Willem Scholten (1 June 1927 – 1 January 2005) was a Dutch politician of the defunct

Christian Historical Union The Christian Historical Union ( nl, Christelijk-Historische Unie, CHU) was a Protestant Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), into which it merged i ...

(CHU) party 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-Revolution ...

(CDA) party and economist. He 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 1 July 1997. Scholten attended a Gymnasium in Deventer from May 1939 until June 1945 and applied at the National Tax Academy in

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 ...

in July 1945 and simultaneously applied at 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 ...

in July 1945 majoring in

Tax law Tax law or revenue law is an area of legal study in which public or sanctioned authorities, such as federal, state and municipal governments (as in the case of the US) use a body of rules and procedures (laws) to assess and collect taxes in a ...

and obtaining a

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 in June 1947 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 1951. Scholten worked as a civil servant for

Tax and Customs Administration The Tax and Customs Administration ( nl, Belastingdienst, translation=Tax Service) is the tax collection and customs service of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is part of the Ministry of Finance and is responsible for levying and collecting tax ...

of the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Ec ...

from September 1951 until June 1963. Scholten was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the election of 1963, taking office on 5 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 A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman, is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

for

Finances Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fin ...

and deputy spokesperson for

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

and

Economic Affairs An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

. After the election of 1971 Scholten was appointed as State Secretary for Finance in the Cabinet Biesheuvel I, taking office on 14 July 1971. The Cabinet Biesheuvel I fell just one year later on 19 July 1972 and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until the first cabinet formation of 1972 when 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 Biesheuvel II with Scholten continuing as State Secretary for Finance, taking office on 9 August 1972. After the election of 1972 Scholten returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 19 December 1972 but he was still serving in the cabinet and because of dualism customs in the constitutional convention of Dutch politics he couldn't serve a dual mandate he subsequently resigned as State Secretary for Finance on 19 March 1973. Following the second cabinet formation of 1972 Scholten was not giving a cabinet post in the new Cabinet Den Uyl and he continued to serve in the House of Representatives as a frontbencher and spokesperson for Finances and Economic Affairs and deputy spokesperson for Justice and

International trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy) In most countries, such trade represents a significant ...

. Scholten was selected as a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

and dual served in those positions, taking office on 25 June 1973. In February 1976 Scholten was nominated as Member of the Council of State, he resigned as a Member of the House of Representatives and a Member of the European Parliament the same day he was installed as a Member of the Council of State, taking office on 1 March 1976. Scholten was appointed as

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

in the Cabinet Van Ag-Wiegel following the resignation of

Roelof Kruisinga Roelof Johannes Hendrik Kruisinga (27 August 1922 – 7 December 2012) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Christian Historical Union (CHU) party and later the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and physician. Kruisinga attended a Gymnas ...

, taking office on 8 March 1978. In August 1980 Scholten was nominated as

Vice-President of the Council of State The vice-president of the Council of State ( nl, Vice-President van de Raad van State) is the ''de facto'' presiding officer of the Council of State. The monarch serves as the ''ex officio'' president of the Council of State but in reality seldo ...

, he resigned as Minister of Defence on 25 August 1980 and was installed as Vice-President, serving from 1 October 1980 until 1 July 1997. Scholten semi-retired after spending 34 years in national politics and became active in the

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

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 ...

and occupied numerous seats as a corporate director and nonprofit director on several boards of directors and supervisory boards ( Institute of International Relations Clingendael, Society for Statistics and Operations Research,

Royal Library of the Netherlands The Royal Library of the Netherlands (Dutch: Koninklijke Bibliotheek or KB; ''Royal Library'') is the national library of the Netherlands, based in The Hague, founded in 1798. The KB collects everything that is published in and concerning the Ne ...

SEO Economic Research SEO Amsterdam Economics'' (SEO) is a scientific institute for economic research commissioned by ministries or businesses. SEO was founded in 1949 from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Amsterdam. It is an independent institute, af ...

and the Carnegie Foundation) and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government ( Public Pension Funds PFZW, Statistics Netherlands and the Public Pension Funds APB). Scholten was known for his abilities as a negotiator and consensus builder. Scholten continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until his death at the age of 77 and holds the distinction as the second longest-serving Vice-President of the Council of State after

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 ...

with .

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
Mr. W. (Willem) Scholten
Parlement & Politiek {{DEFAULTSORT:Scholten, Willem 1927 births 2005 deaths Christian Historical Union MEPs Christian Democratic Appeal politicians Christian Historical Union politicians Dutch corporate directors Dutch fiscal jurists Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church Dutch nonprofit directors Honorary Order of the Yellow Star Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Ministers of Defence of the Netherlands Ministers of State (Netherlands) Members of the Council of State (Netherlands) Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) MEPs for the Netherlands 1958–1979 State Secretaries for Finance of the Netherlands Tax collectors People from Deventer People from Leidschendam Protestant Church Christians from the Netherlands Vice-presidents of the Council of State (Netherlands) University of Amsterdam alumni 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch economists 20th-century Dutch jurists 20th-century Dutch politicians