Pieter Philip van Bosse (16 December 1809 – 21 February 1879) 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.

Early life and education

Pieter Philip van Bosse was born in

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, to an insurance broker and his wife. Three of his siblings died at a young age, and his father died when he was eleven years old, after which his mother successfully took over the brokerage firm. He attended the Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam, and studied Roman and Contemporary Law in

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration w ...

from 20 May 1829 to 25 January 1834. After his graduation, Van Bosse settled in Weesp as a manufacturer before returning to Amsterdam to work as a lawyer. In 1845, he was appointed referendary of the import and export rights department of the Ministry of Finance, he position he would retain for three years.

Political career

On 3 June 1848, Van Bosse was appointed

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

. At the time, most of the state's revenue came from excises, and Van Bosse's attempts to introduce a limited income tax and an interest tax proved unsuccessful. Under the premiership of Johan Rudolph Thorbecke, Van Bosse introduced reforms that liberalised the economy. A strong supporter of free trade, he procured the right of transit and discontinued levy on shipping rights on the

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and the IJssel. He reformed the coinage by introducing the silver standard and a simpler system of nickels, dimes, quarters, half guilders and '' rijksdaalders''. Moreover, he reformed the postal system, establishing a government monopoly of postal service. Van Bosse's first ministership came to an end in 1853 with the fall of Thorbecke's cabinet. Van Bosse was elected to the House of Representatives for the constituency of

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on 14 June 1853, and was re-elected in 1856. In his five years in opposition, he consistently insisted on tax reform and warned for excessive government expenditure. Moreover, Van Bosse won a seat in the municipal council of

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

in 1857, which he would give up one year later. He served another term as minister of Finance from 12 March 1858 to 22 February 1860. This term was marked by the introduction of inheritance tax. In 1860, Van Bosse returned to the House of Representatives for Zutphen, only to serve a third term as minister of Finance from 10 February to 1 June 1866. On 3 June 1868, Van Bosse started another term as minister of Finance in a cabinet formed by Thorbecke as

formateur A formateur (French for "someone who forms, who constitutes") is a politician who is appointed to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur ...

. However, Thorbecke did not proceed to lead the cabinet, and Van Bosse himself headed the cabinet as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, an office later dubbed

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

. As Prime Minister, Van Bosse executed a policy based on financial solidity. The cabinet was responsible for the abolition of the death penalty and the discontinuation of levy on newspapers, stimulating the newspaper industry. When several ministers in the cabinet resigned for different reasons in late 1870, Van Bosse was forced to resign as Prime Minister. On 4 January 1871, he was succeeded by Thorbecke. Van Bosse was given the honorary title of

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. I ...

in 1872. However, to his surprise, Van Bosse was appointed Minister of Colonial Affairs at the age of 68. Due to conflict in

Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a ...

, disagreements within the cabinet and the House of Representatives regarding the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, whic ...

and his tense relation with the

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

of the colony, Van Bosse was unable to achieve much. He ceased to be minister in 1872, but served another term as minister of Colonial Affairs from 1877. Van Bosse died in office, on 21 February 1879.

Private life

Van Bosse married Maria Johanna Reijnvaan in Amsterdam on 6 May 1836. The couple had two sons and three daughters. One daughter, Marie Bilders-van Bosse, became a famous landscape painter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bosse, Pieter Philip van 1809 births 1879 deaths Prime Ministers of the Netherlands Ministers of Colonial Affairs of the Netherlands Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Ministers of State (Netherlands) Ministers of Religious Affairs of the Netherlands Ministers of Finance of the Netherlands Dutch civil servants 19th-century Dutch lawyers Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church Politicians from Amsterdam Leiden University alumni Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Lawyers from Amsterdam