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Hans van Mierlo | |
|---|---|
 Van Mierlo in 1981 | |
| Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands | |
| In office 22 August 1994 – 3 August 1998 Serving with Hans Dijkstal | |
| Prime Minister | Wim Kok |
| Preceded by | Wim Kok |
| Succeeded by | Annemarie Jorritsma Els Borst |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 22 August 1994 – 3 August 1998 | |
| Prime Minister | Wim Kok |
| Preceded by | Pieter Kooijmans |
| Succeeded by | Jozias van Aartsen |
| Senator of the Netherlands | |
| In office 13 September 1983 – 4 June 1986 | |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 | |
| Prime Minister | Dries van Agt |
| Preceded by | Pieter de Geus |
| Succeeded by | Job de Ruiter |
| Leader of theDemocrats 66 in the House of Representatives | |
| In office 3 June 1986 – 22 August 1994 | |
| Preceded by | Maarten Engwirda |
| Succeeded by | Gerrit-Jan Wolffensperger |
| In office 23 February 1967 – 1 September 1973 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Jan Terlouw |
| Member of theHouse of Representatives | |
| In office 19 May 1998 – 18 August 1998 | |
| In office 3 June 1986 – 22 August 1994 | |
| In office 23 February 1967 – 8 June 1977 | |
| Leader of the Democrats 66 | |
| In office 25 January 1986 – 15 February 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Maarten Engwirda |
| Succeeded by | Els Borst |
| In office 14 October 1966 – 1 September 1973 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Jan Terlouw |
| Chairman of the Democrats 66 | |
| In office 14 October 1966 – 16 February 1967 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Gerben Ringnalda |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva van Mierlo (1931-08-18)18 August 1931 Breda, Netherlands |
| Died | 11 March 2010(2010-03-11) (aged 78) Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Political party | Democrats 66 (from 1966) |
| Spouses | |
| Domestic partner(s) | Gretta Nieuwenhuizen (1985–1986) Aafke van der Made (1987–1997) Connie Palmen (1999–2009) |
| Children | 2 daughters and 1 son |
| Alma mater | Radboud University Nijmegen (LL.B.,LL.M.) |
| Occupation | Politician ·Journalist ·Editor ·Author ·Political pundit ·Nonprofit director ·Television producer |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Netherlands |
| Branch/service | Royal Netherlands Army |
| Years of service | 1952–1954 (Conscription) 1954–1961 (Reserve) |
| Rank |  Sergeant |
| Unit | Regiment van Heutsz |
Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva "Hans"van Mierlo (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈɦɑnsfɑˈmiːrloː];[a] 18 August 1931 – 11 March 2010) was a Dutch politician and journalist who co-foundedDemocrats 66 (D66).
Van Mierlo studiedLaw at theRadboud University Nijmegen obtaining aMaster of Laws degree and worked as a journalist and editor for theAlgemeen Handelsblad from August 1960 until January 1967. In October 1966 Van Mierlo was one of the co-founders of the Democrats 66 (initially abbreviated D'66) party, and became its first party leader andlead candidate for the1967 general election. Van Mierlo was elected to theHouse of Representatives and becameparliamentary leader on 23 February 1967. For the1971 and1972 general elections Van Mierlo served again as lead candidate. On 1 September 1973 Van Mierlo unexpectedly announced he was stepping down as party leader, stating that he would not stand for the1977 general election but would continue to serve in the House of Representatives as afrontbencher until the end of the parliamentary term.
Van Mierlo semi-retired from active politics and became active in the public sector as a non-profit director, and worked as a television producer for theVARA from January 1980 until September 1981. After the1981 general election, Van Mierlo was appointed asMinister of Defence in theVan Agt II cabinet taking office on 11 September 1981. The cabinet fell just seven months into its term on 12 May 1982 and was replaced by thecaretakerVan Agt III cabinet with Van Mierlo continuing his position and shortly thereafter announced that he would not stand for the1982 general election. Van Mierlo continued to be active in politics and was elected to theSenate in the1983 Senate election, serving as a frontbencher andspokesperson for foreign affairs. For the1986 general election Van Mierlo again served as lead candidate and returned to the House of Representatives as parliamentary leader on 3 June 1986. For the1989 and1994 general elections Van Mierlo once again served as lead candidate, and following a successful cabinet formation withLabour Party leaderWim Kok andPeople's Party for Freedom and Democracy leaderFrits Bolkestein formed theKok I cabinet, with Van Mierlo appointed asDeputy Prime Minister andMinister of Foreign Affairs, taking office on 22 August 1994. In March 1997 Van Mierlo announced that he was stepping down as leader a second time but that he would stand for the1998 general election. After a cabinet formation, Van Mierlo was asked to continue to serve in the new cabinet in a different function, but declined and returned to the House of Representatives on 19 May 1998. Shortly after the installation of theKok II cabinet, Van Mierlo announced his retirement and resigned from the House of Representatives on 18 August 1998.
Van Mierlo retired from active politics at 67 and again became active in the public sector as a non-profit director and served as a diplomat for several economic and diplomatic delegations on behalf of the government, and continued to be active as an advocate and lobbyist for moreEuropean integration,republican issues and government reforms. Van Mierlo was known for his abilities as a skilful debater and effective negotiator. Van Mierlo was granted the honorary title ofMinister of State on 24 October 1998 and continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until his death in March 2010 from the complications of aHepatitis C infection at the age of 78.
