Jo Cals
Jozef Maria Laurens Theo "Jo" Cals was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal party and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 14 April 1965 until 22 November 1966.
Cals attended a Gymnasium in Roermond from September 1927 until July 1932 and applied at the Radboud University Nijmegen in June 1935 majoring in Law and obtaining Bachelor of Laws degree in July 1937 before graduating with an Master of Laws degree in July 1940. Cals worked as a lawyer and prosecutor in Nijmegen from November 1940 until August 1948. Cals also worked as researcher at the Radboud University Nijmegen from February 1941 until May 1949 and as a legal and economics teacher in Roermond from October 1943 until June 1945. Cals also served in the military reserve force of the Royal Netherlands Army as a Captain and was mobilized in following the Liberation of Arnhem on 16 April 1945. Following the end of World War II Cals continued to serve as a military lawyer and judge for the military justice system of the Royal Netherlands Army from May 1945 until December 1945. Cals also worked as a judge in Nijmegen and Arnhem from December 1945 until August 1948. Cals served on the Municipal Council of Nijmegen from November 1945 until October 1946.
Cals became a Member of the House of Representatives after Johan van Maarseveen was appointed as Minister of the Interior in the Cabinet Drees–Van Schaik following the election of 1948, taking office on 19 August 1948 serving as a frontbencher and spokesperson for Education, Social Work, Media, Culture and deputy spokesperson for Civil Service and Welfare. After a cabinet reshuffle Cals was appointed as State Secretary for Education, Arts and Sciences in the Cabinet Drees–Van Schaik, taking office on 15 March 1950. The Cabinet Drees–Van Schaik fell on 24 January 1951 after tensions in the coalition about the Netherlands-Indonesian Union and the sovereignty of Netherlands New Guinea and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until the cabinet formation of 1951 when it was replaced by Cabinet Drees I with Cals continuing as State Secretary for Education, Arts and Sciences, taking office on 15 March 1951. After the election of 1952 Cals returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 15 July 1952. Following the cabinet formation of 1952 Cals was appointed as Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences in the Cabinet Drees II, taking office on 2 September 1952. After the election of 1956 Cals returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 3 July 1956. Following the cabinet formation of 1956 Cals continued as Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences in the Cabinet Drees III, taking office on 13 October 1956. The Cabinet Drees III fell on 11 December 1958 on after the Labour Party and the Catholic People's Party disagreed on a proposed Tax increase and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until the cabinet formation of 1958 when it was replaced by caretaker Cabinet Beel II on 22 December 1958 with Cals remaining as Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences, taking office on 22 December 1958. After the election of 1959 Cals again returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 20 March 1959. Following the cabinet formation of 1959 Cals again continued as Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences in the Cabinet De Quay, taking office on 19 May 1959. Cals took two a medical leaves of absence from 7 November 1961 until 4 February 1962 and from 23 April 1963 during which Minister of Social Work Marga Klompé served as acting Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences. After the election of 1963 Cals once again returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 2 July 1963. After the cabinet formation of 1963 Cals was not giving a cabinet post in the new cabinet, the Cabinet De Quay was replaced by the Cabinet Marijnen on 24 July 1963 and he continued to serve in the House of Representatives as a frontbencher chairing the :nl:Tweede Kamercommissie|parliamentary committee for Education, Arts and Sciences and spokesperson for Education, Media, Welfare, Culture and deputy spokesperson for the Interior, Social Work, Minorities and Kingdom Relations. Cals also became active in the public sector and served on several :nl:Staatscommissie|state commissions and councils on behalf of the government. Cals also worked as a academic administrator for the University of Groningen serving as Chairman of the Education board from August 1963 until April 1965.
On 27 February 1965 the Cabinet Marijnen fell and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity. Following a failed cabinet formation attempt by the Leader of the Catholic People's Party Norbert Schmelzer Cals as approached by Schmelzer as a candidate for Prime Minister, Cals accepted and was appointed as Formateur to form a new cabinet. The following cabinet formation of 1965 resulted in a coalition agreement between the Catholic People's Party, the Labour Party and the Anti-Revolutionary Party which formed the Cabinet Cals with Cals becoming Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister of General Affairs, taking office on 14 April 1965. On 14 October 1966 Schmelzer proposed a motion in the House of Representatives that called for a stronger financial and economic policy to further reduce the deficit from the cabinet, Cals saw this as an indirect motion of no confidence against his cabinet from his own party and announced the resignation of the cabinet that same day. This crisis is called the :nl:Nacht van Schmelzer|Night of Schmelzer. The cabinet continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until it was replaced by the caretaker Cabinet Zijlstra on 22 November 1966. Shortly thereafter Cals announced his retirement from national politics and that he wouldn't stand for the election of 1967.
