1849 Dutch cabinet formation

Last updated

After the resignation of the moderately liberal De Kempenaer-Donker Curtius cabinet on 18 September 1849, a cabinet formation took place in the Netherlands. On 1 November 1849, this resulted in the liberal First Thorbecke cabinet.

Contents

Background

King William III of the Netherlands. Portret van koning Willem III, objectnr SA 1772.jpg
King William III of the Netherlands.

The De Kempenaer-Donker Curtius cabinet succeeded the conservative Schimmelpenninck cabinet in November 1848 after the Constitutional Reform of 1848 was proclaimed. The popular liberal and chairman of the Constitution Committee Johan Rudolph Thorbecke was missing from that cabinet. The 1848 Dutch general election took place that same month, in which the liberals won a majority, including a large proportion of Thorbeckians. The cabinet experienced a lot of opposition from the liberals in the House of Representatives, which meant that it was hardly able to pass any laws. It also suffered from impossible treatment by king William III, who took office in May 1849. An extremely negative draft response from the liberals to the speech from the throne was ultimately the final straw. On 18 September 1849, the ministers tendered their resignation. [1]

Formateurs Donker and Lightenvelt

Formateur Dirk Donker Curtius. Dirk Donker Curtius.jpg
Formateur Dirk Donker Curtius.

The political establishment agreed that Thorbecke's accession was inevitable, but had difficulty with him because of his behavior. William III also considdered Thorbecke - whom he had not yet met - unacceptable, partly because of a hostile amendment regarding the supervision of the management of the crown land. One day after the resignation request, the king therefore appointed Leonardus Antonius Lightenvelt and Dirk Donker Curtius as formateurs with the assignment to investigate the possibilities for a new cabinet [2] 'that should be able to gain the King's confidence'. [3] Lightenvelt was against Thorbecke joining a cabinet, while Donker Curtius was against a completely conservative cabinet. [2]

Formateur Leonardus Antonius Lightenvelt. Leonardus Antonius Lightenvelt.jpg
Formateur Leonardus Antonius Lightenvelt.

Donker Curtius immediately contacted Thorbecke. He proposed a mixed cabinet with liberals, including Thorbecke, who had the support of the House and conservative ministers who had the king's confidence. Thorbecke rejected this proposal because he wanted a homogeneous cabinet, if necessary a conservative cabinet. The conservatives that Donker Curtius sounded out, Willem Boreel van Hogelanden and Jean Chrétien Baud, also saw nothing in a 'patched up' cabinet. The formators tried to find a combination for a few more days, but had to conclude that there was no other option than calling in Thorbecke. [4]

Subformateurs

Through Donker Curtius, Thorbecke and Jan Nedermeijer van Rosenthal received a request from the king on 3 October to make a proposal for a cabinet that was 'in accordance with the People's Representatives'. Donker Curtius and Lightenvelt remained the official formateur. The selection of moderate liberal Nedermeijer van Rosenthal was probably to rein in Thorbecke. Present at the meeting was the first candidate for the cabinet, Minister of Finance Pieter van Bosse, who was the only one from the previous cabinet who was allowed to stay on as far as the formateurs were concerned. Although it was a condition that as many ministers as possible had to be in line with the parliamentary majority, he visited Baud and Boreel for advice. [5]

Thorbecke had difficulty finding ministers and, contrary to custom, did not take rank and status into account. As Minister of the Colonies, for example, he suggested the thirty-seven-year-old Indian civil servant Daniel Couperus Steyn Parvé, which, according to Baud, 'couldn't have been serious' because he was too low in rank. Thorbecke asked his former student and legation councilor at the Paris embassy Louis Gericke van Herwijnen, but he understood that he had too little stature for the position. For the Navy, Thorbecke suggested captain and teacher at the Royal Military Academy Willem Jan Knoop, but this was discouraged due to his rank, lack of experience and conviction for involvement in a duel with a fatal outcome. [6]

Formateur Johan Rudolf Thorbecke. Johan Rudolf Thorbecke (1796-1872). Minister van Staat en minister van binnenlandse zaken, SK-A-4120.jpg
Formateur Johan Rudolf Thorbecke.

Thorbecke made the following proposal:

On 15 October, Thorbecke submitted their proposal to the king via Donker Curtius. The king rejected all proposed ministers except Van Bosse. In particular, he considered the ministries of the Navy and War to be 'his' domain. In addition, he was against the proposal to abolish the two ministries of Religious Service (Dutch : Eredienst). [7]

Request for government program

Willem III consulted with the formateurs, director of the King's Cabinet Anthon van Rappard and the two princes Frederick and Henry about the next steps. The king still refused to talk to Thorbecke. On 17 October, they decided to ask Thorbecke for a detailed government program, comparable to what would later become a coalition agreement. In this way the king hoped to get rid of Thorbecke. Thorbecke refused this request, because he thought it was clear enough what he stood for and that otherwise an invitation for a conversation was the usual route. Thorbecke also believed that the king should first give confidence to a cabinet and then judge it on actions, not promises. [8] The king denied in a letter on 23 October that there was any lack of confidence, but considered their assignment completed. [9]

Assignment for Van Goltstein

Front page of the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant (NRC) of October 24, 1849, with the anonymous letter about the progress of the formation in the right column. Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant 24 October 1849.jpg
Front page of the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant (NRC) of October 24, 1849, with the anonymous letter about the progress of the formation in the right column.

