Barend Biesheuvel

Barend Willem Biesheuvel (April 5, 1920 – April 29, 2001) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Anti Revolutionary Party (ARP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from July 6, 1971 until May 11, 1973.
A Civil servant and Trade Union Leader by occupation, he was General Secretary of the Christian Farmers and Gardeners Association of the Netherlands (CBTB) from 1952 until 1959 and Chairman 1959 until 1963. Biesheuvel became a Member of the House of Representatives on November 6, 1956 after the Dutch general election of 1956. On March 7, 1961 he was selected as a Member of the European Parliament and dual served in those positions until July 24, 1963. Biesheuvel became the lijsttrekker (top candidate) of the Anti Revolutionary Party for the Dutch general election of 1963 and served as Party leader from July 1, 1963 until March 7, 1973. The Anti Revolutionary Party lost one seat but the following cabinet formation resulted in a coalition agreement which formed the Cabinet Marijnen, Biesheuvel became Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries and Minister for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs. On February 28, 1965 the Cabinet Marijnen fell and was replaced by the Cabinet Cals, Biesheuvel remained as Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries and Minister for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs but served alongside Anne Vondeling as Deputy Prime Minister. On October 14, 1966 the Cabinet Cals also fell and a rump Cabinet Zijlstra was formed on November 22, 1966 Biesheuvel again remained as Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries and Minister for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs and this time served alongside former Prime Minister Jan de Quay as Deputy Prime Minister. For the Dutch general election of 1967 Biesheuvel again as lijsttrekker won two seats, primarily due to the popularity of Prime Minister Jelle Zijlstra. However Zijlstra announced he didn't wanted the serve a full term as Prime Minister and endorsed his Party leader Biesheuvel. The following cabinet formation failed to result in a coalition agreement to form a Cabinet Biesheuvel, and after a new cabinet formation the Cabinet De Jong was formed. Biesheuvel became the Parliamentary leader of the Anti Revolutionary Party in the House of Representatives on February 16, 1967 and returned to the House of Representatives on February 23, 1967.
The Cabinet De Jong served a complete full term and for the Dutch general election of 1971 Biesheuvel again as lijsttrekker lost two seats, but the following cabinet formation resulted in a coalition agreement to form the Cabinet Biesheuvel I. Biesheuvel became Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister of General Affairs. On July 19, 1972 the Cabinet Biesheuvel I fell and a rump Cabinet Biesheuvel II was formed on August 9, 1972. For the Dutch general election of 1972 Biesheuvel again as lijsttrekker won one seat and Biesheuvel again became the Parliamentary leader of the Anti Revolutionary Party in the House of Representatives on November 30, 1972 and returned to the House of Representatives on December 7, 1972. But the following slow cabinet formation resulted in a coalition agreement which formed the Cabinet Den Uyl and Biesheuvel announced his retirement from politics and stood down as Party leader of the Anti Revolutionary Party and resigned as Parliamentary leader of the Anti Revolutionary Party in the House of Representatives and as a Member of the House of Representatives on March 7, 1973. Biesheuvel remained as Prime Minister until the Cabinet Den Uyl was installed on May 11, 1973.
After his premiership, Biesheuvel retired from active politics at the age of fifty-three and occupied numerous seats on supervisory boards in the business and industry world (KLM, NIBC Bank, CSM N.V., AVEBE) and led several governmental commissions.

Early life

Barend Willem Biesheuvel was born on April 5, 1920 in Haarlemmerliede in the Netherlands Province of North Holland in a Reformed family, the son of Arie Biesheuvel (born January 21, 1883 in Haarlemmerliede) and Johanna Margaretha "Antje" Troost (born in February 22, 1881 in Sloten). Biesheuvel had three brothers and two sisters. After completing his secondary education at local schools, he graduated in law at the Free University of Amsterdam in September 1945. For the next two years Biesheuvel worked in Alkmaar as secretary to the Food Commissioner for the Province of North Holland. In 1947 he became secretary to the Foreign Division of the Agricultural Society (now the Agricultural Board). In 1952 Mr Biesheuvel became general secretary of the Christian Farmers and Gardeners Association of the Netherlands (CBTB) and in 1959 chairman of that organisation. From the same year he was also a member of the Agricultural Board, the Labour Foundation and the boards of the Centrale Raifeissen Bank and Heidemij.

Politics

Barend Biesheuvel at the inauguration of his First cabinet in 1971.

Between 1956 and 1963 he represented the Anti Revolutionary Party in the House of Representatives (the lower house of parliament). From 1957 to 1961 he held a seat on the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe and from 1961 to 1963 in the European Parliament.

In the successive administrations headed by Marijnen, Cals and Zijlstra between 24 July 1963 and 5 April 1967 he was Deputy Prime Minister with additional responsibility for matters concerning Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles, and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries.

In 1967 he returned to the House of Representatives and became leader of the parliamentary Anti Revolutionary Party. During the same period he also chaired the Shipbuilding Board and the Committee on Government Information Reform.

After Politics

Following his political career, Biesheuvel went on to occupy many other positions in the public and private sectors. Among other things, he was chairman of the supervisory board of the National Investment Bank, a member of the supervisory boards of OGEM and KLM, and chaired the working party on the Netherlands Antilles, the national advisory committee on the relationship between the electorate and policy-making, the Provisional Council for Transport, Public Works and Water Management and the Interministerial Coordinating Committee on North Sea Affairs (ICONA).

Personal

On November 22, 1945 Biesheuvel married his longtime girlfriend Wilhelmina Jacoba "Mies" Meuring (born August 7, 1919). They had two daughters and one son. Mies Meuring died on January 17, 1989 at the age of sixty-nine. Barend Biesheuvel died in a hospital in Haarlem after a long illness on April 29, 2001 at the age of eighty-one. Biesheuvel and his wife were buried at the main cemetery in Bloemendaal.

•  Netherlands
  • Order of Orange-Nassau
    • Officer (April 27, 1962)
    • Grand Officer (April 17, 1967)
    • Knight Grand Cross (March 21, 1991)
  • Order of the Netherlands Lion
    • Commander (June 8, 1973)