The Cals cabinet was the executive branch of the

Dutch Government The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy, and a decentralised unitary state.''Civil service systems in Western Europe'' edited by A. J. G. M. Bekk ...

from 14 April 1965 until 22 November 1966. The cabinet was formed by the

christian-democratic Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

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) and

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 mi ...

(ARP) and the social-democratic Labour Party (PvdA) after the fall of the previous Cabinet Marijnen. The cabinet was a

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to Left-w ...

coalition and had a substantial majority in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

; prominent

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

politician Jo Cals, a former Minister of Education, served as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Labour Leader The ''Labour Leader'' was a British socialist newspaper published for almost one hundred years. It was later renamed ''New Leader'' and ''Socialist Leader'', before finally taking the name ''Labour Leader'' again. 19th century The origins of the ...

Anne Vondeling Anne Vondeling (2 March 1916 – 22 November 1979) was a Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and agronomist. Vondeling studied Agronomy at the Wageningen Agricultural College obtaining a Master of Science in Engineering degree and work ...

served 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 ...

and

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", " ...

, Protestant Leader Barend Biesheuvel continued as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries and the responsibility for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs from previous cabinet. The cabinet served in the middle of the tumultuous 1960s. Domestically it had to deal with the

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...

and implemented several major social reforms to

social security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

, as well as closing the mines in Limburg and stimulating

urban development Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of peop ...

in the

Randstad The Randstad (; "Rim" or "Edge" City) is a roughly crescent-shaped conurbation in the central-western Netherlands, consisting primarily of the four largest Dutch cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht); their suburbs, and many tow ...

. Internationally, the protests against the Vietnam War were a major point of attention. The cabinet suffered several major internal and external conflicts, including multiple cabinet resignations. The cabinet fell just 18 months into its term on 14 October 1966, following a major political crisis after Catholic Leader

Norbert Schmelzer Wilhelm Klaus Norbert Schmelzer (22 March 1921 – 14 November 2008) was a Dutch politician, diplomat and economist who served as Leader of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) from 1963 to 1971 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1971 to 1973. ...

proposed a counter-

motion In physics, motion is the phenomenon in which an object changes its position with respect to time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed and frame of reference to an observer and m ...

that called for stronger austerity measures to reduce the deficit than those the cabinet had itself proposed. Prime Minister Cals saw this as an indirect

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or m ...

from his own party, and announced his resignation; the cabinet continued in a demissionary capacity until 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 Zijlstra.

Formation

After the fall of the Marijnen cabinet, the confessional parties did not want

snap election A snap election is an election that is called earlier than the one that has been scheduled. Generally, a snap election in a parliamentary system (the dissolution of parliament) is called to capitalize on an unusual electoral opportunity or to ...

s because those could centre on the introduction of

commercial television Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship. It was the United States′ first model of radio (a ...

, the issue that led to the fall of the former cabinet. So a new cabinet was formed on the basis of the existing situation. A continuation of the Marijnen cabinet was considered to have too narrow a basis, so PvdA was asked to join in. As a result, CHU stepped out. But previous frictions between PvdA and KVP were overcome because there was a desire to form a cabinet fast, which was indeed done, in just over a month.

Term

After two decades of economic growth, this cabinet experienced a slight

recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...

. Plans to build sports halls, roads and houses had to be tempered. In

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

the

coal mine Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

s were closed, and plans were devised to educate and re-employ the former miners. There was also social unrest, which became apparent in the Provo movement, construction worker protests, riots over the marriage of Princess Beatrix in

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 ...

and the rise of new parties: the Farmers' Party (BP), the

Pacifist Socialist Party The Pacifist Socialist Party ( nl, Pacifistisch Socialistische Partij, PSP) was a democratic socialist Dutch socialist political party. The PSP played a small role in Dutch politics. It is one of the predecessors of the GreenLeft. Party histor ...

(PSP), the Reformed Political League (GPV) and the Democrats 66 (D'66). The last party, especially, wished to change the political order.. On 14 October 1966

the Leader of the Catholic People's Party 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 their ...

of the

in the

proposed a

Motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or m ...

against the cabinet and Prime Minister Jo Cals. A shocking and surprised action in Dutch politics, it marked the first time that a motion of no confidence was proposed against a cabinet of the same party. The cabinet resigned that evening.De Nacht van Schmelzer (1966)
Histotheek.nl, 9 March 2010

Changes

On 5 February 1966 State Secretary for Defense for Air Force Affairs Jan Borghouts (KVP) died following a debilitating disease at the age of 55. On 22 June 1966 former Chairman of the United Defence Staff

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Heije Schaper, who until then had been working as Chief Adjutant in extraordinary service to

Queen Juliana Juliana (; Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980. Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. S ...

was installed as his successor. On 31 August 1966 Minister of the Interior Jan Smallenbroek (ARP) resigned after he was involved in a traffic incident while driving under the influence.

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

Ivo Samkalden (PvdA) served as acting Minister of the Interior until 5 September 1966 when

Koos Verdam Pieter Jacobus "Koos" Verdam (15 January 1915 – 11 March 1998) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). The reformed Verdam was a professor for Roman law and in ...

(ARP), who until then had been working as a professor of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and International Private Law at the

VU University Amsterdam The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, being founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research ...

was appointed as his successor. Kabinet 1965-04-15 - SFA001018004

Cabinet Members

: : : : : : :

Trivia

* Four cabinet members (later) served as Prime Minister: Jo Cals (1965–1966), Barend Biesheuvel (1971–1973),

Joop den Uyl Johannes Marten den Uijl, better known as Joop den Uyl (; 9 August 1919 – 24 December 1987) was a Dutch politician and economist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1973 to 1977. He was a member of the Labour Party (PvdA). ...

, (1973–1977) and

Piet de Jong Petrus Jozef Sietse "Piet" de Jong (; 3 April 1915 – 27 July 2016) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and naval officer who served as Prime Minister of the Neth ...

(1967–1971).

References

External links

;Official *
Kabinet-Cals
Parlement & Politiek *
Kabinet-Cals
Rijksoverheid {{DEFAULTSORT:Cals cabinet Cabinets of the Netherlands 1965 establishments in the Netherlands 1966 disestablishments in the Netherlands 1966 in the Netherlands Cabinets established in 1965 Cabinets disestablished in 1966