Hendrik Albertus "Henk" Korthals (3 July 1911 – 3 November 1976) was a Dutch politician of the defunct

Liberal State Party The Liberal State Party, "the Freedom League" ( nl, Liberale Staatspartij "de Vrijheidsbond", LSP), was a conservative liberal political party in the Netherlands from 1921 to 1948. It is historically linked to the People's Party for Freedom and D ...

(LSP) later the Freedom Party (PvdV) and later co-founder of the

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) and journalist. Korthals attended a Gymnasium in

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

from May 1923 until June 1929 and applied at the Rotterdam School of Economics in June 1929 majoring in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

obtaining a

Bachelor of Economics The Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon), or the "Bachelor of Applied Economics", is a bachelor's degree awarded by many universities and colleges for completion of an undergraduate program in economics, econometrics, or applied economics; the ...

degree in June 1931 before graduating with a

Master of Economics The Master of Economics (MEcon or MEc) is a postgraduate master's degree in economics comprising training in economic theory, econometrics, and/or applied economics. The degree is also offered as an MS or MSc, MA or MCom in economics; varian ...

degree on 12 May 1936. Korthals worked as a journalist for the ''

Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant ''NRC'', previously called ''NRC Handelsblad'' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by NRC Media. It is generally accepted as a newspaper of record in the Netherlands. History ''NRC Handelsblad'' was first published on ...

'' from May 1936 until October 1940 and as civil servant for the department of General Economic Policy of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Shipping from October 1940 until November 1945. 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 An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

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 a ...

fled to

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

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 ...

. Korthals was sympathetic with the Dutch resistance against the German occupiers and worked as a journalist and editor for the

underground newspaper The terms underground press or clandestine press refer to periodicals and publications that are produced without official approval, illegally or against the wishes of a dominant (governmental, religious, or institutional) group. In specific rec ...

''Het Dagelijks Nieuws'' from July 1940 until May 1945. Korthals worked as editor for the ''

NRC Handelsblad ''NRC'', previously called ''NRC Handelsblad'' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by NRC Media. It is generally accepted as a newspaper of record in the Netherlands. History ''NRC Handelsblad'' was first published on 1 ...

'' from May 1945 until November 1945. 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 opposin ...

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 ...

ordered a

Recall of Parliament A recall of Parliament is a parliamentary procedure involving an extraordinary sitting of a parliament, occurring outside the time when that parliament would usually meet, such as over a weekend, or when the parliament would normally be in recess. ...

and Korthals was appointment as a Member of the House of Representatives taking the place of the deceased Isidoor Henry Joseph Vos, taking office on 20 November 1945 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 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 ...

Whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

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 ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

and deputy 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 ...

and Benelux Union. On 24 January 1948 the Freedom Party (PvdV) and the Committee-Oud choose to merge to form the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). Korthals was one of the co-founders and became unofficial Deputy Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy on 10 July 1952. Korthals 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 en Democratie'' from 4 April 1948 until 1 January 1954. Korthals was selected as a Member of the European Coal and Steel Community Parliament and dual served in those positions, taking office on 10 September 1952. Korthals was selected as a first

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

and as the Delegation leader and dual served in those positions, taking office on 1 January 1958. After the election of 1959 Korthals was appointed as

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

, Minister of Transport and Water Management and Minister for Overseas Affairs in the Cabinet De Quay, taking office on 19 May 1959. On 1 September 1959 the Minister for Overseas Affairs was renamed as the Minister for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs. After the

Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is the most senior politician within the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie, VVD) in the Netherlands. The post is currently held by Mar ...

and

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 ...

of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy in the House of Representatives

Pieter Oud Pieter Jacobus Oud (5 December 1886 – 12 August 1968) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Free-thinking Democratic League (VDB) party and later co-founder of the Labour Party (PvdA) and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) ...

announced his retirement from national politics and that he wouldn't stand for the election of 1963, he approached Korthals as a candidate to succeed him, but the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy leadership favored

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Edzo Toxopeus Edzo Hendrik Toxopeus (19 February 1918 – 23 August 2009) was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and jurist. Toxopeus studied Law at the Utrecht University obtaining a Master of Laws degree ...

, in response Korthals withdrew his name for consideration and Toxopeus became the new Leader. In February 1963 Korthals announced that he wouldn't stand for the election of 1963. Following the cabinet formation of 1963 Korthals was not giving a cabinet post in the 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 ...

, the Cabinet De Quay was replaced by the Cabinet Marijnen on 24 July 1963. Korthals remained in active in national politics, in March 1964 he was nominated as a Member of the Council of State, taking office on 1 April 1964. Korthals also 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 ( Safe Traffic Netherlands,

Radio Netherlands Worldwide Radio Netherlands (RNW; nl, Radio Nederland Wereldomroep) was a public radio and television network based in Hilversum, producing and transmitting programmes for international audiences outside the Netherlands from 1947 to 2012. Its services i ...

Oxfam Novib Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford C ...

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 ( Council for Culture, Cadastre Agency and the

Dutch Transport Safety Board The Dutch Transport Safety Board (Raad voor de Transportveiligheid, RvTV) was an agency of the government of the Netherlands. Its head office was originally on the fifth floor of the Bruggebouw West in The Hague. It later moved to Anna van Saksenl ...

). On 3 November 1976 Korthals died unexpectedly during a visit to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at the age of 65.

Decorations

References

External links

*
Drs. H.A. (Henk) Korthals
Parlement & Politiek {{DEFAULTSORT:Korthals, Henk 1911 births 1976 deaths Deputy Prime Ministers of the Netherlands Dutch magazine editors Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church Dutch newspaper editors Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Dutch political journalists Dutch political party founders Dutch political writers Freedom Party (Netherlands) politicians Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Honorary Order of the Yellow Star Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Liberal State Party politicians Members of the Council of State (Netherlands) Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) MEPs for the Netherlands 1958–1979 Ministers of Colonial Affairs of the Netherlands Ministers of Kingdom Relations of the Netherlands Ministers of Transport and Water Management of the Netherlands Municipal councillors in South Holland Oxfam people People from Dordrecht People from Voorschoten People's Party for Freedom and Democracy MEPs People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch journalists 20th-century Dutch male writers 20th-century Dutch politicians