Johannes "Jan" van Aartsen (15 September 1909 – 3 February 1992) was a Dutch politician of the defunct

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) 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) party and jurist. Van Aartsen applied at the Free University Amsterdam in June 1931 majoring in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and obtaining an

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

degree before graduating with a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

degree in July 1936. Van Aartsen worked as a lawyer 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 ...

from August 1936 until October 1944. On 10 May 1940

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

invaded the Netherlands and the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

fled to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to escape the

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

. During

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 opposing ...

Van Aartsen continued to work as a lawyer. Van Aartsen worked as a trade association executive for the Christian Employers' association (NCW) from October 1944 until September 1949 and served as General-Secretary from July 1947 until September 1949. Van Aartsen served on the

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 ...

from May 1948 until November 1958 and served as an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

in The Hague from September 1949 until November 1958. Van Aartsen was appointed as Minister of Transport and Water Management in the Cabinet Drees III following the resignation of Jacob Algera, taking office on 1 November 1958. The Cabinet Drees III fell on 11 December 1958 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 '' ...

Cabinet Beel II with Van Aartsen continuing as Minister of Transport and Water Management, taking office on 22 December 1958. Van Aartsen was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the election of 1959, taking office on 20 March 1959. Following the cabinet formation of 1959 Van Aartsen was appointed as Minister of Housing and Construction in the Cabinet De Quay, taking office on 19 May 1959. In December 1962 Van Aartsen announced that he wouldn't not stand for the election of 1963. Following the cabinet formation of 1963 Van Aartsen was again appointed as Minister of Transport and Water Management in the Cabinet Marijnen, taking office on 24 July 1963. The Cabinet Marijnen fell on 27 February 1965 and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until the cabinet formation of 1965, Van Aartsen was not giving a cabinet post in the new cabinet, the Cabinet Marijnen was replaced by the Cabinet Cals on 14 April 1965. Van Aartsen remained in active politics, in May 1965 Van Aartsen was nominated as Queen's Commissioner of

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

, serving from 1 June 1965 until 1 October 1974.

Career

Van Aartsen was a lawyer in

and a member of 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 mi ...

. He became minister of Transportation and Water Management 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 ...

in November 1958, at the end of the fourth cabinet of

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 ...

Willem Drees Willem () is a Dutch and West FrisianRienk de Haan, ''Fryske Foarnammen'', Leeuwarden, 2002 (Friese Pers Boekerij), , p. 158. masculine given name. The name is Germanic, and can be seen as the Dutch equivalent of the name William in English, G ...

. From 1959 to 1963 he was minister of Housing and the Construction Industry in the cabinet-De Quay. Under Prime Minister De Quay's successor

Victor Marijnen Victor Gerard Marie Marijnen (21 February 1917 – 5 April 1975) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 2 ...

, Van Aartsen returned to the post of Transportation and Water Management. In 1965, Van Aartsen was appointed Queen's Commissioner of the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

, where he would remain until 1974.

Personal life

Van Aartsen was the father of Jozias van Aartsen, who became foreign minister of the Netherlands in 1998. He died at age 82 in 1992 and is buried at Zorgvlied cemetery.

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
Mr. J. (Jan) van Aartsen
Parlement & Politiek {{DEFAULTSORT:Aartsen, Jan van 1909 births 1992 deaths Aldermen of The Hague Anti-Revolutionary Party politicians Commanders of the Order of Leopold II Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church Dutch trade association executives Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau King's and Queen's Commissioners of Zeeland Ministers of Housing and Spatial Planning of the Netherlands Ministers of Transport and Water Management of the Netherlands Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Municipal councillors of The Hague Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Politicians from Amsterdam People from Vlissingen Reformed Churches Christians from the Netherlands Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch lawyers 20th-century Dutch politicians