later the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and businessperson who served as E ...
(16 August 1971 – 25 May 1977)
*
Parliamentary leader
A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are the ...
s in the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
**
Jan van de Mortel (22 December 1945 – 23 July 1946)
**
Cor Kropman (23 July 1946 – 5 June 1963)
**
Harry van Lieshout (1 October 1963 – 7 October 1969)
**
Jan Niers (7 October 1969 – 11 May 1971)
**
Piet de Jong
Petrus Jozef Sietse "Piet" de Jong (; 3 April 1915 – 27 July 2016) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and naval officer who served as Prime Minister of the Neth ...
(11 May 1971 – 17 September 1974)
**
Jan Teijssen (17 September 1974 – 20 September 1977)
*
Prime Ministers
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is no ...
**
Louis Beel
Louis Joseph Maria Beel (12 April 1902 – 11 February 1977) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Roman Catholic State Party (RKSP) and later co-founder of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) now the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and j ...
(3 July 1946 – 7 August 1948, 22 December 1958 – 19 May 1959)
**
Jan de Quay
Jan Eduard de Quay (26 August 1901 – 4 July 1985) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and psychologist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 19 Ma ...
(19 May 1959 – 24 July 1963)
**
Victor Marijnen
Victor Gerard Marie Marijnen (21 February 1917 – 5 April 1975) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 2 ...
(24 July 1963 – 14 April 1965)
**
Jo Cals
Jozef Maria Laurens Theo "Jo" Cals (18 July 1914 – 30 December 1971) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherland ...
(14 April 1965 – 22 November 1966)
**
Piet de Jong
Petrus Jozef Sietse "Piet" de Jong (; 3 April 1915 – 27 July 2016) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and naval officer who served as Prime Minister of the Neth ...
(5 April 1967 – 6 July 1971)
Electorate
The KVP was supported by Catholics of all
classes. Its strength was in the
Catholic south of the Netherlands:
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 ...
and
Limburg
Limburg or Limbourg may refer to:
Regions
* Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium
* Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands
* Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...
, where it often obtained more than 90% of vote. It was also strong in Catholic regions like
Twente
Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Ge ...
,
West Friesland and
Zeelandic Flanders
Zeelandic Flanders ( ; zea, Zeêuws-Vlaonderen; vls, Zêeuws-Vloandern)''Vlaanderen'' in isolation: . is the southernmost region of the province of Zeeland in the south-western Netherlands. It lies south of the Western Scheldt that separates t ...
.
During the 1960s and 1970s the KVP lost part of its electorate to progressive parties like the
PPR, the
PvdA and
D66.
Organisation
Linked organisations
The KVP had an own youth organisation, the Catholic People's Party Youth Groups (Dutch: ''Katholieke Volkspartij Jongeren Groupen''; KVPJG) and a scientific foundation: the Centre for Political Formation.
International organisations
In the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
the KVP's members sat in the
Christian Democratic group.
Pillarised organisations
The KVP had close links to many other Catholic institutions such as the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and together they formed the Catholic
pillar
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
. These organisations included the Catholic Labour Union NKV, the Catholic Employers Organisation KNOV, the Catholic Farmers' Organisation KNBLTB, Catholic Hospitals united in the Yellow-White Cross and Catholic Schools. The Catholic Broadcasting Association
KRO
KRO, or (Catholic Radio Broadcasting), was a Dutch public broadcasting organization founded on 23 April 1925.
Broadly Catholic in its spiritual outlook, KRO broadcast the bulk of its television output on the NPO 1 channel. KRO was also responsi ...
and the Catholic Paper
De Volkskrant
''de Volkskrant'' (; ''The People's Paper'') is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000.
Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium-sized c ...
were the voices of the KVP.
Relationships to other parties
As a Christian party, the KVP had strong ties with the conservative Protestant
ARP and
Christian Historical Union
The Christian Historical Union ( nl, Christelijk-Historische Unie, CHU) was a Protestant Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), into which it merged i ...
. The strong ties resulted in several cabinets in the period 1946-1977 and the formation of the
Christian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal ( nl, Christen-Democratisch Appèl, ; CDA) is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. It was originally formed in 1977 from a confederation of the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolution ...
, in which the three parties united in 1974.
The KVP had a strong centre-left group within its ranks. These supported closer cooperation with the social democratic
PvdA. This resulted in several cabinets with the PvdA, but also splits within the party, most notably the formation of the
Political Party of Radicals
The Political Party of Radicals ( nl, Politieke Partij Radikalen, PPR) was a progressive Christian and green political party in the Netherlands. The PPR played a relatively small role in Dutch politics and merged with other left-wing parties to ...
International comparison
As the party of a Catholic minority in a dominantly Protestant country, the KVP is comparable to the German
Centre Party, which existed before the Second World War and the
Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland (german: Christlichdemokratische Volkspartei der Schweiz, CVP), also called the Christian Democratic Party (french: Parti démocrate-chrétien, PDC), Democratic People's Party ( it, Partito P ...
. Its political position and agenda are similar to other catholic Christian democratic parties in Europe, such as the Flemish
Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams
Christian Democratic and Flemish (, , CD&V) is a Flemish Christian-democratic political party in Belgium. The party has historical ties to both trade unionism (ACV) and trade associations ( UNIZO) and the Farmer's League. Until 2001, the party wa ...
party and the Italian
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism.
It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
.
References
Further reading
* ''Electoral Stability and Electoral Change: The Case of Dutch Catholics'' by Herman Bakvis in: Canadian Journal of Political Science Vol. 14, No. 3 (Sep., 1981), pp. 519–555
*
* ''Changing Procedures and Changing Strategies in Dutch Coalition Building'' by Hans Daalder In: Legislative Studies Quarterly Vol. 11, No. 4 (Nov., 1986), pp. 507–531
* ''Conservatism in the Netherlands'' by Hermann von der Dunk In: Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1978), pp. 741–763
{{Christian political parties in the Netherlands
Catholic political parties
Defunct political parties in the Netherlands
Confessional parties in the Netherlands
Political parties established in 1945
Political parties disestablished in 1980
Defunct Christian political parties
1945 establishments in the Netherlands
1980 disestablishments in the Netherlands