Recent from talks
Willem Drees
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Willem Drees
Willem Drees Sr. (ⓘ; 5 July 1886 – 14 May 1988) was a Dutch politician of the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP) and later co-founder of the Labour Party (PvdA) and historian who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 7 August 1948 to 22 December 1958.
Drees was elected to the House of Representatives for the SDAP in the 1933 general election. He succeeded Willem Albarda as party leader in 1940 and, following the end of World War II, was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs in the national unity Schermerhorn–Drees cabinet. In February 1946, Drees was one of the co-founders of the Labour Party and became its first leader. After the 1948 general election, Drees became Prime Minister of the Drees–Van Schaik cabinet.
The Drees-Van Schaik cabinet fell on 24 January 1951 and after a short cabinet formation was replaced by the first Drees cabinet, with Drees continuing as Prime Minister. For the 1952 general election, Drees served again as lead candidate and following a successful cabinet formation formed the second Drees cabinet and continued as Prime Minister for a second term. For the 1956 general election Drees once again served as lead candidate and following another cabinet formation formed the third Drees cabinet and continued as Prime Minister for a third term. The third Drees cabinet fell on 11 December 1958 and shortly thereafter Drees announced his retirement and would step down as leader and would not serve another term as prime minister. Drees left office upon the installation of the caretaker second Beel cabinet on 22 December 1958.
Drees was known for his abilities as a skilful team leader and effective manager. From 1948 to 1958, his four cabinets were mostly praised and supported by the largest parties in the Netherlands. During his premiership, his cabinets were responsible for several major social reforms to social security, welfare, child benefits and education, overseeing the decolonization of the Dutch East Indies following the Indonesian National Revolution, the fallout of the annexation of former German territory and dealing with several major crises such as the North Sea flood of 1953 and Hofmans scandal.
Drees retired from active politics at 72 but continued to be active as a valued historian and prolific author and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government. Drees was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 22 December 1958 and continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until his death in May 1988. He holds the record as the fourth longest-serving and longest-lived Prime Minister at 101 and his premiership is consistently regarded both by scholars and the public to have been one of the best in Dutch history.
Willem Drees was born in Amsterdam on 5 July 1886 in an orthodox reformed middle-class family. His father Johannes Michiel Drees, a banker and supporter of Abraham Kuyper, died when Drees was five years old, which left his mother Anna Sophia van Dobbenburgh, his two siblings and himself in a precarious financial situation. Drees could continue studying thanks to the support of his uncle Frits. He attended the three-year Hogere Burgerschool (HBS), supplemented by the two final grades of the Amsterdam Public Trade School. Drees grew up attending Sunday school and catechism, but rejected the Christian creed at the age of eighteen.
He developed an interest in political and social affairs at this time, such as the Boer Wars and the Dreyfus affair. At the Trade School, he met the sons of diamond workers who were united in the General Diamond Workers' Union of the Netherlands, the most politically and socially developed social democratic labour union at the time. At the age of sixteen, Drees became a member of the Dutch Association for the Abolition of Alcoholic Beverages, and would remain a teetoler for the rest of his life. After attending a speech of Pieter Jelles Troelstra following his election victory in Amsterdam in December 1902, Drees became a democratic socialist. He joined the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP) on his eighteenth birthday.
Near the conclusion of Drees' time at the Trade School, the school's principal offered Drees a position at a brewery, but he refused due to his opposition to alcoholic beverages. Instead, after obtaining his Bachelor of Accountancy degree in 1903, he started working as a bank teller for the Twentsche Bank in Amsterdam in July 1903. This work did not satisfy him, however, and he rejected an offer by his uncle Frits for a career in brokerage and insurance. In July 1906, Drees quit his job at the Twentsche Bank and pursued his passion, becoming a stenographer at the municipal council of Amsterdam, and then at the States General of the Netherlands in The Hague from January 1907 until August 1919.
