Hendrik "Hein" Vos (5 July 1903 – 23 April 1972) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP) and later the Labour Party (PvdA) and economist. Vos attended a Gymnasium in

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, fry, It Hearrenfean ) is a town and municipality in the province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the municipality had a population 50,859 (1 July). ...

from April 1917 until May 1921 and applied at the Delft Institute of Technology in June 1921 majoring in Electrical engineering and obtaining a

Bachelor of Engineering A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an academic undergraduate degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at an accredited college or university. In the UK, a Ba ...

degree in June 1923 before graduating with a

Master of Engineering A Master of Engineering (abbreviated MEng, M.E. or M.Eng.) is either an academic or professional master's degree in the field of engineering. International variations Australia In Australia, the Master of Engineering degree is a research de ...

degree in July 1927. Vos worked as a civil servant for the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of Deventer from July 1927 until September 1928 and for the Patent Office of the Ministry of Economic Affairs from September 1928 until July 1934. Vos 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 counc ...

Rijswijk Rijswijk (), formerly known as Ryswick ( ) in English, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Its population was in , and it has an area of , of which is water. The municipality also includes t ...

from 1 September 1931 until 22 July 1934. Vos worked as a trade union leader for the Dutch Trade Unions association (NVV) from July 1934 until 8 June 1937 and as the director of the Social Democratic Workers' Party think tank from July 1934 until May 1940. Vos also served as

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of the party newspaper '' Vrijheid, Arbeid en Brood'' from June 1935 until May 1940. Vos served on the Municipal Council of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

from 3 September 1935 until 5 September 1939. Vos was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the election of 1937, taking office on 8 June 1937 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 kn ...

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

Economic Affairs 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 th ...

. On 10 May 1940

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

invaded the Netherlands and the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

fled to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to escape the

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

. During the German occupation Vos continued to serve as a Member of the House of Representatives in ''

in name only ''In Name Only'' is a 1939 romantic film starring Cary Grant, Carole Lombard, and Kay Francis, directed by John Cromwell. It was based on the 1935 novel ''Memory of Love'' by Bessie Breuer. The fictional town where it is set, Bridgefield, Co ...

'' but in reality the ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' political influence of the House of Representatives was marginalized by the German occupation authority. Following the end of

World War II 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 opposing ...

Queen Wilhelmina ordered the formation of a

Government of National unity A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...

to serve as a

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 '' ...

capacity until the new

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

with Vos appointed as Minister of Commerce and Industry in the Cabinet Schermerhorn–Drees, taking office on 25 June 1945. On 9 February 1946 the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP), the

Free-thinking Democratic League The Free-thinking Democratic League ( nl, Vrijzinnig Democratische Bond, VDB) was a progressive liberal political party in the Netherlands. Established in 1901, it played a relatively large role in Dutch politics, supplying one Prime Minister, ...

(VDB) and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) choose to merge to form the Labour Party (PvdA). After the election of 1946 Vos returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 4 June 1946. Following the cabinet formation of 1946 Vos was appointed as

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

in the Cabinet Beel I, taking office on 3 July 1946. Vos served as acting Minister of Public Works and Reconstruction from 15 November 1946 until 3 March 1947 following the resignation Johan Ringers. On 1 March 1947 the Minister of Transport was renamed as the Minister of Transport and Water Management. After the election of 1948 Vos again returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 27 July 1948. Following the cabinet formation of 1948 Vos was not giving a cabinet post in the new cabinet, the Cabinet Beel I was replaced by the Cabinet Drees-Van Schaik on 7 August 1948 and he continued to serve in the House of Representatives as a frontbencher and spokesperson for Economic Affairs and Small business. In December 1948 Vos was named as

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

(CEO) of the insurance company ''NV Centrale Algemene Levensverzekeringsmaatschappij'', he resigned as a Member of the House of Representatives on 16 December 1948 and was installed as CEO on 1 January 1949. Vos remained in active in national politics, he served as

Chairman of the Labour Party The Chair of the Labour Party is a position in the Labour Party of the United Kingdom. The Chair is responsible for administration of the party and overseeing general election campaigns, and is typically held concurrently with another position. ...

from 5 June 1953 until 23 February 1955. Vos was elected as a Member of the Senate after the Senate election of 1956, taking office on 6 November 1956 serving as a frontbencher and spokesperson for

Finances Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fin ...

and

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

. After the Senate election of 1960 Vos was selected as

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 their ...

of the Labour Party in the Senate, taking office on 15 November 1960. In February 1968 Vos was nominated as a Member of the Council of State, he resigned as Parliamentary leader and as a Member of the House of Representatives on 16 February 1968 and was installed as a Member of the Council of State, taking office on 21 February 1968. Vos was known for his abilities as a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

and '' policy wonk''. He holds the distinction as the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

known

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

Member of the House of Representatives and government Minister of the Netherlands, this fact was an

open secret An open secret is a concept or idea that is "officially" (''de jure'') secret or restricted in knowledge, but in practice (''de facto'') is widely known; or it refers to something that is widely known to be true but which none of the people most i ...

in Dutch politics at that time.Homo politicus
Uitgeverij Balans, 17 March 2016

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
Ir. H. (Hein) Vos
Parlement & Politiek *
Ir. H. Vos (PvdA)
Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal {{DEFAULTSORT:Vos, Hein 1903 births 1972 deaths Chairmen of the Labour Party (Netherlands) Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Delft University of Technology alumni Academic staff of the Delft University of Technology Dutch agnostics Dutch chief executives in the finance industry Dutch chief executives in the media industry Dutch civil engineers Dutch financial writers Dutch former Christians Dutch magazine editors Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Dutch political writers Dutch trade union leaders Former Calvinist and Reformed Christians Gay politicians Dutch gay writers Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Labour Party (Netherlands) politicians Dutch LGBT businesspeople LGBT cabinet members of the Netherlands LGBT members of the Parliament of the Netherlands Macroeconomists Members of the Council of State (Netherlands) Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Members of the Social and Economic Council Ministers of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands Ministers of Housing and Spatial Planning of the Netherlands Ministers of Transport and Water Management of the Netherlands Municipal councillors of Amsterdam Municipal councillors in South Holland People from Rijswijk People from Opsterland People from Nijkerk People from Wassenaar Social Democratic Workers' Party (Netherlands) politicians Writers about activism and social change 20th-century Dutch businesspeople 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch economists 20th-century Dutch engineers 20th-century Dutch male writers 20th-century Dutch politicians 20th-century LGBT people