Molly Geertsema

Molly Geertsema (1985)

Willem Jacob "Molly" Geertsema (born October 18, 1918 in Utrecht , † June 27, 1991 in Wassenaar , Zuid-Holland province ) was a Dutch lawyer and politician of the Partij van de Vrijheid (PvdV) and later the Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD), who was both a member of the Second Chamber and later of the First Chamber of the States General and Mayor of Warffum and Wassenaar. Between 1971 and 1973 he was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior in the cabinet of Prime Minister Barend Biesheuvel and then from 1973 to 1983 the Queen's Commissioner for the Province of Gelderland . Within the liberal VVD, he represented leftist views and, in addition to collaborating with the Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA), campaigned for the rights of homosexuals .

Life

Family, studies and local politicians

Geertsema came from a family of entrepreneurs and politicians and was the son of Johan Herman Geertsema, a co-owner of the banking house Geertsema, Feith en Co. in Groningen . His great-grandfather Johan Herman Geertsema was a member of the First and Second Chambers of the States General, twice Minister of the Interior and between 1878 and 1893 Commissioner of the King of the Province of Overijssel , while his grandfather Wilhelm Jacob Geertsema was a member of the Second Chamber for ten years with interruptions. His great-uncle Carel Coenraad Geertsema was Commissioner of the Queen of the Province of Groningen from 1893 to 1917 and also a member of the First Chamber for several years.

Molly Geertsema himself first attended the private school Instituut Wolters from 1924 to 1930 and then the Tweede Gymnasium in The Hague , where he graduated from high school in 1937. In 1937 he began studying law in the Netherlands at the Rijksuniversiteit Leiden , which he completed on June 25, 1947. During his studies in 1942 he took up a position as an administrative clerk in the Oegstgeest municipal office . During his studies between 1945 and 1946 he was active as chairman of the Dutch Student Council (Nederlandse Studentenraad) . After completing his studies, he worked from 1947 to March 1, 1953 as a repetitionist for civil law at the University of Leiden.

Geertsema, who initially belonged to the Partij van de Vrijheid (PvdV) and from January 24, 1948 to the Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD), began his political career in local politics and was secretary of the from 1948 to March 1953 VVD Association of Leiden. In addition, he was first from August 28, 1950 to March 3, 1953 as a member of the council of Leiden and then between March 1, 1953 to May 1, 1957 as mayor of Warffum.

MP, parliamentary group leader and Mayor of Wassenaar

On May 1, 1957, Geertsema became head of the department for public company organizations in the Ministry of the Interior and worked there until March 1959. In addition, he continued to be involved in local politics and represented the VVD from September 2, 1958 to April 1, 1961 as a member of the Hague City Council.

As a candidate for the VVD, he was elected for the first time on March 20, 1959 as a member of the Second Chamber of the States General, of which he was a member until July 6, 1971. During this time he was chairman of the VVD parliamentary group between July 14, 1963 and March 12, 1966 and again from October 1, 1969 to July 6, 1971 . In the meantime, between March 12, 1966 and October 1, 1969, he was deputy chairman of the VVD parliamentary group.

In addition to his membership in parliament, Geertsema served as Mayor of Wassenaar for almost ten years from April 1, 1961 to January 16, 1971.

On April 29, 1970, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Dutch Lion for his longstanding service.

Minister, Queen's Commissioner and Senator

Molly Geertsema (front row, 6th from left) with the Biesheuvel cabinet when she took office with Queen Juliana on July 6, 1971

On October 1, 1969 Geertsema became political leader of the VVD and held this position until September 23, 1972 and was as such a top candidate of his party in the parliamentary elections in 1971. Within the liberal VVD, he represented leftist views and sat next to a cooperation with the party van de Arbeid (PvdA) for the rights of homosexuals.

Prime Minister Barend Biesheuvel appointed him on July 6, 1971 as Vice-Prime Minister (Viceminister-President) and Minister of the Interior (Minister van Binnenlandse Zaken) in his cabinet, to which he was a member until May 11, 1973. He also served as Minister between January 1 and May 11, 1973, with responsibility for coordinating the affairs of Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles . He was also appointed Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau after leaving government on June 8, 1973 .

Geertsema, who was a member of the Second Chamber of the States General from February 7 to May 5, 1973 and again between May 28 and November 9, 1973, was appointed Commissioner of the Queen by Queen Juliana on November 9, 1973 (Commissaris van de Koningin) in the province of Gelderland. He officially held this office after taking office on December 1, 1973 until November 1, 1983. In 1980 he was chairman of the VVD's program committee, which developed the so-called Liberaal Mainifest .

Shortly before the end of his work as Commissioner of the Queen Geertsema was appointed Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau on October 14, 1983 .

He then became a member of the Second Chamber of the States General for the VVD on September 13, 1983 and was a member of the Senate of the Dutch Parliament until June 23, 1987.

Web links

• CV in Parlement & Politiek
• J. Bosmans, 'Geertsema, Willem Jacob (1918-1991)', in: Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland 6