His Excellency
Jo Cals
Jo Cals in 1966
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
In office
14 April 1965 – 22 November 1966
MonarchJuliana
DeputyAnne Vondeling
Barend Biesheuvel
Preceded byVictor Marijnen
Succeeded byJelle Zijlstra
Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences
In office
4 February 1962 – 23 April 1963
Prime MinisterJan de Quay
Preceded byMarga Klompé (ad interim)
Succeeded byMarga Klompé (ad interim)
In office
2 September 1952 – 7 November 1961
Prime Minister
See list
Preceded byTheo Rutten
Succeeded byMarga Klompé (ad interim)
State Secretary for Education, Arts and Sciences
In office
15 March 1950 – 2 September 1952
Prime MinisterWillem Drees
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byAnna de Waal
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
2 July 1963 – 14 April 1965
In office
20 March 1959 – 19 May 1959
In office
3 July 1956 – 3 October 1956
In office
15 July 1952 – 2 September 1952
In office
19 August 1948 – 15 March 1950
Personal details
Born
Jozef Maria Laurens Theo Cals

(1914-07-18)18 July 1914
Roermond, Netherlands
Died30 December 1971(1971-12-30) (aged 57)
The Hague, Netherlands
Cause of deathBrain tumor
Political partyCatholic People's Party
(from 1945)
Other political
affiliations		Roman Catholic State Party (until 1945)
Spouse
Truus van der Heijden
​
​
(m. 1941)​
Children3 sons and 2 daughters
Alma materRadboud University Nijmegen (LL.B., LL.M.)
OccupationPolitician · Diplomat · civil servant · Jurist · Lawyer · Prosecutor · Judge · Researcher · Corporate director · Nonprofit director · Academic administrator · Lobbyist · Teacher
Military service
Allegiance Netherlands
Branch/serviceRoyal Netherlands Army
Years of service1945 (Active duty)
1945–1946 (Reserve)
Rank Captain
UnitJustice Corps
Battles/warsWorld War II

Jozef Maria Laurens Theo "Jo" Cals (18 July 1914 – 30 December 1971) was a Dutch politician of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 14 April 1965 until 22 November 1966.[1][2][3]

Cals studied law at the Radboud University Nijmegen obtaining a Master of Laws degree and worked as a lawyer and prosecutor in Nijmegen from November 1940 until August 1948 and as researcher at his alma mater from February 1941 until May 1949. Cals also worked as a legal and economics teacher in Roermond from October 1943 until June 1945. Cals became a member of the House of Representatives shortly after 1948 general election taking office on 19 August 1948 serving as a frontbencher and spokesperson for education and social work. Following a cabinet reshuffle he was appointed as State Secretary for Education, Arts and Sciences in the Drees–Van Schaik cabinet, taking office on 15 March 1950. The Drees–Van Schaik cabinet fell on 24 January 1951 and was replaced by the first Drees cabinet, with Cals continuing his office. After the 1952 general election, Cals was appointed as Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences in the second Drees cabinet, taking office on 2 September 1952. After the 1956 general election, Cals retained his position in the third Drees cabinet. The third Drees cabinet fell on 11 December 1958 and was replaced by the caretaker second Beel cabinet, with Cals continuing his function. After the 1959 general election, Cals once again retained his office in the De Quay cabinet. After the 1963 general election, Cals was not offered a cabinet post in the new cabinet and returned to the House of Representatives on 2 July 1963, serving as a frontbencher and spokesperson for the interior and Kingdom relations. Cals also became active in the public sector as a non-profit director and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government.

After the fall of the Marijnen cabinet, Cals was asked to lead a new cabinet. Following a successful cabinet formation, Cals formed the Cals cabinet and became Prime Minister of the Netherlands, taking office on 14 April 1965. The cabinet fell just one year into its term after a major political crisis and following a difficult cabinet formation was not included in a new cabinet. Cals left office upon the installation of the caretaker Zijlstra cabinet on 22 November 1966 and announced his retirement.

Cals semi-retired from active politics at just 52 and became active in the private and public sectors as a corporate and non-profit director, and served as a diplomat and lobbyist for several economic delegations and presided over several state commissions and councils for the government. Cals was known for his abilities as a efficient manager and his work ethics. During his premiership, his cabinet were responsible for major social reforms to social security, closing the mines in Limburg and stimulating urban development in the Randstad. Cals was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 5 December 1966 and continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until he was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor and died in December 1971 at the age of just 57. He holds the distinction of as the fourth longest-serving cabinet member since 1850 with 14 years and 353 days and his premiership is consistently considered both by scholars and the public to have been average.[4][5][6][7][8]

Biography

Early life

President of the European Parliament Alain Poher and Prime Minister Jo Cals during a meeting at the Catshuis on 24 May 1966.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Luns, President of Tunisia Habib Bourguiba and Prime Minister Jo Cals during a meeting at the Catshuis on 7 July 1966.

