Enneüs "Inne" Heerma (23 December 1944 – 1 March 1999) was a Dutch politician of the

Christian Democratic Appeal The Christian Democratic Appeal ( , CDA) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in the Netherlands. Formed as a federation in 1975 by the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolutionary Party, and the Christian Historical ...

(CDA) party and management consultant. Heerma applied at the

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam The (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public university, public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in ...

in July 1963 majoring in

Political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and obtaining a

Bachelor of Social Science The Bachelor of Social Science (BSocSc or BSocSci) is an undergraduate degree. It typically requires three to four years of study in the social sciences at an institution of higher education, primarily found in the Commonwealth of Nations. It c ...

degree in June 1965 before graduating with a

Master of Social Science A Master of Social Science (MSocSc, MSSc or MSS) is a master's degree which has a number of different meanings dependent upon the education system in question. Europe In Finland and Sweden, where the university degree nomenclatura is simply bas ...

degree in July 1970. Heerma worked as a management consultant in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

from January 1971 until September 1978. Heerma 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, borough cou ...

from March 1971 until July 1986 and served as an Alderman in Amsterdam from September 1978 until July 1986. Heerma served as acting

Mayor of Amsterdam Below is a list of Burgomaster, mayors of Amsterdam (Dutch language, Dutch: ''burgemeesters''), capital of the Netherlands. The city had four burgomasters, serving four years. Since 1389 the mayors were elected on 1 February. In the 17th and 18th ...

from 1 June 1983 until 16 June 1983 following the retirement of Wim Polak. After the 1986 general election Heerma was appointed as State Secretary of Economic Affairs in the Lubbers II cabinet, taking office on 17 July 1986. Heerma was appointed as State Secretary of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment following the resignation of Gerrit Brokx, taking office on 27 October 1986. The Lubbers II cabinet fell on 3 May 1989 and continued to serve in a

demissionary A demissionary cabinet () is a type of caretaker government, caretaker cabinet of the Netherlands, cabinet or provisional government in the politics of the Netherlands, Netherlands. Overview The Dutch demissionary cabinet continues the current g ...

capacity. Heerma was elected to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

in the 1989 general election, taking office on 14 September 1989. Following the 1989 cabinet formation, Heerma continued as State Secretary of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in the Lubbers III cabinet, taking office on 7 November 1989. After the 1994 general election, Heerma returned to the House of Representatives, taking office on 17 May 1994. After the

Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal The Party leader, Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal is the most senior politician within the Christian Democratic Appeal (, CDA) in the Netherlands.The current leader has been Henri Bontenbal since 14 August 2023. History The leaders o ...

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 legislature, legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. ...

Elco Brinkman Leendert Cornelis "Elco" Brinkman (born 5 February 1948) is a retired Dutch politician and businessman who served as List of Ministers of Health of the Netherlands, Minister of Welfare, Health and Culture from 1982 to 1989 and Leader of the Chr ...

announced he was stepping down following the defeat in the election, the party leadership approached Heerma as his successor. Heerma accepted and became the party leader and parliamentary leader on 18 August 1994. The Lubbers III cabinet was replaced by the Kok I cabinet following the 1994 cabinet formation on 22 August 1994. On 27 March 1997, following increasing criticism of his performance as opposition leader, Heerma announced he was stepping down party leader and parliamentary leader, but retained his seat in the House of Representatives and continued to serve as a

backbencher In Westminster system, Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no Minister (government), governmental office and is not a Frontbencher, frontbench spokesperson ...

until his resignation on 9 April 1997. Heerma remained in active politics, in October 1997 he was nominated as mayor of

Hilversum Hilversum () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is ...

but was diagnosed with terminal

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

the day before his official conformation, he died two years later at the age of 54. Heerma was known for his abilities as a manager and a "policy wonk". He holds the distinction as the longest-serving State Secretary of Housing with . His youngest son Pieter Heerma is also a politician and served as the parliamentary leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal in the House of Representatives, the same office Heerma himself held 22 years earlier.

Decorations

Bridge

In 2001, a long road bridge, connecting the new residential neighbourhood of

IJburg IJburg () is a residential neighbourhood under construction in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is situated in the IJmeer and is being built on artificial islands which have been raised from the lake. The Haveneiland, Rieteilanden, Steigereiland and C ...

, built on seven man-made islands, to the

mainland, was finished and name after Heerma: the Enneüs Heerma Bridge.

References

External links

Drs. E. (Enneüs) Heerma
Parlement & Politiek 1944 births 1999 deaths Aldermen of Amsterdam Anti-Revolutionary Party politicians Christian Democratic Appeal politicians Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Deaths from lung cancer in the Netherlands Dutch management consultants Grand Officers of the Order of Leopold II Housing reformers Leaders of the Christian Democratic Appeal Mayors of Amsterdam Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Municipal councillors of Amsterdam People from Tytsjerksteradiel Reformed Churches Christians from the Netherlands State Secretaries for Economic Affairs of the Netherlands State Secretaries for Housing and Spatial Planning of the Netherlands Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni 20th-century Dutch politicians Christian Democratic Appeal MPs {{Netherlands-CDA-politician-stub