Third Drees cabinet

The Third Drees cabinet, also called the Fourth Drees cabinet[1] was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 13 October 1956 until 22 December 1958. The cabinet was formed by the political parties Labour Party (PvdA), Catholic People's Party (KVP), Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) and the Christian Historical Union (CHU) after the election of 1956. The grand coalition (Roman/Red) cabinet was a majority cabinet in the House of Representatives.[2]

Third Drees cabinet Fourth Drees cabinet
46th Cabinet of the Netherlands
The first meeting of the incoming Third Drees cabinet on 12 October 1956
Date formed	13 October 1956 (1956-10-13)
Date dissolved	22 December 1958 (1958-12-22) (Demissionary from 11 December 1958 (1958-12-11))
People and organisations
Head of state	Queen Juliana
Head of government	Willem Drees
Deputy head of government	Teun Struycken
No. of ministers	14
Total no. of members	16
Member party	Labour Party (PvdA) Catholic People's Party (KVP) Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) Christian Historical Union (CHU)
Status in legislature	Grand coalition (Roman/Red)
Opposition party	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
Opposition leader	Pieter Oud
History
Election(s)	1956 election
Outgoing election	1959 election
Legislature term(s)	1956–59
Incoming formation	1956 formation
Outgoing formation	1958 formation
Predecessor	Second Drees cabinet
Successor	Second Beel cabinet

Formation

The cabinet formation took 4 months. This was the longest and most difficult formation the Netherlands had ever seen, partly as a result of the rising tensions between the Labour Party and the Catholic People's Party. Also after the formation, these tensions kept rising, leading to the fall of the cabinet in December 1958. Root of the tensions were the decision of the Roman Catholic Church to excommunicate Catholic socialists from the church. Nearly 100% of the south of the Netherlands used to vote for the Catholic People's Party for decades, but in the 1950s secular political parties got an increase in votes. The excommunication had the result of social exclusion in cities and villages which used to be solidly Catholic blocks. Protestants in the north supported the Catholics.

Term

After considerable growth after World War II, the rising wages, combined with lowered taxes, now led to overspending, which endangered the export. In reaction, wages and government spending were both lowered.

Rising tension with Indonesia, mostly about New Guinea, came to a climax when Indonesia nationalised Dutch properties in the country. The Dutch were supposed to leave entirely.

Other international problems were the Suez Crisis and the Hungarian revolt, which led to monetary and economic problems. The threat of an oil crisis as a result of the Suez crisis led to the installation of car-free Sundays. The suppression of the Hungarian revolution by the USSR led to plundering of communist institutions. Several thousands of Hungarian refugees were accepted into the Netherlands and welcomed in Dutch homes.

On 1 January 1957, the state pension AOW after the age of 65, that was proposed during the former cabinet Drees II, was installed. This resulted from a previous emergency law by Drees, and is the one thing he is remembered for most.

