Laurentius Nicolaas Deckers (14 February 1883 – 1 January 1978) was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the

Roman Catholic State Party The Roman Catholic State Party (, RKSP) was a Catholic Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1926 as a continuation of the General League of Roman Catholic Electoral Associations. During its entire exis ...

(RKSP) and later co-founder of the

Catholic People's Party The Catholic People's Party (, KVP) was a Roman Catholicism in the Netherlands, Catholic Christian democracy, Christian democratic list of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1945 as ...

(KVP) and agronomist.

Political career

Deckers 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 1918 general election, taking office on 17 September 1918. After the 1929 general election Deckers was appointed as

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

in the Ruijs de Beerenbrouck III cabinet, taking office on 10 August 1929. After the 1933 general election Deckers returned to the House of Representatives, taking office on 9 May 1933. Following the cabinet formation of 1933 Deckers continued as Minister of Defence in the Colijn II cabinet, taking office on 26 May 1933. The cabinet fell on 23 July 1935 and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until the cabinet formation of 1935 when it was replaced by Colijn III cabinet with Deckers remaining as Minister of Defence, taking office on 31 July 1935. Deckers was appointed as

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a United Kingdom cabinet position, responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The post was originally named President of the Board of Agriculture and was created in 1889 ...

after the Ministry of Economic Affairs was split into the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Shipping and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, taking office on 2 September 1935. After the 1937 general election Deckers again returned to the House of Representatives, taking office on 8 June 1937. Following the cabinet formation of 1937 Deckers was not giving a cabinet post in the new cabinet; the Colijn III cabinet was replaced by the Colijn IV cabinet on 24 June 1937 and he continued to serve in the House of Representatives 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 know ...

. Deckers was selected as party leader 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. ...

of the Roman Catholic State Party in the House of Representatives following the election of

Josef van Schaik Josephus Robertus Hendricus "Josef" van Schaik (31 January 1882 – 23 March 1962) was a Dutch politician of the Roman Catholic State Party (RKSP) and later co-founder of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) and jurist. He was granted the honorary ...

as a Speaker of the House of Representatives, taking office on 11 November 1937. On 10 May 1940

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

invaded An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives of co ...

the Netherlands and the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

fled to London to escape the

German occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Deckers continued to serve in the House of Representatives but in reality the ''de facto'' political influence of the House of Representatives was marginalized. On 9 October 1940 Deckers was arrested and detained in

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Nazi Germany, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (pre-1938 ...

and was released on 7 November 1940. Deckers also served retroactively as chairman of the

from 1 September 1941 after Timotheus Verschuur was detained in

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners t ...

and later died in captivity on 17 April 1945. In May 1942 Deckers was arrested and detained again in Buchenwald concentration camp and was released in August 1942. Following the end of World War II

Queen Wilhelmina Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, making her the longest-reigning monarch in Dutch history, as ...

ordered a Recall of Parliament and Deckers remained a member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 20 November 1945. On 22 December 1945 the Roman Catholic State Party was renamed as the Catholic People's Party, Deckers was one of the co-founders and was selected as the first parliamentary leader of the Catholic People's Party in the House of Representatives. In March 1946 Deckers was nominated as member of the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

, he resigned as parliamentary leader and as member of the House of Representatives the day he was installed as a member of the Council of State, serving from 1 April 1946 until 1 March 1958.

Decorations

References

External links

Mr.Dr. L.N. Deckers
Parlement & Politiek , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Deckers, Laurentius Nicolaas 1883 births 1978 deaths Buchenwald concentration camp survivors Catholic People's Party politicians Chairmen of the Catholic People's Party Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Dutch agronomists Dutch corporate directors Dutch expatriates in Belgium Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Dutch people of World War II Dutch political party founders Dutch prisoners of war in World War II Dutch Roman Catholics Dutch trade association executives General League of Roman Catholic Caucuses politicians Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Grand Officers of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour KU Leuven alumni Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Gregory the Great Knights of Malta Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Leaders of political parties in the Netherlands Leiden University alumni Ministers of agriculture of the Netherlands Ministers of the Navy of the Netherlands Ministers of war of the Netherlands Members of the Council of State (Netherlands) Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Party chairs of the Netherlands People from Eindhoven People from Heeze-Leende Politicians from The Hague Roman Catholic State Party politicians Academic staff of Tilburg University World War II civilian prisoners World War II prisoners of war held by Germany 20th-century Dutch businesspeople 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch diplomats 20th-century Dutch educators 20th-century Dutch jurists