Fifth Colijn cabinet

Fifth Colijn cabinet
Cabinet of the Netherlands
The members of the incoming Fifth Colijn cabinet on 24 July 1939
Date formed	25 July 1939 (1939-07-25)
Date dissolved	10 August 1939 (1939-08-10) (Demissionary from 27 July 1939 (1939-07-27))
People and organisations
Head of state	Queen Wilhelmina
Head of government	Hendrikus Colijn
No. of ministers	10
Member party	Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) Christian Historical Union (CHU) Liberal State Party (LSP)
Status in legislature	Right-wing minority government
History
Legislature terms	1937–1946
Predecessor	Fourth Colijn cabinet
Successor	Second De Geer cabinet

The Fifth Colijn cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 25 July 1939 until 10 August 1939. The cabinet was formed by the political parties Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP), Christian Historical Union (CHU) and the Liberal State Party (LSP). The right-wing cabinet was a minority government in the House of Representatives. It was the last of five cabinets of Hendrikus Colijn, the Leader of the Anti-Revolutionary Party as Chairman of the Council of Ministers.

Formation

The previous Fourth Colijn cabinet had fallen on 29 June 1939, because Colijn refused to implement the plans of Minister of Social Affairs Carl Romme, after which the ministers of the Roman Catholic State Party (RKSP) refused to continue working with Colijn ^[1] .

Colijn attempted to form a new cabinet with the RKSP, and on July 5, 1939, he held talks with the leaders of the parties represented in the House of Representatives. Party leaders of the RKSP and Free-thinking Democratic League (VDB) objected to Colijn's plans to cut spending in all areas except defense. Colijn asked Queen Wilhelmina to relieve him of his task as formateur, but she refused because she did not yet know who would succeed Colijn ^[1] . Only after the Queen had consulted with the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives and several other dignitaries at Noordeinde Palace on July 7 was Colijn relieved of his duties as formateur the next day. In his stead the Queen appointed Dionysius Koolen, former minister and former speaker of the House of Representatives. Koolen, who belonged to the right wing of the RKSP, was unable to make any progress, and he was relieved of his post as formateur on July 13. The Queen reappointed Colijn as formateur, much to the annoyance of the RKSP. Colijn said he had little enthusiasm for the task, but accepted it as a dutiful man. He later stated that he was “more of an officer who obeys than a statesman who decides according to his own responsibility.” ^[1]

On July 25, Colijn succeeded in forming a cabinet consisting of conservative figures from the ARP, the CHU, the Liberal State Party, and independent liberals. The cabinet was formed outside the parties, which meant that ministers joined on their own authority. There was no place in the new cabinet for the RKSP, which considered the entire formation a farce. ^[1] The fall of the cabinet was brought about that same day by the adoption of a motion submitted by RKSP party leader Deckers, which condemned the cabinet's actions. This motion was supported by the RKSP, SDAP, VDB, CDU, and the CPN. The ARP, CHU, the Liberal State Party, NSB, and the SGP voted against.

Initially, it appeared that Colijn would disregard the ruling of the House of Representatives. He was supported in this line of thinking by the authoritarian professor at Utrecht University Carel Gerretson. ^[1] However, Member of Parliament Anne Anema (ARP) convinced Colijn that the House's ruling left him no choice but to offer the cabinet's resignation. The cabinet was dismissed by the Queen on 27 July 1939, just two days after it took office, ^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]} and on August 10, the center-left Second De Geer cabinet came to power.

Composition

Title	Minister				Term of office
	Image	Name	Party		Start	End
Chairman of the Council of Ministers Minister of General Affairs Minister of Economic Affairs		Hendrikus Colijn		ARP	25 July 1939	10 August 1939
Minister of Interior		Hendrik van Boeijen		CHU	25 July 1939	10 August 1939
Minister of Foreign Affairs		Jacob Adriaan Nicolaas Patijn		Indep. [a]	25 July 1939	10 August 1939
Minister of Finance		Christiaan Bodenhausen		Indep. [a]	25 July 1939	10 August 1939
Minister of Justice		Johan de Visser		CHU	25 July 1939	10 August 1939
Minister of Defence		Jannes van Dijk		ARP	25 July 1939	10 August 1939
Minister of Social Affairs		Marinus Damme		Indep. [a]	25 July 1939	10 August 1939
Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences		Bep Schrieke		Indep. [a]	25 July 1939	10 August 1939
Minister of Water Management		Otto van Lidth de Jeude		LSP	25 July 1939	10 August 1939
Minister of Colonial Affairs		Cornelis van den Bussche		Indep. [a]	25 July 1939	10 August 1939
Source: Parlement & Politiek (in Dutch)

1. Liberal

References

1. de Jong, L. (1969). Het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (in Dutch). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. pp. 599–602. doi:10.1007/978-94-015-3700-1. ISBN   978-94-015-2445-2.
2. Herman Langeveld (1998). Hendrikus Colijn 1869-1944 Deel II 1933-1944: Schipper naast God. Balans. p. 6. ISBN   9789460034480.
3. "Hendrikus Colijn (1869-1944) – Premier tijdens de crisisjaren 1930" (in Dutch). Historiek. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
4. "Colijn, Hendrikus (1869-1944)" (in Dutch). Resources Huygens. 10 July 2006. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
5. "Hendrikus Colijn" (in Dutch). Historisch Nieuwsblad. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
6. "Formeren kun je leren" (in Dutch). Historische Studievereniging Leiden. 22 March 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2018.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
7. "De korte regering van het Kabinet Colijn-V" (in Dutch). IsGeschiedenis. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2018.

External links

• Kabinet-Colijn V Parlement & Politiek (in Dutch)