The First Van Agt

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 ...

, also called the Van Agt–Wiegel cabinet was the

executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state. In poli ...

of the

Dutch Government The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy, and a decentralised unitary state.''Civil service systems in Western Europe'' edited by A. J. G. M. Bekke, ...

from 19 December 1977 until 11 September 1981. The cabinet was formed by the

christian-democratic Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

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) and the conservative-liberal

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party in ...

(VVD) after the election of 1977. The cabinet was a

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the Right-wing politics, right of the Left–right politics, political spectrum, but are closer to the Centrism, centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure a ...

coalition and had a slim

majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from #Related terms, related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster 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 ...

with Christian Democratic Leader

Dries van Agt Andreas Antonius Maria "Dries" van Agt (; born 2 February 1931) is a Dutch politician and diplomat of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) and later the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of t ...

serving as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. Liberal Leader

Hans Wiegel Hans Wiegel (; born 16 July 1941) is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businessperson. Wiegel studied Law at the University of Amsterdam before switching to Political science obtaining a Bache ...

served as

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

and

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

. The cabinet served in the final years of the

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

1970s File:1970s decade montage.jpg, Clockwise from top left: U.S. President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office following the Watergate scandal in 1974; The United States was still involved in the Vietnam War i ...

and the early years of the

economic expansion An economic expansion is an increase in the level of economic activity, and of the goods and services available. It is a period of economic growth as measured by a rise in real GDP. The explanation of fluctuations in aggregate economic activity ...

of the

1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 420px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the ...

. Domestically it had to deal with the last days of the

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...

, the abdication of

Queen Juliana Juliana (; Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980. Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. S ...

and the installation of

Queen Beatrix Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana and her husband ...

, a growing

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...

following the recession in the 1980s but it was able to implement several major social reforms to the

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, infra ...

and civil reforms and stimulating

deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...

and

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

. Internationally it had to deal with the 1979 oil crisis and the fallout of the increasing international stand against

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. The cabinet suffered several major internal and external conflicts including multiple cabinet resignations, including a informal

caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

of several Christian Democrats in the House of Representatives that only supported the cabinet in a

confidence and supply In a parliamentary democracy based on the Westminster system, confidence and supply are required for a ruling cabinet to retain power in the lower house. A confidence-and-supply agreement is one whereby a party or independent members of parl ...

construction, but it was able to complete its entire term and was succeeded by the

Second Van Agt cabinet The Second Van Agt cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch Government from 11 September 1981 until 29 May 1982. The cabinet was formed by the christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the social-democratic Labour Party (PvdA) ...

following the election of 1981.Wiegel houdt belofte van terugkeer levend
Trouw, 24 February 2005

Formation

After the 1977 general election the Labour Party (PvdA) of incumbent

Joop den Uyl Johannes Marten den Uijl, better known as Joop den Uyl (; 9 August 1919 – 24 December 1987) was a Dutch politician and economist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1973 to 1977. He was a member of the Labour Party (PvdA). ...

was the winner of the election which won ten new seats and had now a total of 53 seats. The

(VVD) of

won six seats and had now 28 seats. The

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 m ...

(ARP),

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 the

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 in ...

(CHU) participated for the first time as the combined party

(CDA) with

as its new

Leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

. This

electoral fusion Electoral fusion is an arrangement where two or more political parties on a ballot list the same candidate, pooling the votes for that candidate. It is distinct from the process of electoral alliances in that the political parties remain separat ...

resulted in one new seat and now had a total of 49 seats in 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 ...

. A long negotiation between the Labour Party and

followed. Both parties had come out of the elections as equal partners. The negotiations were troubled by the personal animosity between incumbent

and Leader of the Labour Party

and the

Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal The Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal is the most senior politician within the Christian Democratic Appeal ( nl, Christen-Democratisch Appèl, CDA) in the Netherlands.The current leader has been Wopke Hoekstra since 10 December 2020. H ...

. Van Agt who served as

under Den Uyl his

had a bad working relationship. In the end Van Agt found that the demands of the Den Uyl were too great and instead he formed a coalition with the

Term

The cabinet had to deal with a major economic depression, but refused to cut government spending due to fierce left-wing opposition in the parliament, which had nearly half of the seats. Many left-wing demonstrations were held on the street against the government. Notorious were the harsh demonstrations in Amsterdam during the crowning of

and the squatting riots. There was a sharp increase in unemployment and the government was seen to have created too much debt.

Changes

On 5 March 1978

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), 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 coun ...

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 ...

(CHU) resigned in-protest after the cabinet decided to not publicly condemn the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

for further developing the

Neutron bomb A neutron bomb, officially defined as a type of enhanced radiation weapon (ERW), is a low-yield thermonuclear weapon designed to maximize lethal neutron radiation in the immediate vicinity of the blast while minimizing the physical power of the b ...

. Minister for Development Cooperation Jan de Koning (ARP) served as acting

until 8 March 1978 when Member of the Council of State

Willem Scholten Willem Scholten (1 June 1927 – 1 January 2005) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Christian Historical Union (CHU) party and later the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and economist. He was granted the honorary title of Minister of ...

(CHU) was appointed as his successor. On 1 April 1979 Minister for Science Policy Rinus Peijnenburg (KVP) unexpectedly died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at the age of 51. Minister of Health and Environment

Leendert Ginjaar Leendert Ginjaar (28 May 1928 – 17 September 2003) was a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and chemist. Ginjaar attended a Gymnasium in Leiden from April 1940 until May 1946 and applied at the Leiden Uni ...

(VVD) served as acting Minister for Science Policy until 3 May 1979 when Ton van Trier, who until then had been working as a professor of

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

at the

Eindhoven University of Technology The Eindhoven University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven), abbr. TU/e, is a public technical university in the Netherlands, located in the city of Eindhoven. In 2020–21, around 14,000 students were enrolled in its BSc a ...

was installed as his successor. Ton van Trier an Independent Christian Democrat joined the

that same month. On 22 February 1980

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", " ...

