Charles Joseph Marie Ruijs de Beerenbrouck (1 December 1873 – 17 April 1936) was a Dutch politician of the defunct

Roman Catholic State Party The Roman Catholic State Party ( nl, Roomsch-Katholieke Staatspartij, RKSP) was a Catholic Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1926 as a continuation of the General League of Roman Catholic Caucuses ...

(RKSP), later formed to 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) now merged into 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-Revolution ...

(CDA). He 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 9 September 1918 until 4 August 1925 and from 10 August 1929 until 26 May 1933.

Early life

Charles Joseph Maria Ruijs de Beerenbrouck was born on 1 December 1873 in

Roermond Roermond (; li, Remunj or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received town rights in 1231. Ro ...

, a town with a

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

's see in the province of

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 ...

, in the very south of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Born into an aristocratic family, he grew up in a predominantly-

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 ...

community and went to school in

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

and in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

. He attended the Utrecht University and in 1895, he obtained his master's degree in law at the Leiden University. He was the son of Gustave Ruijs de Beerenbrouck (1842–1926), Minister of Justice in the

Mackay Mackay may refer to: *Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives Mackay may also refer to: Places Australia * Mackay Region, a local government area ** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region *** Mackay Airpor ...

cabinet (founder of the labour and social laws first) and later governor of Limburg (1918).

Career

He started his career in 1896 as a lawyer in Maastricht. In 1899 Ruijs de Beerenbrouck became a member of the Maastricht

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 ...

and in 1905 he was elected to 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 ...

. Ruijs de Beerenbrouck remained a councillor and a member of parliament until 16 May 1918, when he became Queen's Commissioner of the province of Limburg (in the province of Limburg usually called ''Gouverneur'', or Governor). Ruijs de Beerenbrouck did not stay in office as Queen's Commissioner for long, as on 9 September 1918 he was appointed as

. As Prime Minister he had to deal with the aftermath of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Although the Netherlands had remained neutral during the conflict, Ruijs de Beerenbrouck nevertheless faced several problems, particularly the return of German troops through the province of Limburg and the exile of the German emperor

Wilhelm II , house = Hohenzollern , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United) , signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...

. In November 1918 the leader of the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP),

Pieter Jelles Troelstra Pieter Jelles Troelstra (20 April 1860 – 12 May 1930) was a Dutch lawyer, journalist and politician active in the socialist workers' movement. He is most remembered for his fight for universal suffrage and his failed call for revolution at the ...

, inspired by the Russian Revolution and the German Revolution of 1918–19, called for a socialist revolution among the working class. However, the revolution attempt of Troelstra met with little enthusiasm. Despite this, Ruijs de Beerenbrouck enacted several social reforms in order to satisfy the working class. From 1925 to 1929 Ruijs de Beerenbrouck was Speaker of the House of Representatives. During his third cabinet Ruijs de Beerenbrouck had to deal with the worldwide Great Depression of 1929 and the early 1930s, which had crippling effects on the Dutch economy, effects which lasted longer than they did in most European countries. The depression lead to large unemployment and poverty, as well as increasing social unrest. Ruijs de Beerenbrouck was forced to cut down government expenses and to devaluate the national currency, the Guilder, but these measures only worsened the effects of the economic crisis. In February 1933 the third cabinet Ruijs de Beerenbrouck ordered the bombing of the navy cruiser ''De Zeven Provinciën'', when sailors aboard the cruiser, cruising near Sumatra, mutinied because of the cutting of their wages. Twenty three mutineers were killed, resulting in a prolonged controversy and recriminations. In 1933 Ruijs de Beerenbrouck again became Speaker of the House of Representatives. He remained in office until his death.

Personal life

On 15 April 1902, Ruijs de Beerenbrouck married Maria van der Heyden (19 August 1877 – 17 January 1948). Ruijs de Beerenbrouck died on 17 April 1936 at the age of 62 in Utrecht.

Decorations

References

External links

* Moeyes, Paul
Beerenbrouck, Charkes Ruijs de
in

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruijs de Beerenbrouck, Charles 1873 births 1936 deaths Deaths from Addison's disease Dutch jurists Dutch Roman Catholics Dutch prosecutors Dutch political party founders Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Jonkheers of the Netherlands Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Knights of the Holy Sepulchre King's and Queen's Commissioners of Limburg Leiden University alumni Ministers of Agriculture of the Netherlands Ministers of Colonial Affairs of the Netherlands Ministers of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Ministers of the Interior of the Netherlands Ministers of State (Netherlands) Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Municipal councillors of Maastricht Neurological disease deaths in the Netherlands Utrecht University alumni Speakers of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Recipients of the Order of the House of Orange Roman Catholic State Party politicians Prime Ministers of the Netherlands People from Roermond Politicians from Utrecht (city) 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch lawyers 20th-century Dutch politicians