Harry van Doorn

Harry van Doorn (1976)

Henry "Harry" Willem van Doorn (born October 6, 1915 in The Hague ; † January 12, 1992 in Amersfoort , Utrecht province ) was a Dutch lawyer , administrative officer and politician of the Katholieke Volkspartij (KVP), then the Politieke Partij Radikalese (PPR ) and most recently the Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA), who was a member of the Second Chamber of the States General for twelve years . Between 1956 and 1962 he was chairman of the KVP and from 1961 to 1973 chairman of the board of the public broadcasting company KRO (Katholieke Radio Omroep) . He then acted as Minister for Culture, Leisure and Community Work in the cabinet of Prime Minister Joop den Uyl between 1973 and 1977, and during this time he advocated the termination of pirate channels in the North Sea .

Life

Studies, ministerial official and public prosecutor

Van Doorn began after attending the Roman Catholic high school Aloysius College in The Hague in 1935 to study criminal law of the Netherlands at the Rijksuniversiteit Leiden , which he graduated on October 22, 1940. He began his professional career in 1942 as an administrative officer in the branch office of the Ministry of Public Works in Rotterdam , where he worked until May 1, 1951.

After the end of the Second World War , in 1945 he was also initially acting public prosecutor at the Rotterdam Chamber of the Special Court in The Hague, where he worked as a public prosecutor between December 1, 1947 and January 1951. In this role he applied for the death penalty several times for traitors during the Second World War and the occupation of the Netherlands by the German Wehrmacht .

In January 1951, Van Doorn moved to the Ministry of Justice and was there until January 1952 with questions relating to the reorganization of the judiciary. In addition, he served between 1 May 1951 and the 3 July 1956 as deputy prosecutor at the District Court of Rotterdam and from January 1952 to July 1956 as an officer in the police department of the Ministry of Justice, in which he questions the reorganization of the police busy .

Political career

In addition to his professional career, van Doorn was involved in the Katholieke Volkspartij (KVP) and was initially a board member of the KVP of Rotterdam between 1945 and 1946, between May 1951 and 1952 a member of the board of the KVP von Hillegersberg and from 1952 to April 2, 1954 a member of the constituency committee of the KVP of Rotterdam.

During this time he was also chairman of the Katholieke Volkspartij on January 23, 1954 and held this position for more than eight years until June 23, 1962. In addition, on July 23, 1956, he was first elected and was a member of the Second Chamber of the States General until February 28, 1968. Furthermore, he became chairman of the board of the public broadcasting company KRO (Katholieke Radio Omroep) on July 1, 1961 and held this position for almost twelve years until May 11, 1973.

As chairman of the KVP, van Doorn provided that for after his marriage March 17, 1942 Roman Catholic faith converted , bitter debates with the Partij van de Arbeid. For his many years of service, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Dutch Lion on April 29, 1966 .

Later he was still a member of the party executive committee of the KVP between June 23, 1962 and November 1966, but placed this mandate after the overthrow of the government of Prime Minister Jo Cals by the then KVP - called Nacht van Schmelzer (October 13-14, 1966). Group leader Norbert Schmelzer down. Out of dissatisfaction with the political orientation of his party, he finally resigned from the CIP on February 26, 1968 and, two days later, on February 28, 1968, resigned his parliamentary mandate.

On April 27, 1968 he joined the newly founded Politieke Partij Raduellen (PPR) and was appointed Minister for Culture, Leisure and Community Work (Minister van Cultuur, Recreatie en Maatschappelijk Werk) in its cabinet on May 11, 1973 by Prime Minister Joop den Uyl , to which he belonged until December 19, 1977. During this time he advocated the end of pirate broadcasts in the North Sea. After leaving the government on April 11, 1978, he was appointed commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau for his longstanding political services .

In September 1979 van Doorn was appointed deputy judge at the District Court of Utrecht and worked there until November 1, 1985. After he had finally left the PPR, he last joined the PvdA, which he had previously strongly criticized, on February 9, 1986 .

Background literature

• Oud minister Harry van Doorn: “Ik hoefde nooit twee keer te zeggen dat ik iets niet pigte” , in: Haagse Post of August 2, 1980
• Maarten Huygen: Afscheid van een statig magistraat met natuurlijk gezag , in: NRC Handelsblad of October 30, 1985
• F. Groeneveld: HW van Doorn 1915-1992; Katholiek bestuurder , in: NRC Handelsblad of January 13, 1992
• K. Bastianen: Mr Harry van Doorn stond model voor een leftse héér , in: De Volkskrant of January 14, 1992
• H. Goslinga: Oud-politicus pleitte al vroeg voor een duaal omroepbestel. Harry van Doorn 1915-1992 , in: Trouw from January 14, 1992

Web links

• CV in Parlement & Politiek