Frans Andriessen Franciscus Henricus Johannes Joseph "Frans" Andriessen (2 April 1929 – 22 March 2019) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) and later the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and businessperson who served as E ...

(KVP) resigned after disagreeing with the cabinets decision to not implement a stronger austerity policy. State Secretary for Finance Ad Nooteboom (CHU) declares his solidarity with

and also resigned that same day. Minister of Economic Affairs Gijs van Aardenne (VVD) served as acting

until 5 March 1980 when

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. ...

Fons van der Stee (KVP) was appointed as

. That same day Member of the House of Representatives

Gerrit Braks Gerardus Johannes Maria "Gerrit" Braks (23 May 1933 – 12 July 2017) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) and later the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and agronomist. Braks applied at the Wageningen Agr ...

(KVP) was installed as

. On 16 April 1980 Member of the House of Representatives

Marius van Amelsvoort Marius Johannes Josephus van Amelsvoort (29 August 1930 – 30 May 2006) was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) party and later the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and economist. Van Amelsvoort ...

(KVP) was appointed as State Secretary for Finance. On 25 August 1980

(CHU) resigned after he was appointed

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 ...

. That same day former

naval officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

Pieter de Geus (CHU), who until then had been working as a top official at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

was appointed as his successor. On 1 September 1981 ten days before the new

took office Minister for Housing and Spatial Planning

Pieter Beelaerts van Blokland Pieter Adriaan Cornelis Beelaerts van Blokland (8 December 1932 – 22 September 2021) was a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). He was Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in the First Van Agt ...

(CDA) resigned after he had been appointed Mayor of Apeldoorn. Minister of Transport and Water Management

Dany Tuijnman Daniël Sebastiaan "Dany" Tuijnman (16 April 1915 – 25 April 1992) was a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is ...

(VVD) took over the position until the new cabinet was installed on 11 September 1981. Mondale, van Agt en echtgenotes, Bestanddeelnr 930-2251

Van Agt (links) en Luns, Bestanddeelnr 930-2905

Cabinet Members

: : : : : : : : :

Trivia

* Eleven cabinet members had previous experience as scholars or professors:

(Criminal Law and Procedure), Chris van der Klaauw (International Relations),

Job de Ruiter Jacob "Job" de Ruiter (30 April 1930 – 4 October 2015) was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the defunct Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) party and later the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist. De Ruiter worked as a researcher ...

(Civil Law),

(Otorhinolaryngology),

(Chemistry),

Wil Albeda Willem "Wil" Albeda (13 June 1925 – 6 May 2014) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) and later of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and economist. Albeda attended a gymnasium in Leeuwarden from Ma ...

(Social Economics and Labour Law),

Arie Pais Aäron "Arie" Pais (16 April 1930 – 25 June 2022) was a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and economist. Early life and education Pais was of Jewish descent. Before World War II, he attended from 1942 on ...

(Public Economics),

(Agronomy), Ton van Trier (Electrical Engineering), Ad Nooteboom (Fiscal Law) and

Wim van Eekelen Willem Frederik "Wim" van Eekelen (born 5 February 1931) is a retired Dutch politician, diplomat, and political scientist. Early life and education Van Eekelen attended a Gymnasium in Utrecht from June 1943 until June 1949 and applied at the ...

(Political Science). * Five cabinet members (later) served as Mayors:

(Eindhoven),

(Wolphaartsdijk, Vianen, Amstelveen, Apeldoorn and Hengelo), Bert Haars (Kockengen),

Gerrit Brokx Gerardus Philippus "Gerrit" Brokx (22 June 1933 – 11 January 2002) was a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal The Christian Democratic Appeal ( nl, Christen-Democratisch Appèl, ; CDA) is a Christian-democratic political par ...

(Tilburg) and Jeltien Kraaijeveld-Wouters (Hilversum). * Four cabinet members (later) served as Party Leaders and ''

Lijsttrekker In politics, a lead candidate (; , ) is the leader of a political party in an election to a legislative body. In parliamentary systems, it is often the party's nominee for the position of head of government. In open list electoral systems, it is ...

s'': Dries van Agt (1976–1982) of the Christian Democratic Appeal,

(1971–1982) of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy,

(1971–1977) of the Catholic People's Party and Roelof Kruisinga (1973–1977) of the Christian Historical Union. * Four cabinet members (later) served as Queen's Commissioners: Dries van Agt (North Brabant), Hans Wiegel (Friesland) and Pieter Beelaerts van Blokland (Utrecht). * Three cabinet members (later) served as on 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 o ...

: Jan de Koning (1990–1994),

(1976–1978, 1980–1997) and

Til Gardeniers-Berendsen Mathilde Hubertine Maria Francisca "Til" Gardeniers-Berendsen (18 February 1925 – 22 October 2019) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) and later the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and nonprofit director ...

(1983–1995). * Two cabinet members would later serve as

European Commissioners A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by the President of the European Commission. In simple terms they are the equivalent o ...

: Frans Andriessen (1981–1993) and

Neelie Kroes Neelie Kroes (; born 19 July 1941) is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businessperson who served as European Commissioner from 22 November 2004 to 1 November 2014. Kroes studied Economics at t ...

(2004–2014).

References

External links

;Official *
Kabinet-Van Agt I
Parlement & Politiek *
Kabinet-Van Agt I
Rijksoverheid {{DEFAULTSORT:Agt cabinet, First Van Cabinets of the Netherlands 1977 establishments in the Netherlands 1981 disestablishments in the Netherlands Cabinets established in 1977 Cabinets disestablished in 1981