Jan Smallenbroek

Jan Smallenbroek (1965)

Jan Smallenbroek (born February 21, 1909 in Assen , province of Drenthe , † September 29, 1974 in Wassenaar , province of Zuid-Holland ) was a Dutch politician of the Anti-Revolutionaire Partij (ARP), who was a member of the Second Chamber for ten years with interruptions the States General was. He served from 1965 to 1966 as interior minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Jo Cals . During his tenure as Minister of the Interior there were problems with the administration of Amsterdam and the preparation for the wedding of Princess Beatrix with the German diplomat Claus von Amsberg in 1966. On August 31, 1966 he resigned after committing a traffic offense. In 1967 he became a member of the State Council ( Raad van State ) .

Life

Administrative officer, local politician and resistance fighter

Smallenbroek, son of an architect, graduated after attending the State Secondary public school in Assen 1926-1931 vocational training at the State Registrar and Land Registry and then worked from 1931 to 1936 only in various departments before coming to a short-term use in Oldeberkoop between 1936 and 1941 worked in the Elburg State Register and Land Registry .

During this time he began his political career in local politics and was a member of the board of the ARP constituency association of Elburg between 1936 and January 1941. Between September 5, 1939 and September 1, 1941, he was a member of the Elburg municipal council and at the same time an alderman ( Wethouder ) and, at times, also vice mayor. He then worked again at the State Register and Land Registry in Assen between 1941 and April 1942, before working as an inspector from 1942 and finally as chief inspector at the State Tax Office (Rijkshabeningdienst) in Assen.

During the Second World War , Smallenbroek joined the resistance movement against the German occupation forces and had to go into hiding before he was arrested on January 12, 1944, first in the Amsterdam penal prison and later in the penal prison of Scheveningen until he was liberated in May 1945 .

Deputy and provincial politician in Drenthe

On November 20, 1945, Smallenbroek was elected as a candidate for the Anti-Revolutionaire Partij (ARP) for the first time to be a member of the Second Chamber of the States General, but on June 4, 1946, he was only a member of it for just under six months. During his membership in parliament he acted from November 20, 1945 to June 1946 as acting secretary of the ARP faction . During this time in 1945 he also became a board member of the ARP Provincial Association Drenthe and between 1945 and 1956 was also a member of the Central Committee of the ARP constituency associations.

He then became a member of the Parliament ( Provinciale Staten ) of the Province of Drenthe on June 19, 1946 and was a member of this for almost 19 years until April 14, 1965. At the same time he was a member of the government of this province ( Gedeputeerde Staten ) from June 19, 1946 to April 14, 1965 , where he was responsible for transport, economy and public health.

On April 29, 1953, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Dutch Lion for his longstanding service.

At the same time, Smallenbroek was re-elected on November 6, 1956 as a member of the Second Chamber of the States General, to which he belonged until April 14, 1965. In addition, he acted between May 25, 1956 and July 1963 as deputy chairman of the Central Committee of the ARP constituency associations. During his membership in parliament he was chairman of the ARP parliamentary group between July 24, 1963 and July 1, 1964, together with Henk van Eijsden, and has held this post alone since July 1, 1964, after van Eijsden fell seriously ill and finally on July 16 Died in 1964. He held the post of parliamentary group chairman until April 14, 1965.

Minister of the Interior and member of the Council of State

The Cals cabinet at its first meeting on April 15, 1965

On April 14, 1965, Prime Minister Jo Cals appointed him as Minister of the Interior (Minister van Binnenlandse Zaken) in his cabinet. During his tenure as Minister of the Interior, there were problems with the administration of Amsterdam and the preparation for the wedding of Princess Beatrix with the German diplomat Claus von Amsberg in 1966. He remained in this ministerial office before resigning on September 1, 1966 after a traffic offense he had committed. The office of Minister of the Interior was then temporarily taken over by Justice Minister Ivo Samkalden .

Later Smallenbroek was from January 1967 until his death on September 29, 1974 Chairman of Abraham Kuyper - Foundation . He was also appointed a member of the Council of State (Raad van State) on July 18, 1967 . He was officially a member of this government advisory body from September 1, 1967 until his death. He also served from 1969 to 1974 as deputy chairman of the editorial staff of the magazine Antirevolutionaire civics , the organ of Abraham Kuyper Foundation. In 1970 he was also chairman of the ARP commission “Evangelium und Politik” ('Evangelie en Politiek') .

Web links

• CV in Parlement & Politiek