Piet de Jong

Piet de Jong
Parliamentary leader - Catholic People's Party Senate
In office May 11, 1971 – September 17, 1974
Preceded by	Jan Niers
Succeeded by	Jan Teijssen
Member of the Senate
In office May 11, 1971 – September 17, 1974
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
In office April 5, 1967 – July 6, 1971
Monarch	Juliana
Preceded by	Jelle Zijlstra
Succeeded by	Barend Biesheuvel
Member of the House of Representatives
In office February 23, 1967 – April 5, 1967
Minister of Defence
In office July 24, 1963 – April 5, 1967
Prime Minister	Victor Marijnen (1963-1965) Jo Cals (1965-1966) Jelle Zijlstra (1966-1967)
Preceded by	Sim Visser
Succeeded by	Willem den Toom
State Secretary for Defence
In office June 25, 1959 – July 24, 1963
Prime Minister	Jan de Quay
Preceded by	Harry Moorman
Succeeded by	Adri van Es
Personal details
Born	Petrus Jozef Sietze de Jong April 3, 1915 (1915-04-03) Apeldoorn, Netherlands
Nationality	Dutch
Political party	Christian Democratic Appeal (from 1980)
Other political affiliations	Catholic People's Party (1959-1980)
Spouse(s)	Anneke Bartels (1915-2010)
Residence	The Hague, Netherlands
Alma mater	Royal Netherlands Naval College
Occupation	Politician Civil servant Naval Officer
Religion	Roman Catholic
Military service
Nickname(s)	Uncle Piet
Allegiance	The Netherlands
Service/branch	Royal Netherlands Navy (Royal Netherlands Navy Submarine Service)
Years of service	1931-1963 (Military reserve from 1959-1963)
Rank	Captain
Commands	Submarine 0-24 Hr. Ms. De Zeeuw Hr. Ms. Gelderland
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Order of Orange-Nassau (Knight Grand Cross) Bronze Cross (2) Distinguished Service Cross Medal for Peace and Order War Memorial Cross

Petrus Josef Sietse "Piet" de Jong (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈpit də ˈjɔŋ]; born April 3, 1915) is a retired Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from April 5, 1967 until July 6, 1971.

A veteran naval officer of World War II. De Jong graduated from the Royal Netherlands Naval College in 1934, De Jong joined the Royal Netherlands Navy Submarine Service. And served on Submarine 0-24 during World War II and ending the war as the Captain of that vessel. The Submarine 0-24 became one of the few surviving Dutch submarines. During his service in World War II he was awarded the Bronze Cross twice, the first in 1934 and the second in 1940. He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross of the United Kingdom for his services during World War II.

He served as State Secretary for Defence from June 25, 1959 until July 24, 1963 in the Cabinet De Quay. He later became Minister of Defence serving from July 24, 1963 until April 5, 1967 in the Cabinets Marijnen, Cals and Zijlstra. After the Dutch general election of 1967, De Jong became Prime Minister of the Netherlands, leading the Cabinet de Jong.

Despite his popularity, the Catholic People's Party refused to nominate him as the lijsttrekker for the Dutch general election of 1971 and he was replaced by his Minister of Education and Science Gerard Veringa. After his premiership, De Jong remained in active politics and became the parliamentary leader of the Catholic People's Party in the Senate and a Member of the Senate serving from May 11, 1971 until September 17, 1974.

Known for his wit and his abilities as a team leader, his cabinet was the first cabinet of the Netherlands after World War II that completed a full term without any internal conflicts. As of 2012, he is the oldest and earliest serving former Prime Minister of the Netherlands and is one of the oldest living state leaders at the age of 96.

Biography

Early life

Petrus Josef Sietse de Jong was born on April 3, 1915 in Apeldoorn in the Netherlands Province of Gelderland in a Roman Catholic family, the son of Joännes de Jong and Gijsberta Adriana Schouten. After leaving secondary school, he joined the Royal Netherlands Navy as a midshipman in 1931 and subsequently attended the Royal Netherlands Naval College in Den Helder. In 1934 he received his commission as a Luitenant-ter-zee III and from 1934 to 1947 served in the Royal Netherlands Navy Submarine Service.

World War II

Piet de Jong as Minister of Defence in 1965.

Piet de Jong at the inauguration of his Cabinet in 1967.

