Gijsbert Michiel Vredenrijk "Gijs" van Aardenne (18 March 1930 – 10 August 1995) was a Dutch politician of the

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party in ...

(VVD) and businessperson. Van Aardenne studied

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

and

Mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

at the Leiden University simultaneously obtaining a

Master of Physics A Master of Physics honours (or MPhys (Hons)) degree is a specific master's degree for courses in the field of physics. United Kingdom In England and Wales, the MPhys is an undergraduate award available after pursuing a four-year course of study a ...

and

degree. Van Aardenne worked for a corporate director for an iron manufacturer company in

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

from September 1957 until December 1970 and as CEO from February 1968. Van Aardenne became a Member of the House of Representatives on 18 February 1971 serving until 10 May 1971 and shortly after the election of 1971 returned to the House of Representatives on 3 August 1971 and served as a

frontbencher In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then kn ...

chairing the House Committee for Patent Act Reforms and as

spokesperson A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman, is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

for

Social Affairs A Ministry of Social Affairs or Department of Social Affairs is the common name for a government department found in states where the government is divided into ministries or departments. While there is some variation in the responsibilities of ...

and

Welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

. After the election of 1977 Van Aardenne was appointed as Minister of Economic Affairs in the Cabinet Van Agt-Wiegel taking office on 19 December 1977. After the election of 1981 Van Aardenne returned to the House of Representatives on 25 August 1981 and served as a frontbencher and spokesperson for Finance. After the election of 1982 Van Aardenne was appointed as

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...

and Minister of Economic Affairs in the Cabinet Lubbers I taking office on 4 November 1982. In February 1985 Van Aardenne announced that he wouldn't stand for the election of 1986 following a critical

parliamentary inquiry In parliamentary procedure, requests and inquiries are motions used by members of a deliberative assembly to obtain information or to do or have something done that requires permission of the assembly. Except for a request to be excused from a duty ...

and announced his retirement. Van Aardenne semi-retired from active politics at 56 and became active in the

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

and

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, infra ...

s as a corporate and non-profit director and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government and as an occasional mediator for cabinet formations, and worked as a trade association executive serving as Chairman of the Hospitals association from May 1987 until June 1995 and a Member of the Social and Economic Council for the Industry and Employers confederation (VNO-NCW) from May 1987 until June 1995. Van Aardenne returned to active in politics and after the Senate election of 1995 was elected as a Member of the Senate on 13 June 1995. In July 1994 Van Aardenne was diagnosed with a progressive form of ALS which resulted in him needing to use a wheelchair by December 1994, due to the progression of his illness he wasn't able to attend Senate meetings after his installation and died just two months later in August 1995 at the age of 65. Van Aardenne was known for his abilities as an effective consensus builder and skillful

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

. He holds the distinction as the longest-serving Minister of Economic Affairs after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

with 7 years, 153 days.

Biography

Early life

Van Aardenne was the son of a surgeon and studied mathematics and physics at Leiden University. After his studies he was employed at a steel factory in

, becoming its general manager from 1967 to 1971.

Politics

He joined the

(VVD) in 1958 and was a Member of Parliament between 1971 and 1977, and again in 1981. He became minister of economic affairs in the

First Van Agt cabinet The First Van Agt cabinet, also called the Van Agt–Wiegel cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch Government from 19 December 1977 until 11 September 1981. The cabinet was formed by the christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal ( ...

(1977–81).

Nuclear energy Nuclear energy may refer to: *Nuclear power, the use of sustained nuclear fission or nuclear fusion to generate heat and electricity * Nuclear binding energy, the energy needed to fuse or split a nucleus of an atom *Nuclear potential energy ...

and problems in the shipbuilding industry were prominent issues during these years. He took the same post as well as Deputy Prime Minister in the first

First Lubbers cabinet The First Lubbers cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch Government from 4 November 1982 until 14 July 1986. The cabinet was formed by the christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the conservative-liberal People's Part ...

(1982–1986). He got into political trouble for downplaying the financial struggles of the

Rijn-Schelde-Verolme The shipbuilding company Rijn-Schelde-Verolme Machinefabrieken en Scheepswerven NV (RSV) was a combination of shipbuilding companies and machine factories founded in 1971. In 1983 the company went broke with a staggering loss of public money. It l ...

shipyard, which would collapse in 1983 in spite of many years of large financial support from the government. For this reason he was omitted from the 1986 Lubbers cabinet. Van Aardenne remained politically active, amongst others acting in the formation of the first Kok cabinet in 1994 and rejecting the post of minister of finances in that. By then he had been diagnosed with ALS, which resulted in him needing to use a wheel chair. He died from ALS in 1995.

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
Drs. G.M.V. (Gijs) van Aardenne
Parlement & Politiek {{DEFAULTSORT:Aardenne, Gijs van 1930 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Dutch businesspeople 20th-century Dutch economists 20th-century Dutch mathematicians 20th-century Dutch politicians Aldermen of Dordrecht Businesspeople from Rotterdam Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Deaths from motor neuron disease Deputy Prime Ministers of the Netherlands Dutch accountants Dutch chief executives in the manufacturing industry Dutch corporate directors Dutch lobbyists Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Dutch politicians with disabilities Dutch trade association executives Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Leiden University alumni Leiden University faculty Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Members of the Social and Economic Council Ministers of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands Ministers of Finance of the Netherlands Municipal councillors of Dordrecht Neurological disease deaths in the Netherlands People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians Politicians from Rotterdam Politicians with paraplegia Scientists from Rotterdam Scientists with disabilities