In the meantime, Lightenvelt and Donker Curtius had started looking for an alternative and ended up with the moderately liberal Speaker of the House of Representatives Jan Karel van Goltstein. On 22 October, Van Goltstein agreed to act as formateur. Two days later, however, an anonymous letter appeared in the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant (NRC), describing the formation process, including the 'trap' that asked Thorbecke for a complete government program. The piece was probably composed by Thorbecke and written by Gijsbertus Martinus van der Linden. [9]

Even in conservative circles it was recognized that the king and formateurs had not been fair towards Thorbecke. In panic, Donker Curtius made the same demand to Van Goltstein and submitted the entire policy program of the current ministry to him for signature. Van Goltstein requested all the documents of the formation and concluded that Thorbecke and Nedermeijer van Rosenthal had indeed been treated unfairly. He therefore withdrew as a formateur before he had started. Now that the king could no longer ignore Thorbecke, he relieved Donker Curtius and Lightenvelt of their assignment on 26 October. [10]

Formateurs Thorbecke and Nedermeijer van Rosenthal

Formateur Jan Nedermeijer van Rosenthal. Johan Theodoor Hendrik Nedermeyer van Rosenthal.jpg
Formateur Jan Nedermeijer van Rosenthal.

On 27 October, William III received Thorbecke and Nedermeijer van Rosenthal. It became an unexpectedly constructive meeting. For War and Navy, the king proposed Johannes Theodorus van Spengler and Engelbertus Batavus van den Bosch. He wanted to retain the two ministries of Religious Service with the sitting ministers. For Colonies he proposed Secretary General Charles Ferdinand Pahud, who would act as a kind of deputy minister under the authority of the Minister of Finance. He also wanted Van Goltstein for Foreign Affairs. [9]

A day later, the candidate-ministers met to see whether they could reach agreement on a number of important points. At the end of the meeting, Van den Bosch and Van Goltstein withdrew. They were replaced by Engelbertus Lucas and Van Sonsbeeck. The formateurs insisted on abolishing the ministries of Religious Service, instead transferring these tasks to the Catholic Van Sonsbeeck and the Protestant Nedermeijer van Rosenthal. [11]

On 29 October, Thorbecke presented his new proposal to the king. The king was not immediately convinced and suggested a few other names. In particular he wanted to replace Van Sonsbeeck, whom he found an annoying guy. Thorbecke defended Van Sonsbeeck and emphasized that it was important to have a Catholic in the cabinet who had confidence in that religious community. On Van Rappard's advice, the king finally gave in. On 30 October, he appointed the ministers by royal decree [11] and a day later they were sworn in. [12]

Citations

  1. ↑ Berg, J.Th.J. van den; Vis, J.J. (2023). Eerste honderdvijftig jaar: Parlementaire geschiedenis van Nederland, 1796-1946. Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Bert Bakker. p. 331. ISBN   9789035128477.
  2. 1 2 Aerts 2018, pp. 411–412.
  3. ↑ Aerts 2018, p. 416.
  4. ↑ Aerts 2018, pp. 412–413.
  5. ↑ Aerts 2018, pp. 414–415.
  6. ↑ Aerts 2018, pp. 415–416.
  7. ↑ Aerts 2018, p. 417.
  8. ↑ Aerts 2018, p. 418.
  9. 1 2 3 Aerts 2018, p. 420.
  10. ↑ Aerts 2018, p. 421.
  11. 1 2 Aerts 2018, pp. 421–422.
  12. ↑ "Kabinet-Thorbecke I (1849-1853)". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 April 2024.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prime Minister of Belgium</span> Head of government of Belgium

The prime minister of Belgium or the premier of Belgium is the head of the federal government of Belgium, and the most powerful person in Belgian politics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabinet of the Netherlands</span> Executive body of the Dutch government

The cabinet of the Netherlands is the main executive body of the Netherlands. The current cabinet of the Netherlands is the Schoof cabinet, which has been in power since 2 July 2024. It is headed by Prime Minister Dick Schoof.

Liberalism in the Netherlands started as an anti-monarchical effort spearheaded by the Dutch statesman Thorbecke, who almost single-handedly wrote the 1848 Constitution of the Netherlands that turned the country into a constitutional monarchy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Government of Belgium</span> National government of Belgium

The Federal Government of Belgium exercises executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium. It consists of ministers and secretary of state drawn from the political parties which form the governing coalition. The federal government is led by the prime minister of Belgium, and ministers lead ministries of the government. Ministers together form the Council of Ministers, which is the supreme executive organ of the government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Kappeyne van de Coppello</span> Dutch politician

Joannes "Jan" Kappeyne van de Coppello was a Dutch liberal politician who served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1877 to 1879.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janus Henricus Donker Curtius</span>

