Jelle Zijlstra (; 27 August 1918 – 23 December 2001) 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 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 economist 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 22 November 1966 until 5 April 1967. Zijlstra studied Economics at the Rotterdam School of Economics obtaining a

Master of Economics The Master of Economics (MEcon or MEc) is a postgraduate master's degree in economics comprising training in economic theory, econometrics, and/or applied economics. The degree is also offered as an MS or MSc, MA or MCom in economics; varia ...

degree and worked as a researcher and lecturer at his alma mater before finishing his thesis and graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy in

Public economics Public economics ''(or economics of the public sector)'' is the study of government policy through the lens of economic efficiency and equity. Public economics builds on the theory of welfare economics and is ultimately used as a tool to improve s ...

and worked as a professor of Public economics at the Free University Amsterdam from October 1948 until September 1952. After the election of 1952 Zijlstra was appointed as Minister of Economic Affairs in the Cabinet Drees II taking office on 2 September 1952. After Party Leader Jan Schouten announced his retirement Zijlstra was selected his successor as Leader on 23 April 1956. For the election of 1956 Zijlstra served as ''Lijsttrekker'' (top candidate) and was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives 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 ...

taking office on 3 July 1956. Following a cabinet formation Zijlstra continued as Minister of Economic Affairs in the Cabinet Drees III and stepped down as Leader and Parliamentary leader on 3 October 1956. The Cabinet Drees III fell on 11 December 1958 and 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 Zijlstra retaining his position and also becoming

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", " ...

taking office on 22 December 1958. For the election of 1959 Zijlstra again served as ''Lijsttrekker''. Following a cabinet formation Zijlstra continued as Minister of Finance in the Cabinet De Quay. In September 1962 Zijlstra announced that he wouldn't not stand for the election of 1963 and declined to serve in new cabinet. Zijlstra returned as a distinguished professor of Public economics at the Free University Amsterdam and was elected as a Member of the Senate after the Senate election of 1963 taking office on 25 June 1963 serving as a

frontbencher In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then kn ...

and spokesperson for Finance. Zijlstra also served as director of the Abraham Kuyper Foundation from August 1963 until November 1966. Zijlstra continued to be active in politics and in September 1966 was nominated as the next President of the Central Bank. However, after a political crisis, he was persuaded to lead an interim cabinet until the next

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

. Zijlstra formed the

Cabinet Zijlstra and became

and dual served as Minister of Finances taking office on 22 November 1966. Before the election of 1967 Zijlstra indicated that he wouldn't serve another term as Prime Minister and opted to accepted the nomination as head of the Central Bank. Zijlstra left office following the installation of the Cabinet De Jong on 5 April 1967 and was confirmed as chief of the Central Bank serving from 1 May 1967 until 1 January 1982. Zijlstra retired from active politics at 63 and became active in the

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

and

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, inf ...

s as a corporate and non-profit director and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government, and continued to be active in advocating for a balanced governmental budget. Zijlstra was known for his abilities as skillful manager and effective

Debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...

r. Zijlstra was granted the honorary title of

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

on 30 April 1983 and continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until his death from

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

-related illness at the age of 83. He holds the distinction as the shortest-serving Prime Minister after World War II and his premiership is therefore is usually omitted both by scholars and the public in

rankings A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of ...

but his legacy as a Minister in the 1950s and 60s and later as President of the Central Bank continue to this-day.

Biography

Early life

Jelle Zijlstra was born on 27 August 1918 in

Oosterbierum Oosterbierum ( fry, Easterbierrum) is a village in Waadhoeke municipality in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 561 in January 2014. History The village was first mentioned in the 13th century as Asterberen, ...

in 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 ...

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

in a Reformed family, the son of Ane Jelle Zijlstra (born 14 November 1879) and Pietje Postuma (born 6 March 1897), both of which had also been born in the village. After completing his secondary education he studied at the Netherlands School of Economics, the predecessor of the

Erasmus University Rotterdam Erasmus University Rotterdam (abbreviated as ''EUR'', nl, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam ) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century humani ...

. His studies were interrupted twice: first by his period of military service and later when he had to go into hiding in 1942 after refusing to sign the loyalty oath required of students by the

Nazi 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 ...

authorities. Even so, he completed his economics degree in October 1945 as a

. Immediately after graduating, Zijlstra became a research assistant at the Netherlands School of Economics and was promoted a year later to senior research assistant and in 1947 to lecturer. In 1948 he was awarded a doctorate as a Doctor of Philosophy with cum laude for his thesis on the rate of circulation of money and its bearing on the value of money and monetary equilibrium. In the same year he was appointed professor of economics at the

Vrije Universiteit 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 ...

Politics

Representing the

, Zijlstra successively served as Minister of Economic Affairs in the Drees II, Drees III and Beel II cabinets, and as

in the Beel II and De Quay cabinets between 2 September 1952 and 24 July 1963. Following his ministerial career, Zijlstra returned to the

as professor of public finance, though he also served between 1963 and 1966 as a member of the Senate. In 1973 Zijlstra became member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. After the fall of the Cabinet Cals, Zijlstra headed an interim government as

and

between 22 November 1966 until 5 April 1967. From 1967 until the end of 1981 he was President of '' De Nederlandsche Bank'', the central bank of the Netherlands, and in the course of that period he was also President of the

Bank for International Settlements The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an international financial institution owned by central banks that "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks". The BIS carries out its work thr ...

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

. He has sat on many boards in the public and private sectors.

Personal

On 11 March 1946 Zijlstra married his childhood sweetheart Hetty Bloksma (30 January 1921 – 19 November 2013). They had three daughters and two sons, who were born between 1947 and 1961. The last months of life were dominated by his deteriorating health, and he suffered from

. Jelle Zijlstra died in

Wassenaar Wassenaar (; population: in ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and Dorp (town), town located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, on the western coast of the Netherlands. An affluent suburb of The ...

on 23 December 2001 at the age of eighty-three Zijlstra, and was buried at the cemetery of the local Reformed Church in

. His younger brother

Rinse Zijlstra Rinse Zijlstra (19 April 1927 – 26 September 2017) was a Dutch politician. Zijlstra was born in Oosterbierum to parents Ane Jelle Zijlstra and Pietje Postuma. His older brother was Jelle Zijlstra. Rinse Zijlstra served in the House of Represent ...

(19 April 1927 – 26 September 2017) was also 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 ...

, serving from 23 February 1967 until 10 May 1971 and a Senator serving from 12 April 1983 until 13 June 1995 for the

and the

.Vergeten volksvertegenwoordigers: dr. Jelle Zijlstra
, @Geschiedenisgek, 24 August 2011

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
Dr. J. (Jelle) Zijlstra
Parlement & Politiek *
Dr. J. Zijlstra (ARP)
Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal *
Kabinet-Zijlstra
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