Cabinet Members

Ministers			Title/Ministry		Term of office	Party
		Dr. Willem Drees (1886–1988)	Prime Minister	General Affairs	7 August 1948 – 22 December 1958 ^[Retained]	Labour Party
		Ko Suurhoff (1905–1967)	Minister	Interior	13 October 1956 – 29 October 1956 ^[Ad interim]	Labour Party
		Teun Struycken (1906–1977)		Interior, Property and Public Sector Organisations	29 October 1956 – 19 May 1959	Catholic People's Party
			Deputy Prime Minister
		Dr. Joseph Luns (1911–2002)	Minister	Foreign Affairs	13 October 1956 – 6 July 1971	Catholic People's Party
		Henk Hofstra (1904–1999)	Minister	Finance	13 October 1956 – 22 December 1958	Labour Party
		Dr. Ivo Samkalden (1912–1995)	Minister	Justice	13 October 1956 – 22 December 1958	Labour Party
		Dr. Jelle Zijlstra (1918–2001)	Minister	Economic Affairs	2 September 1952 – 19 May 1959 ^[Retained]	Anti-Revolutionary Party
		Kees Staf (1905–1973)	Minister	War	15 March 1951 – 19 May 1959 ^[Retained]	Christian Historical Union
				Navy
		Ko Suurhoff (1905–1967)	Minister	Social Affairs and Health	2 September 1952 – 22 December 1958 ^[Retained]	Labour Party
		Jo Cals (1914–1971)	Minister	Education, Arts and Sciences	2 September 1952 – 7 November 1961 ^[Retained]	Catholic People's Party
		Jacob Algera (1902–1966)	Minister	Transport and Water Management	2 September 1952 – 10 October 1958 ^[Retained] ^[Res]	Anti-Revolutionary Party
		Herman Witte (1909–1973)			10 October 1958 – 1 November 1958 ^[Ad interim]	Catholic People's Party
		Jan van Aartsen (1909–1992)			1 November 1958 – 19 May 1959	Anti-Revolutionary Party
		Dr. Sicco Mansholt (1908–1995)	Minister	Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Supplies	25 June 1945 – 1 January 1958 ^[Retained] ^[Appt]	Labour Party
		Kees Staf (1905–1973)			1 January 1958 – 13 January 1958 ^[Ad interim]	Christian Historical Union
		Dr. Anne Vondeling (1916–1979)			13 January 1958 – 22 December 1958	Labour Party
		Herman Witte (1909–1973)	Minister	Housing and Construction	2 September 1952 – 19 May 1959 ^[Retained]	Catholic People's Party
		Dr. Marga Klompé (1912–1986)	Minister	Social Work	13 October 1956 – 24 July 1963 ^[Retained]	Catholic People's Party
		Kees Staf (1905–1973)	Minister	Colonial Affairs	18 July 1956 – 16 February 1957 ^[Retained] ^[Ad interim]	Christian Historical Union
		Gerard Helders (1905–2013)			16 February 1957 – 19 May 1959	Christian Historical Union
State Secretaries			Title/Portfolio/Ministry		Term of office	Party
		Norbert Schmelzer (1921–2008)	State Secretary	• Privatization Policy • Government Real Estate • Public Sector Organisations (within Interior, Property and Public Sector Organisations)	29 October 1956 – 19 May 1959	Catholic People's Party
		Ernst van der Beugel (1918–2004)	State Secretary	• European Affairs • NATO Affairs • Benelux Affairs • International Aviation Policy (within Foreign Affairs)	8 January 1957 – 22 December 1958	Labour Party
		Dr. Gerard Veldkamp (1921–1990)	State Secretary	• Small Business Policy • Retail Policy • Competition Policy • Tourism Affairs (within Economic Affairs)	10 October 1952 – 17 July 1961 ^[Retained]	Catholic People's Party
		Ferdinand Kranenburg (1911–1994)	State Secretary	• Army • Air Force (within Defence)	1 June 1951 – 1 June 1958 ^[Retained] ^[Res]	Labour Party
		Meine van Veen (1893–1970)			25 October 1958 – 22 December 1958	Labour Party
		Harry Moorman (1899–1971)		• Navy (within Navy)	1 May 1949 – 19 May 1959 ^[Retained]	Catholic People's Party
		Dr. Aat van Rhijn (1892–1986)	State Secretary	• Social Security • Unemployment Affairs • Occupational Safety • Social Services • Poverty Policy • Elderly Policy • Disability Affairs • Veteran Affairs • Minority Affairs • Medical Ethics Policy (within Social Affairs and Health)	15 February 1950 – 22 December 1958 ^[Retained]	Labour Party
		Dr. Anna de Waal (1906–1981)	State Secretary	• Primary Education • Secondary Education • Special Education (within Education, Arts and Sciences)	2 February 1953 – 16 March 1957 ^[Retained] ^[Res]	Catholic People's Party
		René Höppener (1903–1983)		• Youth Policy • Environmental Policy • Nature Policy • Media Affairs • Culture Policy • Arts Policy • Recreation Affairs • Sport (within Education, Arts and Sciences)	12 November 1956 – 19 May 1959	Catholic People's Party
Source: (in Dutch) Rijksoverheid

^Retained Retained this position from the previous cabinet.

^Res Resigned.

^{Ad interim} Served ad interim.

^Appt Appointment: Sicco Mansholt appointed European Commissioner.

References

1. According to a different numbering this was the Fourth Drees cabinet because it was the fourth cabinet with Willem Drees as Prime Minister.
2. "Coalities tussen sociaaldemocraten en confessionelen" (in Dutch). Historisch Nieuwsblad. 10 August 2006. Retrieved 24 April 2018.

External links

Official

• (in Dutch) Kabinet-Drees IV Parlement & Politiek
• (in Dutch) Kabinet-Drees III Rijksoverheid