Gaius de Gaay Fortman - Misplaced Pages

Dutch politician (1911–1997)

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Gaius de Gaay Fortman
Gaius de Gaay Fortman in 1973

Member of the European Parliament
In office 13 March 1978 – 15 July 1979
Parliamentary group	Christian Democratic Group
Constituency	Netherlands
Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
In office 8 September 1977 – 19 December 1977
Prime Minister	Joop den Uyl
Preceded by	Dries van Agt
Succeeded by	Hans Wiegel
Minister of Justice
In office 8 September 1977 – 19 December 1977
Prime Minister	Joop den Uyl
Preceded by	Dries van Agt
Succeeded by	Job de Ruiter
Minister of the Interior
In office 11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977
Prime Minister	Joop den Uyl
Preceded by	Molly Geertsema
Succeeded by	Hans Wiegel
Minister for Netherlands Antilles Affairs
In office 25 November 1975 – 19 December 1977
Prime Minister	Joop den Uyl
Preceded by	Himself as Minister for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs
Succeeded by	Fons van der Stee
Minister for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs
In office 11 May 1973 – 25 November 1975
Prime Minister	Joop den Uyl
Preceded by	Molly Geertsema
Succeeded by	Himself as Minister for Netherlands Antilles Affairs
Parliamentary leader in the Senate
In office 11 May 1971 – 11 May 1973
Preceded by	Wiert Berghuis
Succeeded by	Wil Albeda
Parliamentary group	Anti-Revolutionary Party
Member of the Senate
In office 20 September 1977 – 10 June 1981
In office 20 September 1960 – 11 May 1973

Personal details
Born	Wilhelm Friedrich de Gaay Fortman (1911-05-08)8 May 1911 Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died	29 March 1997(1997-03-29) (aged 85) The Hague, Netherlands
Political party	Christian Democratic Appeal (from 1980)
Other political affiliations	Anti-Revolutionary Party (1934–1980)
Spouse	Mary Woltjer (m. 1936)
Children	Bas de Gaay Fortman (born 1937) 3 daughters and 1 other son
Alma mater	Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws, Doctor of Law)
Occupation	Politician civil servant jurist researcher academic administrator nonprofit director editor author professor

Wilhelm Friedrich "Gaius" de Gaay Fortman (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɣɛi.ʏz də ɣaːi ˈfɔrtmɑn]; 8 May 1911 – 29 March 1997) was a Dutch jurist and politician of the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP).

De Gaay Fortman attended a gymnasium in Dordrecht from June 1923 until September 1925 and the Amsterdams Lyceum from September 1925 until July 1929 and applied at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in July 1929 majoring in Law and obtaining a Bachelor of Laws degree in June 1930 before graduating with a Master of Laws degree in July 1933 and worked as a researcher at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam from 5 July 1933 until 12 June 1936 when he got a doctorate as a Doctor of Law on 12 June 1936. De Gaay Fortman worked as a civil servant from April 1934 until January 1947 for the department of Agricultural Emergency Management of the Ministry of Economic Affairs from April 1934 until September 1935 and for the department of Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries from September 1935 until February 1938 and for the department of Employment Insurances of the Ministry of Social Affairs from February 1938 until January 1947 and as Deputy Director-General of the department for Employment Insurances from April 1939 until August 1943 and as Director-General of the department for Employment Insurances from August 1943 until January 1947. On 10 May 1940 Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands and the government fled to London to escape the German occupation. During the German occupation De Gaay Fortman continued his work for the Ministry of Social Affairs but was sympathetic with the Dutch resistance and worked as an editor for the underground newspaper Vrij Nederland from January 1943 until May 1945. De Gaay Fortman worked as professor of Labour law, Privacy law and Property law at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam from 10 January 1947 until May 1973. He also served as Rector Magnificus of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam from 1 January 1961 until 1 January 1962 and from 1 January 1965 until 1 January 1972. De Gaay Fortman was elected to the Senate in the 1960 Senate election, taking office on 20 September 1960. After the 1971 Senate election De Gaay Fortman was selected as parliamentary leader of Anti-Revolutionary Party in the Senate, taking office on 11 May 1971.

After the 1972 general election De Gaay Fortman was appointed as Minister of the Interior and Minister for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs in the Den Uyl cabinet, taking office on 19 December 1977. In March 1977 Gaius de Gaay Fortman announced that he would not stand for the 1977 general election but wanted tot return to the Senate. Following the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Dries van Agt De Gaay Fortman took over both positions on 8 September 1977. The Den Uyl cabinet was replaced by the Van Agt–Wiegel cabinet on 19 December 1977.

