Willem "Wim" Schermerhorn (17 December 1894 – 10 March 1977) was a Dutch politician who 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 25 June 1945 until 3 July 1946. He was a member of the now-defunct

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, Wi ...

(VDB) and later co-founder of the Labour Party (PvdA). According to Harry W. Laidler, the government under Schermerhorn's premiership "achieved important results in the fields of labor, finance, housing, old age pensions, and the social services".

Early life

Willem Schermerhorn was born on 17 December 1894 in

Akersloot Akersloot is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Castricum, and lies about 9 km south of Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of Nort ...

in the Dutch Province of

North Holland North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...

. He grew up in a

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 ...

family of farmers. He became professor of

land surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

and

geodesy Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...

at the

Delft University of Technology Delft University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Delft), also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. As of 2022 it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among ...

on 7 September 1926. He was a leader in

photogrammetry Photogrammetry is the science and technology of obtaining reliable information about physical objects and the environment through the process of recording, measuring and interpreting photographic images and patterns of electromagnetic radiant ima ...

and founder of the International Training Centre for Aerial Survey. The

International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing The International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) is an international non-governmental organization that enhances international cooperation between the worldwide organizations with interests in the photogrammetry, remote sens ...

has offers an award in memory of Schermerhorn. Schermerhorn remained professor until 1944, when he was removed by the German occupational forces because of his activities in the Dutch resistance. He was interned by the German occupational forces as a hostage in

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 ...

from May 1942 until December 1943. After he was removed as professor in 1944 Schermerhorn went into hiding to avoid being taken prisoner by the German occupational forces.

Politics

On 24 June 1945 he became Prime Minister of the cabinet Schermerhorn/Drees, the first cabinet after World War II. Schermerhorn was the first Dutch Prime Minister who appointed civil servants with a political background, people like

Koos Vorrink Jacobus Jan Vorrink, better known as Koos Vorrink (7 June 1891 – 19 July 1955), was a socialist leader in the Netherlands. Early life Koos Vorrink was born on 7 June 1891 in Vlaardingen, in the Dutch province of South Holland. He started ...

and

Hendrik Brugmans Hendrik Brugmans (13 December 1906 in Amsterdam – 12 March 1997 in Bruges) also known as Hendrik Bupatis was the son of historian Hajo Brugmans and Maria Keizer. He studied history of French literature at the Universiteit van Amsterdam and the ...

(nicknamed "The Schermerboys"). After the elections of 1946 he became a member of parliament, as a member of the social-democratic Labour Party. He remained a member of parliament until 1951. After his parliamentarian career ended he became director of the International Training Center for Aerial Survey in 1951 (until 1969). In 1956 he became member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...

Personal life

On 9 April 1919, Schermerhorn married Barbara Rook (13 June 1897 – 7 January 1986). Wim Schermerhorn died on 10 March 1977 in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

. He was 82. His brother, , was an engineer in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

(he was involved in the construction of the Moscow Subway). He was killed during the Stalinist purges in 1937. His sister, Neeltje, was married to theologian Johannes Marie de Jonge, principal of the Theological Seminary 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 ...

Driebergen Driebergen is a former village and municipality in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is first mentioned as Thriberghen in 1159. The former municipality of Driebergen existed until 1931, when it merged with Rijsenburg, to create the new municipali ...

(1960–1968).

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
Dr.Ir. W. (Willem) Schermerhorn
Parlement & Politiek *
Dr.Ir. W. Schermerhorn (PvdA)
Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal *
Kabinet-Schermerhorn-Drees (1945-1946)
Rijksoverheid {{DEFAULTSORT:Schermerhorn, Willem 1894 births 1977 deaths Prime Ministers of the Netherlands Delft University of Technology alumni Delft University of Technology faculty Dutch cartographers Dutch civil engineers Dutch magazine editors Dutch resistance members Dutch technology writers Dutch people of World War II Dutch political party founders Dutch prisoners of war in World War II Free-thinking Democratic League politicians Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Labour Party (Netherlands) politicians Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the Senate (Netherlands) People from Akersloot Remonstrants World War II prisoners of war held by Germany World War II civilian prisoners 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch educators 20th-century Dutch engineers 20th-century Dutch male writers 20th-century Dutch politicians Photogrammetrists 20th-century cartographers