Piet de Jong as Prime Minister of the Netherlands in 1969.

Piet de Jong in 2011.

Piet de Jong with all former living Prime Ministers of the Netherlands in 2011.

On May 13, 1940 De Jong sailed to England on board the Dutch Submarine 0-24 and during World War II he saw action initially as first officer and from mid-1944 onwards as commander of that vessel. In April 1946 he returned on board the Submarine 0-24 to the Netherlands. In 1947 he was attached to the Naval Staff of the Admiralty and in 1948 became adjutant to the Navy Minister.

From 1951 to the end of 1952, De Jong commanded a naval frigate Hr. Ms. De Zeeuw, after which he joined the staff of the Allied Commander-in-Chief Channel in the British naval base at Portsmouth. In 1955 he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff to the Inspector-General of the Royal Netherlands Navy Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld and aide-de-camp to Queen Juliana, after which he returned to sea in 1958 as commander of the submarine chaser Hr. Ms. Gelderland.

• Midshipman _(1931-1934)
• Ensign (1934–1936)
• Lieutenant (junior grade) (1936–1944)
• Lieutenant Commander (1944–1953)
• Commander (1953–1958)
• Captain (1958–1963)
• Retired from Active duty (1959)
• Military reserve (1963)
• Honorable discharge (1975)

Politics

In 1959 will commanding the Hr. Ms. Gelderland, De Jong was surprisingly asked by the Catholic People's Party to be the new State Secretary for Defence in the Cabinet de Quay. De Jong who was not even a member of the party eventually agreed to the position and became a member of the Catholic People's Party that same year.

From June 25, 1959 to July 24, 1963, De Jong served State Secretary for Defence in the Cabinet de Quay and immediately thereafter Minister of Defence in the successive Cabinets Marijnen, Cals and Zijlstra. From April 5, 1967 to July 6, 1971 he was Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister of General Affairs in the Cabinet de Jong. His Cabinet was the first Dutch Cabinet since World War II that served a full four-year term without crises.

His cabinet was confronted with a demand for democratic reforms in the society and it decided to democratise colleges and universities after the famous Maagdenhuisbezetting. Plans were made to modernise politics by establishing an electoral system with districts or a chosen Prime Minister, but these plans were not implemented. Meanwhile, a pay pause due to the decision of employers and employees to raise wages was partly revoked after anti-government demonstrations and strikes. The Minister of Economic Affairs Leo de Block resigned, officially as a protest against the wage rise in the metal industry, but another reason was his slow reaction to the inflation and rising prices after the introduction of Value added tax. More unrest took shape in demonstrations against the Vietnam War. Internationally, relations with Indonesia improved, resulting in a visit by president Suharto which was, however, overshadowed by the occupation of the Indonesian embassy by Moluccans. The Soviet Union invasion in Czechoslovakia was seen as a reason to increase the defence budget. During his term as Prime Minister of the Netherlands De Jong met with numeral state leaders, including then President Richard Nixon, Presidents of France Charles de Gaulle and Georges Pompidou. He was present in the hospital when Prince Claus of the Netherlands announced the birth of his son Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange on April 27, 1967.

After serving as Prime Minister of the Netherlands De Jong became a member of the Senate, where he served from 1971 to 1974 and as the Parliamentary leader in the Senate. In 1972 he was passed by the Cabinet Biesheuvel II for the position of Vice-president of the Council of State and in 1973 he passed the mayoralty of Eindhoven.

After Politics

Following the end of his active political career, De Jong occupied many posts in industry and seats on numerous supervisory boards. In December 1990 he was selected to lead a diplomatic mission to Iraq to free Dutch hostages, but ultimately the mission was cancelled.

On March 25, 2010 De Jong then aged 94, still visibly spirituous and active gave a speech at Nieuwspoort about the publication of a biography of former Minister of Foreign Affairs and the 5th Secretary General of NATO Joseph Luns. On April 24, 2010 during the annual Christian Democratic Appeal party conference, De Jong then aged 95, spoke about former Deputy Prime Minister and Labour Party party leader Wouter Bos and his actions witch left to the fall of the Cabinet Balkenende IV. After the Dutch general election of 2010 the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) suffered a disappointing election result, and Informateur Ivo Opstelten announced the formation of a new centre-right coalition cabinet composed of the winner of the election, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and De Jong's own Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). But with support of the Party for Freedom (PVV) of Geert Wilders. De Jong spoke against this support and said that the Party for Freedom (PVV) stand about Freedom of religion was a deal breaker.

