This, the first Dutchcabinet after World War II, was appointed by Queen Wilhelmina just a month after the Netherlands were liberated by the Allied forces. It was a royal cabinet (which means that the cabinet is appointed by the monarch, and is not the result of an election). The States-General of the Netherlands was not yet functional, and would not become so until November 1945.
The cabinet served during the early days of the post-World War II 1940s. Domestically, it initiated recovery and rebuilding, and implemented several major reforms to social security. Internationally, the formation of the United Nations was started and the beginning of the decolonization of the Dutch East Indies.[3][4]
The Schermerhorn–Drees cabinet consisted of ministers from the SDAP (which in 1946 merged with the VDB and the CDU to become the post-War PvdA or Labour Party), the CHU minister Dr. Piet Lieftinck (who became a member of the PvdA on 9 February 1946), the ARP and the RKSP (named the KVP on 22 December 1945). Prime Minister Willem Schermerhorn was a member of the VDB, but would later become a member of the PvdA. Deputy Prime Minister Willem Drees was a member of the SDAP.
Cabinet actions
One of the main tasks of the cabinet was to revive the Dutch economy after the war and to rebuild the devastated infrastructure (ports, railroads, roads). Furthermore the Dutch administration had to be restored. Furthermore the cabinet had to deal with the arrest and prosecution of Dutch war criminals and Dutch collaborators.
Until August 1945 the war against Japan in the Dutch East Indies was also a main objective of the cabinet. After the Japanese surrender the cabinet was faced with the Indonesian nationalists Sukarno and Hatta, who proclaimed the independence of their country.
Another objective of the cabinet was the purification of the black money circuit. During the period the bank accounts in the Netherlands were under investigation by the Ministry of Finance, every Dutch citizen was given 10 guilders by the cabinet, in the Netherlands known as 'Het tientje van Lieftinck' (Lieftinck's tenner), named after the minister of Finance, Dr. Lieftinck.
Appointed as Minister without portfolio for Foreign Affairs
Appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs
Trivia
Four cabinet members had previous experience as scholars or professors: Willem Schermerhorn (Hydraulic Engineering and Surveying), Louis Beel (Administrative Law), Piet Lieftinck (Financial and Business Economics), Gerard van der Leeuw (History of Religion and Egyptian Language and Hieroglyphs).
References
^Changing Liaisons The Dynamics of Social Partnership in 20th Century West-European DemocraciesBy Karel Davids, 2007, P.165
^Changing Liaisons The Dynamics of Social Partnership in 20th Century West-European DemocraciesBy Karel Davids, 2007, P.165
![Azure, billetty Or a lion with a coronet Or armed and langued Gules holding in his dexter paw a sword Argent hilted Or and in the sinister paw seven arrows Argent pointed and bound together Or. [The seven arrows stand for the seven provinces of the Union of Utrecht.] The shield is crowned with the (Dutch) royal crown and supported by two lions Or armed and langued gules. They stand on a scroll Azure with the text (Or) "Je Maintiendrai" (French for "I will maintain".)](File:State_coat_of_arms_of_the_Netherlands.svg)
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