De Gaay Fortman remained in active politics, he was elected again to the Senate in the 1977 Senate election, serving from 20 September 1977 until 10 June 1981. De Gaay Fortman was selected as a Member of the European Parliament and dual served in those positions from 13 March 1978 until 15 July 1979. Following the end of his active political career, De Gaay Fortman returned as a professor of privacy law, labor law and administrative law at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, serving from 20 December 1977 until 10 February 1979. After his retirement De Gaay Fortman occupied numerous seats as a nonprofit director for supervisory boards for non-governmental organizations and research institutes (Dutch Research Council, Institute of International Relations Clingendael, Transnational Institute, T.M.C. Asser Instituut and the Carnegie Foundation).

De Gaay Fortman was known for his abilities as a negotiator and consensus builder. De Gaay Fortman continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until his death. His eldest son Bas de Gaay Fortman was also a politician, professor and author, he like his father had served in the Senate.

Biography

Early life

Wilhelm Friedrich "Gaius" de Gaay Fortman was born in Amsterdam on 8 May 1911 to an orthodox Reformed Protestant family. The De Gaay Fortman family were descendants of 17th century Walloon immigrant Jacques Le Gay, and became one of the foremost Neo-Calvinist families in the Dutch Patriciate, with prominent ministers, scholars, business people and politicians.

Politics

The Reformed De Gaay Fortman was a progressive politician of the Anti-Revolutionary Party, the party which later merged with other Christian parties to form the Christian Democratic Appeal politician. He was a Public servant, secretary of the government labour negotiation team and a teacher at the CNV-school (Christian Labour Union). Later he became a professor at the Vrije Universiteit and its Rector Magnificus. In 1956 he was unsuccessful as informateur during the long 1956 cabinet formation. However, he was able in 1960 to quickly resolve a cabinet crisis. In 1973 he, together with Boersma, were persuaded to become a minister in the Cabinet Den Uyl. He had a good relationship with the formerly Reformed social-democrat party leader Joop den Uyl. As Minister of Home Affairs he proposed a plan to divide the Netherlands into 24 mini-provinces and he played a key role in the independence negotiations for Suriname in 1975. In 1981 he again acted in a cabinet formation as informateur and managed to pave the way for a government of CDA, PvdA and D66. De Gaay Fortman was in favor of co-operation of the ARP and later the CDA with the PvdA (left). He refuted offered positions in Christian Democrat – Liberal coalitions. De Gaay Fortman became a member of the CDA, but he became alienated from the party mainstream. In his view the CDA too much emphasised policies that resulted in the dismantling of social security. In the parliamentary elections of 1994 he endorsed Gert Schutte, the leader of the Reformed Political League. He is buried at Zorgvlied cemetery.

His son Bas de Gaay Fortman followed in the political footsteps of his father and became leader of the Political Party of Radicals in the Second Chamber and later a Senator for its successor, the GreenLeft party.

Decorations

Honours
Honour	Country	Date	Comment
Honorary Medal for Initiative and Ingenuity of the Order of the House of Orange	Netherlands	19 September 1974
Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold II	Belgium	1 August 1975
Grand Cross of the Honorary Order of the Yellow Star	Suriname	25 November 1975
Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour	France	28 February 1976
Grand Officer of the Honorary Order of the Palm	Suriname	4 September 1977
Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau	Netherlands	11 April 1978
Commander of the Order of the Netherlands Lion	Netherlands	10 June 1981	Elevated from Knight (30 April 1959)

References

"Oud-minister De Gaay Fortman (85) overleden". De Volkskrant (in Dutch). 1 April 1997. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
"Gaay Fortman, Wilhelm Friedrich de (1911-1997)" (in Dutch). Huygens ING. 12 November 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
"De Gaay Fortman bleef buitenbeentje in CDA" (in Dutch). Volkskrant. 1 April 1997. Retrieved 16 November 2018.

