Catharina Isabella "Ien" Dales (18 October 1931 – 10 January 1994) was a Dutch politician and social worker. Born in

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both ban ...

, she received a degree in education from the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

and worked in social services before her career in politics. She became a member of the Labour Party (PvdA) in 1968 and was appointed State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment in the Van Agt II cabinet, a position that she held between 1981 and 1982. Dales was a member of 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 ...

between 1981 and 1987 and mayor of Nijmegen between 1987 and 1989. She was the

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 ...

in the Lubbers III cabinet from 1989 and 1994.

Early life

Dales was born on 18 October 1931 in

, Netherlands. She attended the Kerk en Wereld Academy in

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 ...

, where she received a diploma in theology and preaching, and received a degree in education from the

in 1975. She worked for the Church and World Organisation between 1956 and 1974, being originally a course teacher, before becoming the deputy head and head of the education department and director of the organisation. She worked as a freelance researcher between 1 January 1975 until 1 September 1977. Dales was director of the social services for the municipality of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

between 1 September 1977 and 11 September 1981.

Political career

Dales joined the Labour Party (PvdA) in 1968. Following the 1981 general election, she was appointed as the State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment in the Van Agt II cabinet, taking office on 11 September 1981, with special responsibility for

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 ...

. The Van Agt II cabinet disolved just seven months into its term on 12 May 1982 and continued to serve 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 '' ...

Van Agt III cabinet on 29 May 1982. Dales was elected as a member of the

after the 1982 general election, taking office on 16 September 1982. She was the chair of the committee on petitions and the committee on the police. She held this position until 16 May 1987, the day that she took office as the mayor of Nijmegen. She was mayor until 7 November 1989. After the 1989 general election, Dales was appointed as the

in the Lubbers III cabinet, taking office on 7 November 1989. She held this position until 10 January 1994.

Death and legacy

Dales died on 10 January 1994 in Utrecht. She was the second known LGBT government minister in the Netherlands. She was in a relationship with fellow Labour Party politician Elizabeth Schmitz. For many years this fact was an

open secret An open secret is a concept or idea that is "officially" (''de jure'') secret or restricted in knowledge, but in practice (''de facto'') is widely known; or it refers to something that is widely known to be true but which none of the people most i ...

in Dutch politics at that time.

Decorations

References

External links

* 1931 births 1994 deaths Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church Dutch social workers Female interior ministers Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Labour Party (Netherlands) politicians Bisexual politicians LGBT cabinet members of the Netherlands LGBT Calvinist and Reformed Christians LGBT mayors of places in the Netherlands LGBT members of the Parliament of the Netherlands Mayors of Nijmegen Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Ministers of the Interior of the Netherlands People from Arnhem Politicians from Rotterdam Politicians from Utrecht (city) State Secretaries for Social Affairs of the Netherlands University of Amsterdam alumni Women government ministers of the Netherlands Women mayors of places in the Netherlands Social workers 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch women politicians 20th-century Dutch politicians 20th-century LGBT people {{Netherlands-PvdA-politician-stub