Cals semi-retired from national politics and became active in the private sector and public sector and occupied numerous seats as a corporate director and nonprofit director on several boards of directors and supervisory boards and served on several :nl:Staatscommissie|state commissions and councils on behalf of the government and as an diplomat and lobbyist for several economic delegations on behalf of the government.
Cals was known for his abilities as a debater and manager. During his premiership, his cabinet was responsible for reforms to social security, closing the mines in Limburg and further stimulating Urban development in the Randstad. Cals was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 5 December 1966 and continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until his death from a brain tumor at the age of 57. He holds the distinction as the first serving State Secretary for Education and holds the distinction as the longest-serving Minister of Education after World War II with 10 years, 144 days. Cals also holds the distinction of leading the first cabinet as Prime Minister with a centre-left wing orientation after World War II.
Biography
Early life
Jozef Maria Laurens Theo Cals was born in Roermond on 18 July 1914. After completing his secondary education in his home town, he studied for the priesthood in Rolduc. In 1935, however, he interrupted his theological training to study law at the Radboud University Nijmegen, after graduating in 1940 he practised law in that same city up until 1950, in the meantime also teaching economics at his old secondary school in Roermond.Politics
In 1945 Cals became leader of the Catholic People's Party in the municipal council of Nijmegen until 1946. He was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives in 1948. From 15 March 1950 to 2 September 1952 he was State Secretary for Education, Arts and Sciences, serving from 15 March 1950 until 2 September 1952 in the Drees-Van Schaik and Drees I cabinets. He became Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences serving from 2 September 1952 until 24 July 1963 in the cabinets Drees II and III, Beel II and De Quay, he helped pass the Mammoetwet, a law that transformed secondary education. In the debate, he spoke for 6 hours and 50 minutes, setting a record. In 1963, however, he returned to the House of Representatives. Alongside his duties there, he was a member of the board of governors of the University of Groningen, chairman of the Arts Council and a member of the Press Council.In the aftermath of the collapse of the Marijnen cabinet, Cals became Prime Minister of the Netherlands on 14 April 1965. After two decades of economic growth, his cabinet experienced a slight recession. Plans to build sports halls, roads and houses had to be tempered. In Limburg the coal mines were closed and plans were drawn to educate and re-employ the former miners. There was also social unrest, which became apparent in the Provo movement, construction worker protests, riots over the marriage of princess Beatrix in Amsterdam and the rise of new parties like Farmers' Party, Pacifist Socialist Party, Reformed Political League and the Democrats 66. Especially the last party wanted to change the political order.
On 14 October 1966 Norbert Schmelzer the Leader of the Catholic People's Party and Parliamentary leader of the Catholic People's Party in the House of Representatives proposed a Motion of no confidence against the cabinet and Prime Minister Cals. A shocking and surprised action in Dutch politics, it marked the first time that a motion of no confidence was proposed against a cabinet of the same party. The cabinet resigned that evening.
Scouting
Cals was in 1930, just after the foundation as a separate Scouting organisation, one of the first members of De Katholieke Verkenners. He went to the 4th World Scout Jamboree in Gödöllo, Hungary in 1933. After the liberation of the southern part of the Netherlands in 1944 he was one of the main forces in rebuilding Catholic Scouting as a separate Scouting movement in the Netherlands. During his second term as Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences, the State Secretary for Education, Arts and Sciences was his former Scout Master René Höppener.Trivia
Between 1968 and 1970, Cals was in charge of the Dutch entry to the Expo '70 in Japan. From 1967 he was chairman of the National Advisory Committee on the amendment of the Constitution.Cals was a hard worker but this was at the expense of his health, he died from a brain tumor in the MCH Westeinde hospital in The Hague on 30 December 1971 at the age of 57.