Jo Cals | |
|---|---|
 Cals in 1966 | |
| Prime Minister of the Netherlands | |
| In office 14 April 1965 – 22 November 1966 | |
| Monarch | Juliana |
| Deputy | Anne Vondeling Barend Biesheuvel |
| Preceded by | Victor Marijnen |
| Succeeded by | Jelle Zijlstra |
| Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences | |
| In office 4 February 1962 – 23 April 1963 | |
| Prime Minister | Jan de Quay |
| Preceded by | Marga Klompé (ad interim) |
| Succeeded by | Marga Klompé (ad interim) |
| In office 2 September 1952 – 7 November 1961 | |
| Prime Minister | See list
|
| Preceded by | Theo Rutten |
| Succeeded by | Marga Klompé (ad interim) |
| State Secretary for Education, Arts and Sciences | |
| In office 15 March 1950 – 2 September 1952 | |
| Prime Minister | Willem Drees |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Anna de Waal |
| Member of theHouse 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 |
| Died | 30 December 1971(1971-12-30) (aged 57) The Hague, Netherlands |
| Political party | Catholic People's Party (from 1945) |
| Other political affiliations | Roman Catholic State Party (until 1945) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 sons and 2 daughters |
| Alma mater | Radboud University Nijmegen (LL.B.,LL.M.) |
| Occupation | Politician · Diplomat · civil servant ·Jurist · Lawyer ·Prosecutor · Judge · Researcher ·Corporate director ·Nonprofit director ·Academic administrator ·Lobbyist · Teacher |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Netherlands |
| Branch/service | Royal Netherlands Army |
| Years of service | 1945 (Active duty) 1945–1946 (Reserve) |
| Rank |  Captain |
| Unit | Justice Corps |
| Battles/wars | |
Jozef Maria Laurens Theo "Jo" Cals (18 July 1914 – 30 December 1971) was a Dutch politician of theCatholic People's Party (KVP) and jurist who served asPrime Minister of the Netherlands from 14 April 1965 until 22 November 1966.[1][2][3]
Cals studied law at theRadboud University Nijmegen obtaining aMaster of Laws degree and worked as a lawyer and prosecutor inNijmegen 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 inRoermond from October 1943 until June 1945. Cals became a member of theHouse of Representatives shortly after1948 general election taking office on 19 August 1948 serving as afrontbencher and spokesperson for education and social work. Following acabinet reshuffle he was appointed asState Secretary for Education, Arts and Sciences in theDrees–Van Schaik cabinet, taking office on 15 March 1950. The Drees–Van Schaik cabinet fell on 24 January 1951 and was replaced by thefirst Drees cabinet, with Cals continuing his office. After the1952 general election, Cals was appointed asMinister of Education, Arts and Sciences in thesecond Drees cabinet, taking office on 2 September 1952. After the1956 general election, Cals retained his position in thethird Drees cabinet. The third Drees cabinet fell on 11 December 1958 and was replaced by thecaretakersecond Beel cabinet, with Cals continuing his function. After the1959 general election, Cals once again retained his office in theDe Quay cabinet. After the1963 general election, Cals was not offered a cabinet post in the newcabinet 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 thepublic sector as a non-profit director and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government.
After the fall of theMarijnen cabinet, Cals was asked to lead a new cabinet. Following a successfulcabinet formation, Cals formed theCals cabinet and becamePrime 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 thecaretakerZijlstra cabinet on 22 November 1966 and announced his retirement.
Cals semi-retired from active politics at just 52 and became active in theprivate andpublic 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 theRandstad. Cals was granted the honorary title ofMinister of State on 5 December 1966 and continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until he was diagnosed with aterminalbrain 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 consistentlyconsidered both by scholars and the public to have been average.[4][5][6][7][8]
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Jozef Maria Laurens Theo Cals was born inRoermond 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 theRadboud 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 inRoermond.
In 1945 Cals became leader of theCatholic People's Party in the municipal council ofNijmegen until 1946. He was elected to theHouse of Representatives in 1948. From 15 March 1950 to 2 September 1952 he wasState Secretary forEducation, Arts and Sciences, serving from 15 March 1950 until 2 September 1952 in theDrees-Van Schaik andDrees I cabinets. He becameMinister of Education, Arts and Sciences serving from 2 September 1952 until 24 July 1963 in the cabinetsDrees II andIII,Beel II andDe Quay, he helped pass theMammoetwet, 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 theUniversity of Groningen, chairman of the Arts Council and a member of the Press Council.
In the aftermath of the collapse of theMarijnen cabinet, Cals becamePrime Minister of the Netherlands on 14 April 1965. After two decades of economic growth, his cabinet experienced a slightrecession. Plans to build sports halls, roads and houses had to be tempered. InLimburg 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 theProvo movement, construction worker protests, riots over the marriage of princessBeatrix in Amsterdam and the rise of new parties likeFarmers' Party (BP),Pacifist Socialist Party (PSP),Reformed Political League (GPV) and theDemocrats 66 (D'66). Especially the last party wanted to change the political order.
On 14 October 1966,Norbert Schmelzer, the leader of theCatholic People's Party and chair of its parliamentary group in the House of Representatives, tabled a motion that was interpreted as amotion of no confidence against the government and Prime Minister Cals. A shocking and surprised action inDutch politics, later known as theNight of Schmelzer, it marked the first time that a motion of no confidence was tabled against a government by a member of a government party.[citation needed] The cabinet resigned the next day.
Cals was in 1930, just after the foundation as a separate Scouting organisation, one of the first members ofDe Katholieke Verkenners (The Catholic Scouts). He went to the4th 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 asMinister of Education, Arts and Sciences, theState Secretary forEducation, Arts and Sciences was his formerScout Master René Höppener.
Between 1968 and 1970, Cals was in charge of the Dutch entry to theExpo '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 abrain tumor in theMCH Westeinde hospital inThe Hague on 30 December 1971 at the age of 57.
| Honours | ||||
| Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Knight of theOrder of the Holy Sepulchre | Holy See | ||
 | Knight Grand Cross of theOrder of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 27 July 1963 | |
 | Commander of theOrder of the Netherlands Lion | Netherlands | 5 December 1966 | |
| Honorific Titles | ||||
| Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
 | Minister of State | Netherlands | 5 December 1966 | Style ofExcellency |
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New office | State Secretary for Education, Arts and Sciences 1950–1952 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences 1952–1961 1962–1963 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | ||
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of the Netherlands Minister of General Affairs 1965–1966 | Succeeded by |
| Civic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Supervisory board of the Mijnraad [nl] Ad interim 1950 | Succeeded by |
| Unknown | Chairman of the Supervisory board of the Raad voor de Kunst [nl] 1963–1965 | Unknown |
| Business positions | ||
| Unknown | Chairman of the Supervisory board ofElsevier 1968–1971 | Unknown |
| Non-profit organization positions | ||
| Unknown | Chairman of The Catholic Scouts 1949–1950 | Unknown |
| Unknown | Vice Chairman of Scouting Nederland 1949–1950 | Unknown |
| Unknown | Chairman of the Supervisory board of Oxfam Novib 1970–1971 | Unknown |
| Academic offices | ||
| Unknown | Chairman of the Education board of the University of Groningen 1963–1965 | Unknown |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