External links

Official

Mr.Dr. W.F. de Gaay Fortman Parlement & Politiek (in Dutch)
Mr.Dr. W.F. de Gaay Fortman (CDA) Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal (in Dutch)

Party political offices
Preceded byWiert Berghuis	Parliamentary leader of the Anti-Revolutionary Party in the Senate 1971–1973	Succeeded byWil Albeda
Political offices
Preceded byMolly Geertsema	Minister for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs 1973–1977	Succeeded byFons van der Stee
Preceded byMolly Geertsema	Minister of the Interior 1973–1977	Succeeded byHans Wiegel
Preceded byDries van Agt	Deputy Prime Minister 1977	Succeeded byHans Wiegel
Preceded byDries van Agt	Minister of Justice 1977	Succeeded byJob de Ruiter
Academic offices
Preceded byHendrik Smitskamp	Rector Magnificus of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam 1962–1963 1965–1972	Succeeded byFolkert de Roos
Preceded byReinier Schippers		Succeeded byIsaäc Arend Diepenhorst

v t e Deputy prime ministers of the Netherlands
Drees Van Schaik Teulings Beel Struycken Korthals Biesheuvel Vondeling De Quay Witteveen Bakker Nelissen Geertsema Van Agt De Gaay Fortman Wiegel Den Uyl Terlouw Van Aardenne De Korte Kok Dijkstal Van Mierlo Jorritsma Borst Bomhoff Remkes De Boer Zalm De Graaf Brinkhorst Bos Rouvoet Verhagen Asscher De Jonge Ollongren Schouten Koolmees Ollongren Kaag Hoekstra Jetten Van Gennip Agema Hermans Van Hijum Keijzer

v t e Ministers of justice of the Netherlands
Ministry of Justice and Security
Tadama Reuvens Van Hooff Van der Goes van Dirxland Cambier Appelius Van Hugenpoth tot Aerdt Van Maanen Van Pallandt van Keppel Van Maanen Van Hall De Jonge van Campensnieuwland Donker Curtius Wichers Lightenvelt Nedermeyer van Rosenthal Strens Donker Curtius Van der Brugghen Boot Godefroi Olivier Pické Borret J. Heemskerk Wintgens Van Lilaar Jolles De Vries Van Lynden van Sandenburg Smidt Modderman Du Tour van Bellinchave Ruijs de Beerenbrouck Smidt Van der Kaay Cort van der Linden Loeff Van Raalte Nelissen T. Heemskerk Regout T. Heemskerk Ort T. Heemskerk Schokking J. Donner Van Schaik Goseling De Visser Gerbrandy Van Angeren Van Heuven Goedhart Gerbrandy Kolfschoten Van Maarseveen Wijers Van Maarseveen Struycken Mulderije Donker Beel Van Oven Samkalden Struycken Beerman Scholten Samkalden Struycken Polak Van Agt De Gaay Fortman De Ruiter Korthals Altes Hirsch Ballin Kosto Sorgdrager Korthals P. H. Donner Verdonk Hirsch Ballin Opstelten Blok Van der Steur Blok Grapperhaus Yeşilgöz-Zegerius Van Weel

v t e Ministers of the interior of the Netherlands
Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations
Gogel Van Stralen Mollerus Van Leyden van Westbarendrecht Twent van Raaphorst Van der Capellen Van Stralen Röell De Coninck Van Gobbelschroy De la Coste Van Doorn van Westcapelle De Kock Schimmelpenninck van der Oye Van der Heim van Duivendijke Vollenhoven Van Randwijck Van der Heim van Duivendijke Luzac De Kempenaer Thorbecke Van Reenen Simons Van Rappard Van Tets van Goudriaan Van Heemstra Thorbecke J. Geertsema J. Heemskerk Fock Thorbecke Van Bosse J. Geertsema J. Heemskerk Kappeyne van de Coppello Six Pijnacker Hordijk J. Heemskerk Mackay De Savornin Lohman Tak van Poortvliet Van Houten Goeman Borgesius Kuyper Rink T. Heemskerk Cort van der Linden De Beerenbrouck De Geer Kan De Beerenbrouck De Wilde Boeijen Burger Van Boeijen Beel Witteman Van Maarseveen Van Schaik Teulings Van Maarseveen Teulings Beel Van Oven Suurhoff Struycken Toxopeus Smallenbroek Samkalden Verdam Beernink M. Geertsema De Gaay Fortman Wiegel Van Thijn Rood Rietkerk Korthals Altes De Korte Van Dijk De Koning Van Dijk Dales Hirsch Ballin Van Thijn De Graaff-Nauta Dijkstal Peper Van Boxtel De Vries Remkes Ter Horst Hirsch Ballin Donner Spies Plasterk Blok Plasterk Ollongren Knops Ollongren Bruins Slot De Jonge Uitermark

