Roelof Johannes Hendrik Kruisinga (27 August 1922 – 7 December 2012) 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) party and later 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) party and physician. Kruisinga attended a Gymnasium in

Zutphen Zutphen () is a city and municipality located in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It lies some 30 km northeast of Arnhem, on the eastern bank of the river Ijssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel. First mentioned in the 1 ...

from June 1935 until June 1939 and applied at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen in ...

in June 1941 majoring in

Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

. In May 1942 Kruisinga was arrested by the

Sicherheitsdienst ' (, ''Security Service''), full title ' (Security Service of the ''Reichsführer-SS''), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence organization ...

(SD) and detained in the

ilag Ilag is an abbreviation of the German word ''Internierungslager''. They were internment camps established by the German Army in World War II to hold Allied civilians, caught in areas that were occupied by the German Army. They included United Stat ...

Sint-Michielsgestel Sint-Michielsgestel () is a village in the municipality of Sint-Michielsgestel, Netherlands. Geography The 120 km long river Dommel flows north from a well near Peer in Belgium. Just north of 's-Hertogenbosch it is joined by the Aa and ...

and was released in July 1944. 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 ...

Kruisinga returned to the University of Groningen and obtaining a

Bachelor of Medical Sciences A Bachelor of Medical Sciences (BMedSci, BMedSc, BSc(Med), BMSc) is an undergraduate academic degree involving study of a variety of disciplines related to human health leading to an in depth understanding of human biology and associated research s ...

degree in June 1946 and worked as a student researcher before graduating with a

Master of Medicine Master of Medicine (MMed) is a postgraduate professional clinical degree awarded by medical schools to physicians following a period of instruction, supervised clinical rotations, and examination. The degree usually takes three years to complete, ...

degree on 12 October 1950. Kruisinga worked as a medical researcher of

otorhinolaryngology Otorhinolaryngology ( , abbreviated ORL and also known as otolaryngology, otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (ORL–H&N or OHNS), or ear, nose, and throat (ENT)) is a surgical subspeciality within medicine that deals with the surgical a ...

at the

University Medical Center Groningen The University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG, nl, Universitair Medisch Centrum Groningen), formerly Groningen University Hospital, is the main hospital in Groningen, Netherlands. The medical centre is affiliated with the University of Groninge ...

from January 1950 until November 1955. Kruisinga 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

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

from November 1951 until November 1953. Kruisinga applied at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

in August 1951 for a

postgraduate education Postgraduate or graduate education refers to Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have earned an Undergraduate education, un ...

Surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

and before transferring to the

Magdalen College Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the st ...

of the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in May 1952 graduating with a

Master of Surgery The Master of Surgery (Latin: Magister Chirurgiae) is an advanced qualification in surgery. Depending upon the degree, it may be abbreviated ChM, MCh, MChir or MS. At a typical medical school the program lasts between two and three years. The p ...

in September 1953 and later returned to the University of Groningen and got

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

s as an

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...

and an

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

(

MD–PhD The Doctorate of Medicine and of Philosophy (MD–PhD) is a dual doctoral degree for physician–scientists, combining the professional training of the Doctor of Medicine degree with the research expertise of the Doctor of Philosophy degree; the ...

) on 2 November 1955. Kruisinga worked as an otolaryngologist and internist physician at the University Medical Center Groningen and the

Medical Center Leeuwarden The Medical Center Leeuwarden (MCL; nl, Medisch Centrum Leeuwarden) is the hospital of the city of Leeuwarden, and the largest non-university hospital in the Netherlands. It is one of the country's major top-clinical centers, offering secondary a ...

from January 1955 until 1 September 1962 and worked as an inspector for the

Health Care Inspectorate Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organizat ...

of the

Ministry of Social Affairs A Ministry of Social Affairs or Department of Social Affairs is the common name for a government department found in Sovereign state, states where the government is divided into Ministry (government department), ministries or departments. While th ...

