Dirk Jan de Geer (14 December 1870 – 28 November 1960) was a Dutch politician of the defunct
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 in ...
(CHU) now merged into 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-Revolutionary ...
(CDA). He served as
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
The prime minister of the Netherlands ( nl, Minister-president van Nederland) is the head of the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands. Although the monarch is the ''de jure'' head of government, the prime minister ''de facto'' ...
from 8 March 1926 until 10 August 1929 and from 10 August 1939 until 3 September 1940.
Biography
Born in
Groningen
Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
, he was a descendant of the
De Geer family. After receiving his
J.D. in 1895, De Geer worked as a journalist and acted as the town councillor of
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
(1901–1907).
He served from 1907 as a
Christian Historical member of Parliament. De Geer was a stable and respected politician before World War II. From 1920 to 1921 de Geer served as mayor of
Arnhem
Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...
. Between 1921 and 1923 he served as
Minister of Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
. He resigned in 1923 because of his disagreement with the Naval Law of 1924. From 1925 to 1926 he served as Minister of the Interior and Minister of Agriculture. He was Prime Minister from 8 March 1926 to 10 August 1929. He also served as Minister of Finances from 1926 to 1933.
After the end of the fifth cabinet of
Colijn he was again asked to form a government in August 1939, concurrently holding the offices of Minister of Finance and of General Affairs. However, he was not suited for the role of prime minister of a nation at war, as he knew himself. When
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
attacked the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 (beginning of the
Western campaign), the situation soon became very serious, and the government fled to Britain.
In Britain, De Geer advocated negotiating a separate peace between the Netherlands and Germany, and damaged the Dutch government and Dutch morale by openly stating that the war could never be won. He was finally removed from office on the instigation of
Queen Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World Wa ...
, and replaced by
Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy
Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy (born Pieter Gerbrandij; 13 April 1885 – 7 September 1961) was a Dutch politician and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 3 September 1940 until 25 June 1945. He oversaw the government-in-exile ...
, officially on account of ill-health.
[ ]
Later on, he was sent with a diplomatic package to the
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
, now
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 ...
. He never arrived there: on a stopover in Portugal, he left the flight, and went to the Germans. who allowed him to return to his ailing wife and the rest of his family in the Netherlands.
[ ] This greatly angered Queen Wilhelmina, who called him a traitor and deserter to the Dutch cause. He later wrote a controversial leaflet with "instructions" for the people on how to co-operate with the Germans. "With this pamphlet," the
Dutch government in exile
The Dutch government-in-exile ( nl, Nederlandse regering in ballingschap), also known as the London Cabinet ( nl, Londens kabinet), was the government in exile of the Netherlands, supervised by Queen Wilhelmina, that fled to London after the Germ ...
stated in a broadcast, "the writer has betrayed the Netherlands people, whatever happens to him personally."
Wilhelmina warned De Geer that if he published the pamphlet, he would be put on trial after the conclusion of the war.
With the permission
of the
Reichskommissariat Niederlande
The ''Reichskommissariat Niederlande'' was the civilian occupation regime set up by Germany in the German-occupied Netherlands during World War II. Its full title was the Reich Commissariat for the Occupied Dutch Territories (german: Reichskomm ...
, De Geer went through with the publication. After the war, he was found guilty of high treason in time of war, and stripped of all of his honorary titles. The Appeal Court confirmed the sentence of a year's imprisonment, with three years' probation, but waived the fine of 20,000
guilders
Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' "gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Empir ...
and deprivation of the title "Minister of State". He died some 15 years later in
Soest.
Personal
On 11 August 1904, De Geer married Maria Voorhoeve (1 May 1883 – 6 April 1955).
His grandson is ex-footballer
Boudewijn de Geer
Boudewijn Ernst de Geer (born 24 June 1955) is a Dutch retired professional football player and coach who played for ADO Den Haag, HFC Haarlem, Molde, Lillestrøm, Hércules CF, De Graafschap and Brisbane Lions.
He is the grandson of Dirk ...
, and his great-grandson is current footballer
Mike de Geer
Mike de Geer (born 28 December 1989 in The Hague) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays for HBS Craeyenhout in the Dutch Topklasse. He formerly played for ADO Den Haag. His father is former football player Boudewijn de Geer, and his gre ...
.
Death
De Geer died on 28 November 1960 at
Soest,
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, at the age of 89, 16 days before his 90th birthday and several years after having suffered a
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
.
Decorations
References
External links
*
*
Jhr.Mr. D.J. (Dirk) de GeerParlement & Politiek
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geer, Dirk Jan de
1870 births
1960 deaths
Chairmen of the Christian Historical Union
Christian Historical Party politicians
Christian Historical Union politicians
Dirk Jan de Geer
Dirk Jan de Geer (14 December 1870 – 28 November 1960) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Christian Historical Union (CHU) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 8 March 1 ...
Dutch jurists
Dutch magazine editors
Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church
Dutch political writers
Dutch people of World War II
Jonkheers of the Netherlands
Leaders of the Christian Historical Union
Mayors of Arnhem
Members of the Provincial Council of South Holland
Members of the Provincial-Executive of South Holland
Municipal councillors of Rotterdam
Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands)
Ministers of Agriculture of the Netherlands
Ministers of Finance of the Netherlands
Ministers of the Interior of the Netherlands
Ministers of State (Netherlands)
People from Arnhem
Politicians from Groningen (city)
People from Schiedam
People from Soest, Netherlands
Prime Ministers of the Netherlands
Utrecht University alumni
World War II political leaders
20th-century Dutch civil servants
20th-century Dutch male writers
20th-century Dutch politicians