Jozef Maria Laurens Theo Cals was born in Roermond on 18 July 1914. After completing his secondary education in his home town, he studied for the priesthood in Rolduc. In 1935, however, he interrupted his theological training to study law at the Radboud University Nijmegen, after graduating in 1940 he practised law in that same city up until 1950, in the meantime also teaching economics at his old secondary school in Roermond.

Politics

In 1945 Cals became leader of the Catholic People's Party in the municipal council of Nijmegen until 1946. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1948. From 15 March 1950 to 2 September 1952 he was State Secretary for Education, Arts and Sciences, serving from 15 March 1950 until 2 September 1952 in the Drees-Van Schaik and Drees I cabinets. He became Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences serving from 2 September 1952 until 24 July 1963 in the cabinets Drees II and III, Beel II and De Quay, he helped pass the Mammoetwet, a law that transformed secondary education. In the debate, he spoke for 6 hours and 50 minutes, setting a record. In 1963, however, he returned to the House of Representatives. Alongside his duties there, he was a member of the board of governors of the University of Groningen, chairman of the Arts Council and a member of the Press Council.

In the aftermath of the collapse of the Marijnen cabinet, Cals became Prime Minister of the Netherlands on 14 April 1965. After two decades of economic growth, his cabinet experienced a slight recession. Plans to build sports halls, roads and houses had to be tempered. In Limburg the coal mines were closed and plans were drawn to educate and re-employ the former miners. There was also social unrest ('the sixties'), which became apparent in the Provo movement, construction worker protests, riots over the marriage of princess Beatrix in Amsterdam and the rise of new parties like Farmers' Party (BP), Pacifist Socialist Party (PSP), Reformed Political League (GPV) and the Democrats 66 (D'66). Especially the last party wanted to change the political order .

On 14 October 1966, Norbert Schmelzer, the leader of the Catholic People's Party and chair of its parliamentary group in the House of Representatives, tabled a motion of no confidence against the government and Prime Minister Cals. A shocking and surprised action in Dutch politics, it marked the first time that a motion of no confidence was tabled against a government by a member of a government party. The cabinet resigned that evening.

Scouting

Cals was in 1930, just after the foundation as a separate Scouting organisation, one of the first members of De Katholieke Verkenners (The Catholic Scouts). He went to the 4th World Scout Jamboree in Gödöllo, Hungary in 1933. After the liberation of the southern part of the Netherlands in 1944 he was one of the main forces in rebuilding Catholic Scouting as a separate Scouting movement in the Netherlands. During his second term as Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences, the State Secretary for Education, Arts and Sciences was his former Scout Master René Höppener.

Trivia

Between 1968 and 1970, Cals was in charge of the Dutch entry to the Expo '70 in Japan. From 1967 he was chairman of the National Advisory Committee on the amendment of the Constitution.

Cals was a hard worker but this was at the expense of his health, he died from a brain tumor in the MCH Westeinde hospital in The Hague on 30 December 1971 at the age of 57.

Decorations

Honours
Ribbon barHonourCountryDateComment
Knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Holy See
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Netherlands 27 July 1963
Commander of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Netherlands 5 December 1966
Honorific Titles
Ribbon barHonourCountryDateComment
Minister of State Netherlands 5 December 1966 Style of Excellency

References

  1. ↑ "Cals, Jozef Maria Laurens Theo (1914–1971)" (in Dutch). Huygens ING. 12 November 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  2. ↑ "Jo Cals" (in Dutch). Politicalheroes.org. 8 March 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  3. ↑ "Kabinetscrisis 1966: de Nacht van Schmelzer" (in Dutch). Parlement & Politiek. 10 December 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  4. ↑ Abrahams, Frits (12 October 1991). "Noud Cals over zijn vader mr. Jo Cals en het einde van diens kabinet; "Hij was geen bezeten man, eerder: bevlogen'". NRC (in Dutch). NRC Handelsblad. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  5. ↑ "Cals, J.M.L.T." (in Dutch). Katholiek Documentatie Centrum. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  6. ↑ (in Dutch) Willem Drees gekozen tot ‘Dé premier na WO II’, Geschiedenis24.nl, 15 January 2006
  7. ↑ (in Dutch) NRC-enquête: Drees en Lubbers beste premiers sinds 1900, NRC Handelsblad, 28 September 2013
  8. ↑ (in Dutch) I&O Research, I&O Research, 13 March 2020
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