Mathilde Hubertine Maria Francisca "Til" Gardeniers-Berendsen (18 February 1925 – 22 October 2019) was a Dutch politician of the defunct

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 later 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-Revolutionary ...

(CDA) party and nonprofit director.

Biography

On 14 May 1940 Gardeniers-Berendsen witnessed the ''

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

bombing A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...

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 ''"N ...

during the

German invasion German invasion may refer to: Pre-1900s * German invasion of Hungary (1063) World War I * German invasion of Belgium (1914) * German invasion of Luxembourg (1914) World War II * Invasion of Poland * German invasion of Belgium (1940) * G ...

and joined the Dutch resistance against the German occupiers in 1940. Following the end of

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 opposin ...

Gardeniers-Berendsen worked as a secretary in Rotterdam from August 1945 until May 1971. Gardeniers-Berendsen was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the election of 1971, taking office on 11 May 1971. After the election of 1977 Gardeniers-Berendsen was appointed as Minister of Culture, Recreation and Social Work in the Cabinet Van Agt–Wiegel, taking office on 19 December 1977. After the election of 1981 Gardeniers-Berendsen returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 10 June 1981. Following the cabinet formation of 1981 Gardeniers-Berendsen was appointment as Minister of Health and Environment in the Cabinet Van Agt II, taking office on 11 September 1981. The Cabinet Van Agt II fell 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 '' ...

Cabinet Van Agt III with Gardeniers-Berendsen continuing as Minister of Health and Environment, taking office on 29 May 1982. After the election of 1982 Gardeniers-Berendsen again returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 21 September 1982. Gardeniers-Berendsen served again as acting Minister of Culture, Recreation and Social Work during a medical leave of absence of Hans de Boer dual serving in both positions from 11 October 1982. Following the cabinet formation of 1982 Gardeniers-Berendsen was not given a cabinet post in the new

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

, the Cabinet Van Agt III was replaced by the Cabinet Lubbers I on 4 November 1982 and she continued to serve 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 kno ...

. In February 1983 Gardeniers-Berendsen was nominated as a Member of the Council of State, she resigned as a Member of the House of Representatives on 23 February 1983 and was installed as a Member of the Council of State, serving from 1 March 1983 until 1 March 1995. She was the second oldest living former cabinet member after former State Secretary Els Veder-Smit and the oldest living former cabinet minister since the death of

Johan Witteveen Hendrikus Johannes "Johan" Witteveen (12 June 1921 – 23 April 2019) was a Dutch politician and economist who served as the fifth managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 1973 to 1978. Witteveen attended the Gymnasium E ...

on 23 April 2019.

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
M.H.M.F. (Til) Gardeniers-Berendsen
Parlement & Politiek {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardeniers-Berendsen, Til 1925 births 2019 deaths Catholic People's Party politicians Christian Democratic Appeal politicians Commanders of the Order of Leopold II Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Dutch nonprofit directors Resistance members from Rotterdam Dutch Roman Catholics Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Knights of the Holy Sepulchre Members of the Council of State (Netherlands) Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Ministers of Health of the Netherlands Ministers of Social Work of the Netherlands Ministers of Sport of the Netherlands Ministers of Culture of the Netherlands Municipal councillors of Rotterdam Secretaries Women government ministers of the Netherlands 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch women politicians 20th-century Dutch politicians