Jan Hendrik Donker Curtius was the last Opperhoofd of the Dutch trading post in Japan (1852-1855), located at Dejima an artificial island in the harbor of Nagasaki. To negotiate with the Japanese government for a treaty, he received the title "Dutch Commissioner in Japan" in 1855.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dutch cabinet formation</span> Process to form a cabinet in the Netherlands

The formation of a Dutch cabinet is the process of government formation of a Dutch cabinet, consisting of ministers and state secretaries. Most cabinet formations take place after elections for the House of Representatives, but these can also take place in between.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerrit Schimmelpenninck</span> Dutch businessman and politician (1794–1863)

Gerrit, Count Schimmelpenninck was a Dutch businessman and politician, whose views ranged from liberal to conservative. He was the son of Grand Pensionary Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck and a member of the Dutch Reformed Church. He was also the first holder of the modern day post Prime Minister of the Netherlands, then known as the Chairman of the Council of Ministers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johan Rudolph Thorbecke</span> Dutch politician (1798–1872)

Johan Rudolph Thorbecke was a Dutch liberal statesman, one of the most important Dutch politicians of the 19th century. Thorbecke is best known for heading the commission that drafted the revision of the Constitution of the Netherlands in 1848, amidst the liberal democratic revolutions of 1848. The new constitution transformed the country from an absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy, with the States General and the Council of Ministers becoming more powerful than the king. The amended constitution also granted individual rights to residents and citizens of the kingdom. This made the constitution one of the more progressive at the time. Thorbecke is generally considered a founding father of the modern political system of the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pieter Philip van Bosse</span> Dutch politician (1809–1879)

Pieter Philip van Bosse was a Dutch liberal politician. Serving as minister of Finance in six cabinets throughout the middle of the 19th century, Van Bosse led many reforms that liberalised the Dutch economy. He led a cabinet himself as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 4 June 1868 to 4 January 1871.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob de Kempenaer</span> Dutch politician

Jacobus Mattheüs de Kempenaer was a Dutch politician and lawyer who served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers from November 1848 to November 1849. He served as a member of the House of Representatives, chairman of the board of Commerce for Arnhem, a member of the city board, and a member of the Provincial States of Gelderland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Dutch cabinet formation</span>

After the general election of 9 June 2010, a cabinet formation took place in Netherlands. This led to the swearing in of the First Rutte cabinet after 127 days. The cabinet consisted of the conservative liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), with confidence and supply from the radical right Party for Freedom (PVV).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schelto van Heemstra</span> Dutch politician

Schelto, Baron van Heemstra was a Dutch politician. He was Prime Minister from 1861 to 1862.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Gerbrandy cabinet</span> Dutch government-in-exile (1940–1941)

The First Gerbrandy cabinet, also called the Second London cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch government-in-exile from 3 September 1940 until 27 July 1941. The War cabinet was formed by the christian-democratic Roman Catholic State Party (RKSP), Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) and Christian Historical Union (CHU), the social-democratic Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP), the social-liberal Free-thinking Democratic League (VBD) and the conservative-liberal Liberal State Party (LSP) after the resignation of the previous Cabinet De Geer II. The national unity government (War cabinet) was the second of four war cabinets of the government-in-exile in London during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1848 Dutch general election</span>

General elections were held in the Netherlands on 30 November and 4 December 1848. Held immediately after the Constitutional Reform of 1848, they were the first direct elections to the House of Representatives, and were the first to elect a States General to which government ministers would be responsible. Voting was restricted to men over the age of 23, and who paid a certain level of taxation. This limited the franchise to 55,728 people, roughly 11% of the male population over 23, or 2.5% of the total population of the country. Candidates were elected in districts in a two-round system; if no candidate received over 50% of the vote in the first round, the top two candidates would face a run-off. The districts had one MP for every 45,000 inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitutional Reform of 1848</span>

The Constitutional Reform of 1848 laid the basis for the present system of parliamentary democracy in the Netherlands. It is often described as the original version of the Dutch Constitution that is still in force today. Under pressure from the Revolutions of 1848 in surrounding countries, King William II agreed to several demands of the liberal parliamentary opposition. The House of Representatives obtained much more influence, and was now directly elected. The reform was in some sense a peaceful revolution, in which liberal politician Johan Rudolph Thorbecke and King William II played important roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1853 Dutch general election</span>

General elections were held in the Netherlands on 17 May 1853. They followed the dissolution of the House of Representatives as a result of a government crisis caused by the restoration of the episcopal hierarchy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Engelbertus Lucas Jr.</span>

Lieutenant admiral Engelbertus Lucas was a Dutch naval officer of the Batavian Navy, the royal navy of the Kingdom of Holland, the navy of the First French Empire, and the Royal Dutch Navy, rising to the highest rank in the latter navy, and becoming Minister for the Navy in the first Cabinet of the Dutch Prime minister Johan Rudolph Thorbecke from 1849 to 1851.

A process of cabinet formation took place in the Netherlands after the De Meester cabinet offered its resignation on 24 December 1907. The formation resulted in the Theo Heemskerk cabinet on 12 February 1908. It was the third coalition cabinet, because it consisted of the Catholics, the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) and supported by the Christian Historical Union (CHU).

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.