and Health in

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

from 1 April 1960 until 1 September 1962. Kruisinga worked as a civil servant for the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health from 1 September 1962 until 18 April 1967 as Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and Director-General of the department for Public Health of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health from 1 September 1962 until 1 June 1965 and as Secretary-General of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health from 1 June 1965 until 18 April 1967. After the election of 1967 Kruisinga was appointed as State Secretary for Social Affairs and Health in the Cabinet De Jong, taking office on 18 April 1967. After the election of 1971 Kruisinga was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 11 May 1971. After the election of 1971 the Leader of the Christian Historical Union 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 Christian Historical Union in the House of Representatives

Bé Udink Berend Jan "Bé" Udink (12 February 1926 – 24 May 2016) was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the defunct Christian Historical Union (CHU) party now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and businessman. Udink applied at t ...

was appointed as Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning in the Cabinet Biesheuvel I, the Christian Historical Union leadership approached Kruisinga as interim Parliamentary leader, taking office on 6 July 1971 until Jur Mellema was approached as the new Leader and Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives on 26 July 1971. Following cabinet formation of 1971 Kruisinga himself was appointed as State Secretary for Transport and Water Management in the Cabinet Biesheuvel I, taking office on 28 July 1971. The Cabinet Biesheuvel I fell just one year later on 19 July 1972 after the

Democratic Socialists '70 The Democratic Socialists '70 ( nl, Democratisch Socialisten '70, DS'70) was a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands. History DS'70 was founded on 4 April 1970 as the result of a split from the Labour Party (PvdA). In June 1970, ...

(DS'70) retracted their support following there dissatisfaction with the proposed budget memorandum to further reduce the deficit and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until the first cabinet formation of 1972 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 Biesheuvel II with Kruisinga continuing as State Secretary for Transport and Water Management, taking office on 9 August 1972. After the election of 1972 Kruisinga returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 19 December 1972 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 State Secretary on 20 March 1973. In June 1973 Arnold Tilanus announced he was stepping down as Leader and Parliamentary leader, the Christian Historical Union leadership approached Kruisinga as his successor, Kruisinga accepted and became the Leader and Parliamentary leader, taking office on 1 July 1973. On 10 December 1976 the Christian Historical Union, 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

Catholic People's Party The Catholic People's Party ( nl, Katholieke Volkspartij, KVP) was a Catholic Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1945 as a continuation of the Roman Catholic State Party, which was a continuation of ...

(KVP) choose to merge in a

political alliance A political group is a group consisting of political parties or legislators of aligned ideologies. A technical group is similar to a political group, but with members of differing ideologies. International terms Equivalent terms are used differ ...

to form the

(CDA). Incumbent

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, ...

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 ...

of the Catholic People's Party was choose as the first

Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal The Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal is the most senior politician within the Christian Democratic Appeal ( nl, Christen-Democratisch Appèl, CDA) in the Netherlands.The current leader has been Wopke Hoekstra since 10 December 2020. H ...

and became the ''Lijsttrekker'' for the election of 1977. The following cabinet formation of 1977 resulted in a coalition agreement between the Christian Democratic Appeal and 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) which formed the Cabinet Van Agt-Wiegel with Kruisinga 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 ...

, taking office on 19 December 1977. On 4 March 1978 just three months after taking office Kruisinga resigned after he disagreed with the cabinets decision to not publicly condemn 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 ...

for further developing the

Neutron bomb A neutron bomb, officially defined as a type of enhanced radiation weapon (ERW), is a low-yield thermonuclear weapon designed to maximize lethal neutron radiation in the immediate vicinity of the blast while minimizing the physical power of the b ...

. Kruisinga semi-retired from 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 served as a Senior Adviser to the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

(WHO) from 16 August 1978 until 1 June 1979 when he was nominated as Deputy Director–General of the World Health Organization and Vice President of the

World Health Assembly The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the forum through which the World Health Organization (WHO) is governed by its 194 member states. It is the world's highest health policy setting body and is composed of health ministers from member states. T ...

