Wilhelm Friedrich de Gaay Fortman

Wilhelm Friedrich de Gaay Fortman (1981)

Wilhelm Friedrich de Gaay Fortman (born May 8, 1911 in Amsterdam , † March 29, 1997 in The Hague ) was a Dutch lawyer , administrative officer, university lecturer and politician of the Anti-Revolutionaire Partij (ARP) and most recently the Christian Democratisch Appèl , who was with He was a member of the First Chamber of the States General for 17 years and rector of the Free University of Amsterdam for eight years . He served from 1973 to 1977 as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of various ministries in the cabinet of Prime Minister Joop den Uyl .

In 1975 he played an important role in the independence of Suriname from the Netherlands and also worked out a - albeit not implemented - plan to divide the Netherlands into 24 provinces . De Gaay Fortman, the 1978 to 1979 also a member of the European Parliament was in 1981 as Informateur instrumental in the formation of the second Cabinet of Prime Minister Dries van Agt involved, a coalition of the Christian Democratic CDA , the social democratic PvdA and the social-liberal party D66 .

Life

Family and studies

De Gaay Fortman came from a family of lawyers and politicians. His father Bastiaan de Gaay Fortman was a judge in Curaçao and Vice-President of the Court of Amsterdam. His uncle Pieter Leonard de Gaay Fortman was mayor of Bunschoten , Ridderkerk and between 1923 and 1937 mayor of Dordrecht . Another uncle, Pieter Arie Diepenhorst , was a member of the First Chamber of the States General from 1920 to 1946.

After attending the Prinses Juliana primary school in Dordrecht from September 1916 to 1923, he attended the Dordrecht Public High School between September 1923 and September 1925 and then the Reformed High School in Amsterdam from September 1925 and July 1929. After finishing school he began to study Dutch law at the Free University of Amsterdam in September 1929 , which he finished on December 19, 1932.

De Gaay Fortman was married. His son Bas de Gaay Fortman became a politician like his father.

Start of professional career, doctorate and marriage

Subsequently, de Gaay Fortman, who in 1934 became a member of the Anti-Revolutionaire Partij (ARP), took up a position as an administrative clerk in the Office for Agricultural Problems of the Ministry of Economic Affairs on September 1, 1934, and worked there until February 1, 1938. During this time he completed his doctorate in law at the Free University of Amsterdam on June 12, 1936 at the chair of the later Minister of Justice and Prime Minister Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy with a dissertation on De onderneming in het arbeidsrecht cum laude.

On September 5, 1936, he married Margaretha "Marry" Titia Hillegonda Woltjer, a daughter of Robert "Rob" Herman Woltjer , who was Professor of Latin, Greek and Ancient History at the Free University of Amsterdam from 1904 to 1955 and between 1937 and 1952 as well Was a member of the First Chamber of the States General. From this marriage two sons and three daughters were born, including Bas de Gaay Fortman , who was a member of both the Second and the First Chamber of the States General, where he served as group chairman of the Politieke Partij Radicals (PPR).

On February 1, 1938, de Gaay Fortman moved to the Ministry of Social Affairs, where he was initially an administrative officer and, from January 1, 1942, a consultant in the labor insurance department, before he was then head of the labor relations department from 1945 to May 1947. In 1947 he completed his habilitation with a habilitation thesis on the subject of Herziening van het Echtscheidingsrecht .

University professor, senator and university rector

On May 30, 1947, de Gaay Fortman accepted a professorship for civil and labor law at the Free University of Amsterdam and taught there until his retirement on February 10, 1979, from May 11, 1973 to May 19, 1973. December 1977 was on leave. For his many years of service as an administrative officer and university lecturer, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Dutch Lion on April 29, 1959 .

As a representative of the Anti-Revolutionaire Partij he became a member of the First Chamber of the States General on September 20, 1960 and was a member of this body as a senator until May 11, 1973. He was also from October 7, 1958 to June 1963 Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the ARP and between March 23, 1963 and May 1973 an advisory member of the ARP Central Committee.

In addition to his teaching activities, he was also Rector (Rector Magnificus) of the Free University of Amsterdam twice , for the first time from September 19, 1962 to September 18, 1963 and for the second time from September 22, 1965 to September 4, 1972. Furthermore he wrote numerous legal textbooks, in particular on labor and corporate law.