Reputation and legacy

During his time as Prime Minister of the Netherlands he was accused by some of not showing enough strength and too little action when needed during the social revolution of 1960s by some of the counterculture of that time. He was frequently labelled as old-fashioned, that old-fashioned image was reinforced by his bowler hat, which he wore frequently outside. Forty years later however he is considered by many a politician who carefully made well-thought about decisions and when needed showed enough strenght with a more progressive ideology then he was credited for at the time.

Politicians from the entire political spectrum, have labelled De Jong as one of the better Prime Minister of the Netherlands. In a episode of the Dutch television programme Netwerk aired in 2005, he is even labelled as perhaps the best postwar Prime Minister of the Netherlands. This view has been shared by numerous high-profiled current and former Dutch politicians, including former Prime Minister Dries van Agt and former Deputy Prime Minister Hans Wiegel who praised De Jong as well as perhaps the best Prime Minister of the Netherlands after World War II. On March 23, 2011 the history channel Hollanddoc devoted a episode about his life with the quote "Attention for the least-known prime minister after World War II, but perhaps the most successful: Piet de Jong"

In November 2011 the second edition of his in 2001 released biography Van buitengaats naar Binnenhof. P.J.S. de Jong (From offshore to Binnenhof. P.J.S. de Jong) became well received and further enhanced his reputation: "He showed himself a team leader with perspective and humor. The ideal manager in a time of crisis of authority, polarization and social unrest."

De Jong known for his wit; told Queen Juliana for who he had served as aide-de-camp, when he he was sworn in as State Secretary: 'Majesty, there you see a how a person comes down in the world.' And in a response to a delicate question of a radio reporter, when asked what his thoughts on pornography were, he said: 'As far as I know, pornography is the only working medicine against seasickness.' When later a Belgian minister spoke negatively about the libertarian ideas of the Dutch on pornography, he responded: 'well, the Belgians aren't a seafaring people, are they?'

Family

After World War II De Jong married a former local resistance fighter Anna Geertruida Jacoba Henriëtte "Anneke" Bartels. They married on June 26, 1947 and had two sons and one daughter. Anneke Bartels passed away in 2010 after a long illness aged 94.

Longevity

At the age of &1000000000000009600000096 years, &10000000000000343000000343 days De Jong is the oldest living and earliest serving former Prime Minister of the Netherlands and the second oldest living former member of the Council of Ministers of the Netherlands, after former Minister of Colonial Affairs Gerardus Philippus Helders (currently aged &10000000000000107000000107 years, &100000000000000020000002 days) who served in the Third Drees cabinet (1957–1958) and the Second Beel cabinet (1958–1959). Besides that, De Jong is the overall second oldest Prime Minister of the Netherlands, after Willem Drees who lived to &10000000000000101000000101 years, &10000000000000314000000314 days. De Jong, who uses a pacemaker, is reported to be in exceptionally good health for his age, still gives TV interviews and regularly attends veteran meetings.

Decorations

• Order of Orange-Nassau
  • Grand Cross (July 17, 1971)
• Bronze Cross (1940 and 1943)
• Distinguished Service Cross
• Medal for Peace and Order
• War Memorial Cross

External links

• P.J.S. de Jong (Ministry of General Affairs)
• (Dutch) P.J.S. (Piet) de Jong (Parlement & Politiek)
• (Dutch) P.J.S. de Jong (KVP) (Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal)

Party political offices
Preceded by Jan Niers	Parliamentary leader – Catholic People's Party Senate 1971-1974	Succeeded by Jan Teijssen
Government offices
Preceded by Harry Moorman	State Secretary for Defence 1959-1963	Succeeded by Adri van Es
Preceded by Sim Visser	Minister of Defence 1963-1967	Succeeded by Willem den Toom
Preceded by Jelle Zijlstra	Minister of General Affairs 1967-1971	Succeeded by Barend Biesheuvel
Political offices
Preceded by Jelle Zijlstra	Prime Minister of the Netherlands 1967-1971	Succeeded by Barend Biesheuvel