, serving until 20 May 1982. Kruisinga was elected as a Member of the Senate following the Senate election of 1981, serving from 10 June 1981 until 11 June 1991. Following the end of his active political career, Kruisinga occupied numerous seats as a nonprofit director for supervisory boards for several international non-governmental organizations and research institutes (

Netherlands Cancer Institute The Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) in Amsterdam was founded in 1913 by, among others, the surgeon Jacob Rotgans. The NKI, together with the Antoni van Leeuwenhoekziekenhuis, is formed into the NKI-AVL, which combines a scientific research ins ...

Netherlands Red Cross The Netherlands Red Cross ( nl, Rode Kruis) was founded in 1867. It is among the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. It adopts branch governance structure which leads to approximately 214 branches that enables it to serve the whole country. It ...

Foundation KiKa The Foundation Kika (Dutch: Stichting Kinderen Kankervrij; English: Children Cancer-free Foundation) is a Dutch charity foundation that brings in fundings solely for research to childhood cancers. Renewing research to this form of cancer requires ...

Stichting Max Havelaar Fairtrade Nederland formerly known as Max HavelaaStichtingis the Dutch member of Fairtrade International, which unites 23 Fairtrade certification producer and labelling initiatives across Europe, Asia, Latin America, North America, Africa, Austra ...

, Society for the Advancement of Science, Medicine and Surgery and the

Royal Dutch Medical Association The Royal Dutch Medical Association (RDMA; in Dutch Koninklijke Nederlandsche Maatschappij tot bevordering der Geneeskunst or KNMG) is the professional organisation for medical practitioners in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1849. In 1999 se ...

Biography

Early life

Kruisinga was born in

Grijpskerk Grijpskerk is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Westerkwartier, about 18 km west of the city of Groningen. Grijpskerk was a separate municipality until 1990, when it was merged with Zuid ...

. His family were

Mennonites Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

, but Kruisinga decided not to be baptized and to become a member of the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

. As a physician he specialised in

otolaryngology Otorhinolaryngology ( , abbreviated ORL and also known as otolaryngology, otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (ORL–H&N or OHNS), or ear, nose, and throat (ENT)) is a surgical subspeciality within medicine that deals with the surgical a ...

and he received his doctorate at the

in 1955.

Politics

He held different positions as a physician before he became State Secretary for Social Affairs and Health and subsequently State Secretary for the State Secretary for Transport and Water Management. From 1971 to 1977 he was

leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

of the

. He was Minister of Defense under Prime Minister

from 1977 to 1978. In the early eighties he became vice-president of the

. Afterwards he became a member of 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 ...

, serving from 1981 to 1991 and representing the

. He died, aged 90, in Wassenaar.

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
Dr. R.J.H. (Roelof) Kruisinga
Parlement & Politiek *
Dr. R.J.H. Kruisinga (CDA)
Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal {{DEFAULTSORT:Kruisinga, Roelof 1922 births 2012 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Christian Democratic Appeal politicians Christian Historical Union politicians Dutch expatriates in England Dutch expatriates in Scotland Dutch expatriates in Slovenia Dutch expatriates in Switzerland Dutch expatriates in the United States Dutch health and wellness writers Dutch healthcare managers Dutch internists Dutch medical researchers Dutch medical writers Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church Dutch Mennonites Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Dutch officials of the United Nations Otolaryngologists Dutch people of World War II Dutch prisoners of war in World War II Dutch resistance members Dutch surgeons Grand Officers of the Order of Leopold II Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Leaders of the Christian Historical Union Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Ministers of Defence of the Netherlands People from Zuidhorn People from Wassenaar Protestant Church Christians from the Netherlands Royal Netherlands Army personnel State Secretaries for Health of the Netherlands State Secretaries for Social Affairs of the Netherlands State Secretaries for Transport of the Netherlands University of Groningen alumni Academic staff of the University of Groningen World Health Organization officials World War II civilian prisoners World War II prisoners of war held by Germany 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch male writers 20th-century Dutch military personnel 20th-century Dutch politicians 20th-century Dutch physicians 21st-century Dutch male writers 20th-century surgeons