First Biesheuvel cabinet

First Biesheuvel cabinet

Cabinet of the Netherlands
The installation of the First Biesheuvel cabinet on 6 July 1971
Date formed6 July 1971 (1971-07-06)
Date dissolved9 August 1972 (1972-08-09)
1 year, 34 days in office
(Demissionary from 19 July 1972 (1972-07-19))
People and organisations
MonarchQueen Juliana
Prime MinisterBarend Biesheuvel
Deputy Prime MinisterRoelof Nelissen
Molly Geertsema
No. of ministers16
Ministers removed2
Total no. of members16
Member partyCatholic People's Party
(KVP)
People's Party for
Freedom and Democracy

(VVD)
Anti-Revolutionary Party
(ARP)
Christian Historical Union
(CHU)
Democratic Socialists '70
(DS'70)
Status in legislatureCentrist
Majority government
History
Election1971 election
Outgoing election1972 election
Legislature terms1971–1972
Incoming formation1971 formation
Outgoing formation1972–1973 formation
PredecessorDe Jong cabinet
SuccessorSecond Biesheuvel cabinet

The first Biesheuvel cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch Government from 6 July 1971 until 9 August 1972. The cabinet was formed by the christian-democratic Catholic People's Party (KVP), Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) and Christian Historical Union (CHU), the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the social-democratic Democratic Socialists '70 (DS'70) after the election of 1971. The cabinet was a centrist coalition and had a slim majority in the House of Representatives with Protestant Leader Barend Biesheuvel a former Minister of Agriculture serving as Prime Minister. Prominent Catholic politician Roelof Nelissen the Minister of Economic Affairs in the previous cabinet served as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and was given the portfolio of Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs, former Liberal Leader Molly Geertsema served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior.

The cabinet served in the early years of the radical 1970s. Domestically it had to deal with the peak of the counterculture and a growing inflation but it was able to implement several social reforms to the public sector and stimulating deregulation and privatization. The cabinet suffered several major internal conflicts between the cabinet members of the Democratic Socialists '70 and the rest of the coalition which lead to the fall of the cabinet just 1 year into its term on 19 July 1972 with the Democratic Socialists '70 cabinet members resigning on 21 July 1972 and the cabinet continued in a demissionary capacity until it was replaced with the caretaker Second Biesheuvel cabinet on 9 August 1972.[1][2][3][4][5]

  1. ^ "Ideeën van Drees jr. waren te afwijkend" (in Dutch). Volkskrant. 8 September 1998. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  2. ^ (in Dutch) Mooie Barend. De vergeten premier, Volkskrant, 9 June 2012
  3. ^ (in Dutch) De driftbuien van Mooie Barend, Historischnieuwsblad.nl, 6 May 2001
  4. ^ "Biesheuvel, Barend Willem (1920–2001)" (in Dutch). Huygens ING. 12 November 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  5. ^ (in Dutch) Mr. B. W. (Barend) Biesheuvel 6 juli 1971 – 11 mei 1973, Geschiedenis24.nl, 9 December 2005