Bram Stemerdink

Bram Stemerdink (1972)

Abraham "Bram" Stemerdink (born March 6, 1936 in Winterswijk , Province of Gelderland ) is a former captain of the Dutch Army (Koninklijke Landmacht) and politician of the Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA), who, with interruptions, was a member of the Second Chamber of the States General was. Among other things, he acted as State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense and from 1976 to 1977 as Minister of Defense in the cabinet of Prime Minister Joop den Uyl . In the second cabinet of Prime Minister Dries van Agt , he was again State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense between 1981 and 1982.

Life

Military career and studies

After completing primary school, Stemerdink attended the public lyceum in his hometown Winterswijk until 1955 and, after completing his military service, began training as an officer at the KMA ( Koninklijke Militaire Academie ) in Breda . After completing this training, he became a lieutenant in 1958 and finally a captain in the infantry .

After losing an eye during a military exercise, he was given leave of absence and, after graduating from high school in September 1964, began studying Dutch law at the University of Leiden , which he graduated on May 1, 1969. He then retired from active military service due to physical disability and was taken on as a captain in the military legal service. As such, he was secretary of the Military Tribunal (Krijgsraad) and of the Appeals Commission in 's-Hertogenbosch between 1969 and 1970 .

Political career

After his final retirement from the military, Stemerdink began his political career and first became a member of the parliament ( Provinciale Staten ) of the province of Noord-Brabant on June 3, 1970 , to which he belonged until August 1971. At the same time he was elected as a candidate for the Partij van de Arbeid on August 25, 1970 as a member of the Second Chamber of the States General and was a member of this until May 11, 1973. He was also a member of the municipal council of 's-Hertogenbosch from September 1, 1970 to May 11, 1973, where he was temporarily chairman of the PvdA parliamentary group .

On May 11, 1973, Prime Minister Joop den Uyl appointed him State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense . As such, he was responsible for material matters, revision procedures in military criminal and disciplinary law as well as spatial planning until December 31, 1976 and thus one of the closest collaborators of Defense Minister Henk Vredeling .

Subsequently, on December 31, 1976, as successor to Henk Vredeling, he finally became Minister of Defense (Minister van Defensie) himself in the Uyl cabinet, to which he belonged until December 19, 1977. After he had been a member of the Second Chamber of the States General from June 14 to September 14, 1977, after leaving the government on January 16, 1978 he was again a member of this Chamber of Parliament and initially remained there until September 11, 1981. For On April 11, 1978, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Dutch Lion for his long service.

On September 11, 1981, Stemerdink was reappointed State Secretary in the Defense Minister by Prime Minister Dries van Agt and, as the person responsible for material matters, was once again one of the closest employees of Defense Minister Hans van Mierlo . He held the office of State Secretary until May 29, 1982. On September 9, 1982, he became commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau .

He was later re-elected to the Second Chamber of the States General on September 16, 1982 and represented the PvdA there until May 17, 1994. During this time, the recognized defense expert was a member of the parliamentary group's executive committee between June 1986 and November 9, 1989 PvdA.

Web links

• CV in Parlement & Politiek