During his parliamentary membership de Gaay Fortman served between May 11, 1971 and May 11, 1973 as chairman of the faction of the ARP in the First Chamber of the States General. On August 29, 1972, he became Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau .

Minister and Vice Prime Minister

De Gaay Fortman was appointed Minister of the Interior (Minister van Binnenlandse Zaken) in his cabinet on May 11, 1973 by Prime Minister Joop den Uyl and held this ministerial office until December 19, 1977. He also served between May 11, 1973 and May 25, 1973. November 1975 as Minister responsible for the coordination of the affairs of Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles . As such, he played a key role in the release of Suriname to independence from the Netherlands on November 25, 1975. From November 25, 1975 to December 19, 1977 he was then minister responsible for coordinating the affairs of the Netherlands Antilles .

In his role as Minister of the Interior, he also worked out a - albeit not implemented - plan to divide the Netherlands into 24 provinces.

After Dries van Agt's resignation, de Gaay Fortman took over from him on September 8, 1977, in addition, the offices of Vice-Prime Minister ( Vice-Minister -President) and Minister of Justice (Minister van Justitie) and kept these until the end of the term of office of the Van Uyl cabinet on December 19, 1977.

Member of the European Parliament

Burial place of de Gaay Fortman in the Zorgvlied cemetery in Amsterdam

Shortly before leaving the government, he became a member of the First Chamber of the States General as a representative of the ARP on September 20, 1977 and belonged to it until June 10, 1981, where he emerged from the ARP since October 11, 1980 Christians Democratisch Appèl (CDA) represented. During this time he was between July 1980 and June 1981 chairman of the parliamentary group of the ARP and the CDA.

At the same time, de Gaay Fortman resumed his teaching activities as professor of civil and labor law at the Free University of Amsterdam on December 19, 1977, where he taught until February 10, 1979. For his services, he was also made a Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau.

As a representative of the States General, he also became a member of the European Parliament on March 13, 1978 and was a member of it until July 15, 1979. However , he decided not to run for the first European elections in 1979 .

In 1981, de Gaay Fortman played an important role in the formation of the second cabinet of Prime Minister Dries van Agt, a coalition of the Christian Democratic Christian Democratisch Appèl (CDA), the social democratic Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA) and the social liberal party Democrats 66 (D66 ).

After his death he was buried in his father's crypt in the Zorgvlied cemetery in Amsterdam.

Publications

• De onderneming in het arbeidsrecht , dissertation, 1936
• Handleiding voor de toepassing der kinderbijslagwet , co-author ACM van de Ven, 1941/1944
• Herziening van het Echtscheidingsrecht , habilitation thesis, 1947
• De arbeider in de nieuwe samenleving , 1947, new edition 1952
• Christelijke vakbeweging en socialeerechtigheid , 1950
• Samenwerking in de onderneming , co-author DW Ormel, 1951
• De doelstelling der Christelijke vakbewegung , 1951
• De vakbewegung , 1954
• De Wet op de bedrijfsorganisatie en de wet op de ondernemingsraden , co-author WR van der Sluis, 1957
• The secret of the law , 1962
• Het spreken van de kerk in de samenleving , co-authors TP van der Kooy and HN Ridderbos, 1972
• Rule of law en terrorisme , 1979
• Problems van wetgeving , 1982

Background literature

• E. Korevaar (Editor): Doen right. Written by Mr. WF de Gaay Fortman , Alphen aan den Rijn, 1972
• W. Breedveld / J. Jansen van Galen: Gaius, de onverstoorbare gang van WF de Gaay Fortman , Utrecht, 1996
• HA van Wijnen: A man for all seasons: De kabinetsformaties van mr. WF de Gaay Fortman , Amsterdam, 1986
• W. Breedveld: Wilhelm Friedrich de Gaay Fortman 1911-1997 , in: Trouw from April 1, 1997
• JJ Lindner: De Gaay Fortman bleef buitenbeentje in CDA , in: De Volkskrant from April 1, 1997
• P. Bak: "Pientere knaap". Jeugdjaren van WF de Gaay Fortman , 2003
• P. Bak: Soeverein leven. Biography of WF de Gaay Fortman , 2004

Web links

• CV in Parlement & Politiek