Adolf Marcus "Dolf" Joekes (5 May 1885 – 1 April 1962) was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the

Free-thinking Democratic League The Free-thinking Democratic League (, VDB) was a progressive liberal political party in the Netherlands. Established in 1901, it played a relatively large role in Dutch politics, supplying one Prime Minister, Wim Schermerhorn. The League is a p ...

(VDB) and later co-founder of the Labour Party (PvdA) and businessman.

Early life and career

Joekes worked as a salesman for the Samarang–Joana Steam Tram Company and the Semarang-Cheribon Steam Tram Company in Batavia in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

from 1910 until 1918 and a corporate director for the Dutch East Indies Railway Company from 1918 until 1920. Joekes worked as a civil servant for the

Ministry of Labour A ministry of labour ('' UK''), or labor ('' US''), also known as a department of labour, or labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, and s ...

as Director-General of the department for International Labour Laws, taking office on 18 May 1920.

Political career

Joekes was elected to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

in the 1925 general election, taking office on 15 September 1925. Joekes also worked as a

managing editor A managing editor (ME) is a senior member of a publication's management team. Typically, the managing editor reports directly to the editor-in-chief and oversees all aspects of the publication. United States In the United States, a managing edi ...

of the party newspaper ''De Vrijzinnig-Democraat'' from 10 December 1925 until 1 May 1941. After the 1933 general election the

parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislature, legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. ...

of the

in the House of Representatives

Henri Marchant Hendrik Pieter "Henri" Marchant (12 February 1869 – 12 May 1956) was a Dutch politician who co-founded the Free-thinking Democratic League (VDB) and served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1900 until 1933, after which he was M ...

was appointed as Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences in the Colijn II cabinet and selected Joekes as his successor, taking office on 1 June 1933. Following the 1937 general election,

Pieter Oud Pieter Jacobus Oud (5 December 1886 – 12 August 1968) was a Dutch politician of the Free-thinking Democratic League (VDB) and later co-founder of the Labour Party (PvdA) and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and historian. ...

returned to the House of Representatives but asked Joekes to remain as parliamentary leader until 20 September 1937. In October 1938 Pieter Oud was nominated as

Mayor of Rotterdam This is a list of burgemeester, mayors of Rotterdam. References

{{Reflist Lists of mayors of places in the Netherlands, Rotterdam Mayors of Rotterdam, Government of Rotterdam History of Rotterdam ...

and he announced he was stepping down as parliamentary leader and endorsed Joekes as his successor. Pieter Oud resigned on 15 October 1938 with Joekes installed the same day. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Joekes continued to serve as a member of House of Representatives but in reality the political influence of the House of Representative was marginalized. Joekes also served as chairman of the Free-thinking Democratic League from 9 May 1941 until 13 April 1943 following the death of Marcus Slingenberg. In May 1942 Joekes was arrested and detained in

Kamp Sint-Michielsgestel Kamp Sint-Michielsgestel was an ilag that was set up by the German occupiers during World War II in the Ruwenberg boarding school and the Beekvliet minor seminary in Sint-Michielsgestel. History Notable hostages On 4 May 1942, Kamp Sint-Mich ...

and was released in December 1942. In April 1943 Joekes was again arrested and was detained in the

ilag Ilag is an abbreviation of the German word ''Internierungslager''. They were internment camps established by the German Army in World War II to hold Allied civilians, caught in areas that were occupied by the German Army. They included United Sta ...

s of

Scheveningen Scheveningen () is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict () of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular ...

Vught Vught () is a municipality and a town in the Province of North Brabant in the southern Netherlands, and lies just south of the industrial and administrative centre of 's-Hertogenbosch. Many commuters live there, and in 2004 the town was named "Best ...

and Haaren. In August 1943 Joekes was transferred to the

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Nazi Germany, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (pre-1938 ...

and was detained until its liberation on 4 April 1945. Following the end of World War II,

Queen Wilhelmina Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, making her the longest-reigning monarch in Dutch history, as ...

ordered a

Recall of Parliament A recall of parliament is a parliamentary procedure involving an extraordinary sitting of a parliament, occurring outside the time when that parliament would usually meet, such as over a weekend, or when the parliament would normally be in recess ...

and Joekes remained in the House of Representatives. On 9 February 1946 the Free-thinking Democratic League (VDB), the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP) and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) chose to merge to form the Labour Party (PvdA). Joekes was one of the co-founders. For the

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

and 1948 general elections Joekes was one of the

lead candidate In politics, a lead candidate (; , ) is the candidate placed first on a party list. In parliamentary systems, it is often the party's nominee for the position of head of government, and the party chair or party leader. Usage by country Neth ...

s of the Labour Party. After the 1948 general election a cabinet formation resulted in a coalition agreement between the Labour Party, the

Catholic People's Party The Catholic People's Party (, KVP) was a Roman Catholicism in the Netherlands, Catholic Christian democracy, Christian democratic list of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1945 as ...

(KVP), the

Christian Historical Union The Christian Historical Union (, CHU) was a Protestant Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), into which it merged in September 1980. History 187 ...

(CHU) and the

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( , VVD) is a Conservative liberalism, conservative-liberal List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. The VVD, whose forerunner was the Freedom Party (Netherl ...

(VVD) which formed the

Drees–Van Schaik cabinet The Drees–Van Schaik cabinet of the Netherlands, cabinet, also called the First Drees cabinet was the Executive (government), executive branch of the Politics of the Netherlands, Dutch Government from 7 August 1948 until 15 March 1951. The cab ...

with Jokes appointed as Minister of Social Affairs, taking office on 7 August 1948. The cabinet fell on 24 January 1951 and was replaced by the Drees I cabinet with Joekes continuing as Minister of Social Affairs, taking office on 15 March 1951. On 15 September 1951 the

Ministry of 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 su ...

was renamed as the

and Health. Following the election of 1952 Joekes returned as a Member of the House of Representatives on 23 July 1952. Per his request Joekes was not considered for ministerial post in the new cabinet; the Drees I cabinet was replaced by the Drees I cabinet on 2 September 1952. In October 1952 Joekes was nominated as a Member of the Council of State, serving from 1 November 1952 until 1 June 1960.

Decorations

References

External links

Mr.dr. A.M. (Dolf) Joekes
Parlement & Politiek {{DEFAULTSORT:Joekes, Dolf 1884 births 1962 deaths Dutch anti-poverty advocates Buchenwald concentration camp survivors Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Dutch agnostics Dutch corporate directors Dutch expatriates in Indonesia Dutch former Christians Dutch magazine editors Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church Dutch political party founders Dutch prisoners of war in World War II Dutch resistance members Free-thinking Democratic League politicians Former Calvinist and Reformed Christians Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Labour Party (Netherlands) politicians Leaders of political parties in the Netherlands Leiden University alumni Ministers of health of the Netherlands Ministers of social affairs of the Netherlands Members of the Council of State (Netherlands) Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Municipal councillors of The Hague Party chairs of the Netherlands People from West Sumatra Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II World War II civilian prisoners World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Writers from The Hague 20th-century Dutch businesspeople 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch diplomats 20th-century Dutch jurists 20th-century Dutch male writers 20th-century Dutch politicians Labour Party (Netherlands) MPs Dutch MPs 1948–1952