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Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva van Mierlo was born on 18 August 1931 inBreda in the province ofNorth Brabant in aRoman Catholic family as the second child of eight children of Anthonius Alphonsus Marie van Mierlo (born 9 May 1902) and Adriana Maria Francisca van der Schrieck (born 3 April 1905). After receiving his Gymnasium-A diploma at the Canisius College inNijmegen he studied at theRadboud University Nijmegen, where he received aBachelor of Laws andMaster of Laws degree in 1960. After graduating, he became ajournalist for theNRC Handelsblad and worked as amanaging editor from 1960 until 1967, first as an editor Home Affairs, later as the opinion page's chief editor.
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In 1966 Van Mierlo together withHans Gruijters founded theDemocrats 66 party after continuing frustrations with "The Establishment" parties. Van Mierlo was selected asLeader and chairman of the Democrats 66 on 14 October 1966. For the1967 general election Van Mierlo was thelead candidate and won seven seats in theHouse of Representatives, the first time theDemocrats 66 won representation in theStates General of the Netherlands.
Van Mierlo was elected to theHouse of Representatives and became theparliamentary leader of theDemocrats 66 on 23 February 1967. For the1971 general elections Van Mierlo again as lead candidate won eleven seats. For the1972 general election Van Mierlo for the third time as lead candidate won only six seats but after a long formation period a coalition agreement with theLabour Party (PvdA),Catholic People's Party (KVP),Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) and thePolitical Party of Radicals (PPR) was made which formed theDen Uyl cabinet.
Hans Gruijters becameMinister of Housing and Spatial Planning. Because of the disappointing election results Van Mierlo resigned as parliamentary leader and party leader on 1 September 1973. Van Mierlo remained a member of the House until after the1977 general election on 8 June 1977.
After the1981 general election Van Mierlo was asked byJan Terlouw to becomeMinister of Defence in theSecond Van Agt cabinet underPrime MinisterDries van Agt of theChristian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and served from 11 September 1981 until 4 November 1982. After the 1983 Senate election of 1983 Van Mierlo was elected to theSenate, serving from 13 September 1983 until 4 June 1986.
In 1986 Van Mierlo staged a political comeback and was re-elected asLeader of the Democrats 66 on 25 January 1986. For the1986 general election, Van Mierlo, back as lead candidate, won nine seats. For the1989 general election Van Mierlo, again as lead candidate, won twelve seats. For the1994 general election Van Mierlo, for the sixth time as lead candidate, won twenty four seats and theDemocrats 66 became a major party in theHouse of Representatives.
After an arduous cabinet formation with theLabour Party and thePeople's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), a deal was struck that resulted in theFirst Kok cabinet with Van Mierlo becomingDeputy Prime Minister andMinister of Foreign Affairs serving from 22 August 1994 until 3 August 1998.
The First Kok cabinet was considered groundbreaking in Dutch politics, because it was the firstCabinet of the Netherlands since 1908 without aChristian democratic party. On 7 March 1997, Van Mierlo announced his retirement asLeader of the Democrats 66. Van Mierlo remainedDeputy Prime Minister andMinister of Foreign Affairs until theSecond Kok cabinet was installed on 3 August 1998. For the1998 general election, Van Mierlo was re-elected to theHouse of Representatives on 19 May 1998 but resigned on 18 August 1998.
Van Mierlo semi-retired from active politics on his sixty-seventh birthday. He served as the first Dutch representative to theConvention on the Future of Europe from 1 March 2002 until 26 September 2002. Following the end of his active political career, Van Mierlo occupied numerous seats on supervisory boards on cultural organizations.
He was appointedMinister of State on 24 October 1998, a mainly honorary title for politicians with an extensive history of government service. Hans van Mierlo was married thrice. He has a son from his first marriage and two daughters from the second. Since 1999 Van Mierlo had a relationship with the Dutch writerConnie Palmen; they got married on 11 November 2009, inAmsterdam.[1]
Hans van Mierlo died on 11 March 2010 at the age of 78;[2][3] he had been living with atransplanted liver since 2000[4] which was required after liver failure as a consequence of ahepatitis C contamination contracted from a blood transfusion in 1982.[5]
| Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Commander of theOrder of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 10 December 1982 | |
 | Commander of theOrder of the Netherlands Lion | Netherlands | 30 December 1982 | |
 | Commander of theLegion of Honour | France | 12 February 1999 | |
 | Grand Cross of theOrder of Merit | Germany | 30 May 2003 |
| Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Minister of State | Netherlands | 24 October 1998 | Style ofExcellency |
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New political party | Chairman of the Democrats 66 1966–1967 | Succeeded by Gerben Ringnalda |
| Leader of the Democrats 66 1966–1973 | Succeeded by | |
| Lead candidate of theDemocrats 66 1967,1971,1972 | Succeeded by | |
| Parliamentary leader of the Democrats 66 in the House of Representatives 1967–1973 | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by | Leader of the Democrats 66 1986–1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lead candidate of theDemocrats 66 1986,1989,1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Parliamentary leader of the Democrats 66 in the House of Representatives 1986–1989 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister of Defence 1981–1982 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Deputy Prime Minister 1994–1998 Served alongside:Hans Dijkstal | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Foreign Affairs 1994–1998 | Succeeded by |