v t e Ministers of kingdom relations of the Netherlands
Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations
Korthals Biesheuvel Bakker Nelissen Lardinois Geertsema De Gaay Fortman Van der Stee Den Uyl De Koning Lubbers Hirsch Ballin Lubbers Voorhoeve Peper Van Boxtel De Vries Remkes De Graaf Pechtold Nicolaï Ter Horst Hirsch Ballin Donner Spies Plasterk Blok Plasterk Ollongren Knops Ollongren Bruins Slot De Jonge Uitermark

v t e « 1952–1958 « Dutch members of the European Parliament, 1958–1979 » 1979–1984 »
Labour Party	Wim Albers Nel Barendregt Jan Broeksz Jaap Burger Marinus van der Goes van Naters Arie van der Hek Reint Laan Cees Laban Jan Lamberts Gerard Nederhorst Ad Oele Schelto Patijn Siep Posthumus Jan Pronk Max van der Stoel Henk Vredeling Ep Wieldraaijer
Catholic People's Party	Marius van Amelsvoort Pieter Blaisse Tiemen Brouwer Flip van Campen M.M.A.A. Janssen Pierre Lardinois Joep Mommersteeg Harrij Notenboom Kees van der Ploeg Kees Raedts Piet van der Sanden Maan Sassen Wim Schuijt Wim Vergeer Tjerk Westerterp
Anti-Revolutionary Party	Barend Biesheuvel Jaap Boersma Kees Boertien Wilhelm Friedrich de Gaay Fortman Cees Hazenbosch Jan de Koning Willem Rip Jacqueline Rutgers
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	Jan Baas Cees Berkhouwer Frederik Gerard van Dijk Henk Korthals Jo Schouwenaar-Franssen Bob de Wilde
Christian Historical Union	Corstiaan Bos Johan van Hulst Franz Lichtenauer Durk van der Mei Willem Scholten Teun Tolman
Democrats 66	Doeke Eisma Maarten Engwirda
Political Party of Radicals	Henk Waltmans
Communist Party of the Netherlands	Wessel Hartog

v t e Den Uyl cabinet (1973–1977)
Preceded: Second Biesheuvel cabinet Succeed: First Van Agt cabinet
Prime Minister	Joop den Uyl (General Affairs)
Deputy Prime Ministers	Dries van Agt (Justice) (1973–1977) Gaius de Gaay Fortman (Justice) (from 1977)
Ministers	Gaius de Gaay Fortman (Interior and Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs) Max van der Stoel (Foreign Affairs) Wim Duisenberg (Finance) Ruud Lubbers (Economic Affairs) Henk Vredeling (Defence) (1973–1977) Bram Stemerdink (Defence) (from 1977) Irene Vorrink (Health and the Environment) Jaap Boersma (Social Affairs) Jos van Kemenade (Education and Sciences) Tjerk Westerterp (Transport and Water Management) Tiemen Brouwer (Agriculture and Fisheries) (1973) Fons van der Stee (Agriculture and Fisheries) (from 1973) Hans Gruijters (Housing and Spatial Planning) Harry van Doorn (Culture, Recreation and Social Work)
Ministers without portfolio	Jan Pronk (Development Cooperation) Boy Trip (Science Policy)
State Secretaries	Wim Polak (Interior) (1973–1977) Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (Foreign Affairs) (1973–1977) Pieter Kooijmans (Foreign Affairs) Fons van der Stee (Finance) (1973) Martin van Rooijen (Finance) (1973–1977) Aar de Goede (Finance) Jan Glastra van Loon (Justice) (1973–1975) Henk Zeevalking (Justice) (1975–1977) Ted Hazekamp (Economic Affairs) Joep Mommersteeg (Defence) (1973–1974) Cees van Lent (Defence) (from 1974) Bram Stemerdink (Defence) (1973–1977) Jo Hendriks (Health and the Environment) Jan Mertens (Social Affairs) Ger Klein (Education and Sciences) (1973–1977) Antoon Veerman (Education and Sciences) (1973–1975) Klaas de Jong (Education and Sciences) (from 1975) Michel van Hulten (Transport and Water Management) Jan Schaefer (Housing and Spatial Planning) (1973–1977) Marcel van Dam (Housing and Spatial Planning) (1973–1977) Wim Meijer (Culture, Recreation and Social Work) (1973–1977)

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