Fons van der Stee

Fons van der Stee (1979)

Alphonsus "Fons" Petrus Johannes Mathildus Maria van der Stee (born July 30, 1928 in Langeweg , Province of North Brabant ; † September 6, 1999 in The Hague ) was a Dutch politician of the Katholieke Volkspartij (KVP) and later of the Christian Democratisch Appèl (CDA ), who was a member of both the Second Chamber and the First Chamber . Between 1973 and 1980 he was Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries in the cabinet of Prime Minister Joop den Uyl and in the first cabinet of Dries van Agt . In the first, second and third cabinets of Prime Minister Dries van Agt, he was Minister of Finance from 1980 to 1982 and Minister for Affairs of the Netherlands Antilles from 1977 to 1981 .

Life

Tax advisor, member of parliament and state secretary

After attending Sint Canisius College, Van der Stee began studying law in the Netherlands at the Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen , which he graduated on February 29, 1956. He then began working as a tax consultant and was a partner in the tax consultancy Begeyn, Van Arkel en Co. in Arnhem until 1971 . In 1964 he became a member of the party executive committee of the KVP. After he was initially acting treasurer between 1965 and 1966, he acted as treasurer of the KVP between July 1, 1966 and March 30, 1968.

Van der Stee was then chairman of the KVP from March 30, 1968 to July 13, 1971 and, in this function, also a member of the commission for a joint emergency program of the KVP, Anti-Revolutionaire Partij (ARP) and Christelijk- Historical University (CHU).

On May 11, 1971, he was elected as a candidate of the KVP for a member of the First Chamber of the States General and was a member of this until July 14, 1971. Then he was appointed State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance on July 14, 1971 by Prime Minister Barend Biesheuvel , where he was responsible for the finances of the municipalities and provinces until March 12, 1973. As such, he was one of the closest collaborators of Roelof Nelissen , the finance minister in the Biesheuvel cabinet . In the meantime he became a member of the Second Chamber of the States General on December 12, 1972, of which he was a member until May 11, 1973.

Prime Minister Joop den Uyl reappointed him as State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance on May 11, 1973, this time being responsible for tax matters as the closest advisor to Finance Minister Wim Duisenberg .

Agriculture and Finance Minister

After his party friend Tiemen Brouwer had to resign from his post as Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries (Minister van Landbouw en Visserij) on November 1, 1973 for health reasons , van der Stee took over this ministerial post in the Uyl cabinet. He also held this ministerial office in the first cabinet of Prime Minister Dries van Agt until March 5, 1980. In the meantime, from June 8 to September 8, 1977, he was again a member of the First Chamber of the States General.

As part of a government reshuffle, van der Stee, who was also minister responsible for coordinating affairs in the Netherlands Antilles from December 19, 1977 to September 11, 1981, was succeeded by Prime Minister van Agt on March 5, 1980 as Gijs' successor van Aardenne appointed Minister of Finance (Minister van Financiën) . He also held the post of finance minister in the second and third van Agt cabinet until November 4, 1982.

After leaving the government on December 9, 1982, van der Stee was honored with the Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau for his longstanding political services .

Background literature

• JM Bik: Een goede invaller. F. van der Stee (1928-1999) , in: NRC Handelsblad of September 10, 1999
• AAM van Agt : In memoriam Fons van der Stee , in: Tweede Jaarboek Parlementaire Geschiedenis , 2000

Web links

• CV in Parlement & Politiek