Hub AI
Willem Drees AI simulator
(@Willem Drees_simulator)
Willem Drees
Willem Drees Sr. (ⓘ; 5 July 1886 – 14 May 1988) was a Dutch politician of the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP) and later co-founder of the Labour Party (PvdA) and historian who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 7 August 1948 to 22 December 1958.
Drees was elected to the House of Representatives for the SDAP in the 1933 general election. He succeeded Willem Albarda as party leader in 1940 and, following the end of World War II, was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs in the national unity Schermerhorn–Drees cabinet. In February 1946, Drees was one of the co-founders of the Labour Party and became its first leader. After the 1948 general election, Drees became Prime Minister of the Drees–Van Schaik cabinet.
The Drees-Van Schaik cabinet fell on 24 January 1951 and after a short cabinet formation was replaced by the first Drees cabinet, with Drees continuing as Prime Minister. For the 1952 general election, Drees served again as lead candidate and following a successful cabinet formation formed the second Drees cabinet and continued as Prime Minister for a second term. For the 1956 general election Drees once again served as lead candidate and following another cabinet formation formed the third Drees cabinet and continued as Prime Minister for a third term. The third Drees cabinet fell on 11 December 1958 and shortly thereafter Drees announced his retirement and would step down as leader and would not serve another term as prime minister. Drees left office upon the installation of the caretaker second Beel cabinet on 22 December 1958.
Drees was known for his abilities as a skilful team leader and effective manager. From 1948 to 1958, his four cabinets were mostly praised and supported by the largest parties in the Netherlands. During his premiership, his cabinets were responsible for several major social reforms to social security, welfare, child benefits and education, overseeing the decolonization of the Dutch East Indies following the Indonesian National Revolution, the fallout of the annexation of former German territory and dealing with several major crises such as the North Sea flood of 1953 and Hofmans scandal.
Drees retired from active politics at 72 but continued to be active as a valued historian and prolific author and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government. Drees was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 22 December 1958 and continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until his death in May 1988. He holds the record as the fourth longest-serving and longest-lived Prime Minister at 101 and his premiership is consistently regarded both by scholars and the public to have been one of the best in Dutch history.
Willem Drees was born in Amsterdam on 5 July 1886 in an orthodox reformed middle-class family. His father Johannes Michiel Drees, a banker and supporter of Abraham Kuyper, died when Drees was five years old, which left his mother Anna Sophia van Dobbenburgh, his two siblings and himself in a precarious financial situation. Drees could continue studying thanks to the support of his uncle Frits. He attended the three-year Hogere Burgerschool (HBS), supplemented by the two final grades of the Amsterdam Public Trade School. Drees grew up attending Sunday school and catechism, but rejected the Christian creed at the age of eighteen.
He developed an interest in political and social affairs at this time, such as the Boer Wars and the Dreyfus affair. At the Trade School, he met the sons of diamond workers who were united in the General Diamond Workers' Union of the Netherlands, the most politically and socially developed social democratic labour union at the time. At the age of sixteen, Drees became a member of the Dutch Association for the Abolition of Alcoholic Beverages, and would remain a teetoler for the rest of his life. After attending a speech of Pieter Jelles Troelstra following his election victory in Amsterdam in December 1902, Drees became a democratic socialist. He joined the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP) on his eighteenth birthday.
Near the conclusion of Drees' time at the Trade School, the school's principal offered Drees a position at a brewery, but he refused due to his opposition to alcoholic beverages. Instead, after obtaining his Bachelor of Accountancy degree in 1903, he started working as a bank teller for the Twentsche Bank in Amsterdam in July 1903. This work did not satisfy him, however, and he rejected an offer by his uncle Frits for a career in brokerage and insurance. In July 1906, Drees quit his job at the Twentsche Bank and pursued his passion, becoming a stenographer at the municipal council of Amsterdam, and then at the States General of the Netherlands in The Hague from January 1907 until August 1919.
Recent media