Theo Heemskerk

Theo Heemskerk

Theodorus (Theo) Heemskerk (born July 20, 1852 in Amsterdam , † June 12, 1932 in Utrecht ) was a Dutch politician and Prime Minister .

Life

Studies, professional career and local politician in Amsterdam

The son of the future Prime Minister Jan Heemskerk , after attending school in The Hague and briefly studying at the Polytechnic Institute in Delft , studied law and Roman law at the University of Leiden from 1870 , which he completed on May 31, 1876 with a dissertation on the subject on marriages of Dutch people abroad ( "Over huwelijken van Nederlanders buitenslands" ) graduated magna cum laude . After graduating, he worked as a lawyer in Amsterdam until 1901 .

In the meantime he was also co-author of a commentary on Dutch criminal law ( "Het Wetboek van Strafrecht in doorlopende aantekeeningen verklaard" ) (1880–1890). In 1931 he was also the author of a specialist book on the subject of marriage and marital property law ( "Enkele varsh van het huwelijksrecht en huwelijksvermogensrecht" ).

At the same time he was a member of the Amsterdam City Council from 1889 to 1895. In 1900 he was again a member of the City Council of Amsterdam and from May 15, 1901 to February 1908, Alderman (Wethouder) for finances and public works of the city of Amsterdam.

His younger brother Jan Heemskerk was also a member of the Second Chamber. His father-in-law Cornelis Hartsen was Foreign Minister .

Member of the States General

On May 8, 1882, he began his national political career with the election of a member of the provincial parliament of North Holland , where he represented the constituency of Weesp until February 1908 as a member of the Anti-Revolutionaire Partij (ARP) .

On May 1, 1888, he was elected for the first time as a member of the Second Chamber of the States General , the lower house of the parliament of the Netherlands, where he initially represented the constituency of Ridderkerk until September 15, 1891 .

On April 25, 1893, he was re-elected as a member of the Second Chamber of the States General as a representative of the Harlingen constituency. After his departure on March 20, 1894, he was re-elected as a representative of the constituency of Sneek on June 19, 1894 , which he then held until September 21, 1897. On September 17, 1901, he was again elected as a member of the Second Chamber, where he first represented the constituency of Amsterdam VII and then from September 19, 1905 to February 10, 1908 the constituency of Sliedrecht .

As a member of the ARP he often contradicted Abraham Kuyper , who was chairman of the ARP from 1879 until his death in 1920. These differences were ultimately so great that Heemskerk refused to accept a ministerial office when Kuyper became Prime Minister in 1901. From September 1903 to February 1908, however, he was chairman of the faction of the ARP in the Second Chamber.

From July 25 to September 18, 1922 was again a member of parliament for a short time before he was re-elected member of the Second Chamber of the States General on September 15, 1925, to which he was a member until his death. In addition, Heemskerk was again chairman of the ARP faction until September 17, 1929. After that, he was deputy group leader of the ARP until his death.

Minister and Prime Minister

On February 11, 1908, he succeeded Theodor de Meester as Prime Minister (Chairman of the Council of Ministers). He held this office until his replacement by Pieter Cort van der Linden on August 29, 1913. During the entire term of office he was also Minister of the Interior and temporarily also acting Colonial Minister from February to May 1908 and acting Minister of Justice from February to June 1910 and from January until August 1913. As prime minister, he stood up for the fight against poverty and the introduction of vaccinations . At the same time he took a leading role in the discussion about border protection and gun ownership .

After his resignation as Prime Minister, he first became a member of the Council of State ( Raad van State ), a constitutional body advising the government on September 11, 1913 . He was then appointed Minister of Justice by Prime Minister Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck . As such, he remained in office until the end of de Beerenbrouck's second cabinet on September 4, 1925.

On September 27, 1926 he was awarded the honorary title of Minister of State (Minister van Staat).

literature

• Entry in the Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland (Dutch)

Web links

Commons : Theo Heemskerk  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Biography in Parliament & Politics

predecessor	Office	successor
Theodor de Meester	Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Netherlands 1908–1913	Pieter Cort van der Linden