Edzo Hendrik Toxopeus (; 19 February 191823 August 2009) was a Dutch politician who served as

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

between 1959 and 1965, and as

Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is the most senior politician within the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) in the Netherlands. The post is currently held by Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, who succeeded Mark R ...

between 1963 and 1969.

Early life and education

After earning his diploma in

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

, Toxopeus studied

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

at the

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public university, public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of ...

, obtaining a master's degree in 1942. From 1942 to 1959, he was an established lawyer in Breda. He worked as a

paralegal A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant or paralegal specialist, is a legal professional who performs tasks that require knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a lawyer with an admission to practice law. The market for p ...

from July 1942 until October 1944, and as a military lawyer and head of the legal department of the military commission in the

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army (, KL) is the Ground warfare, land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised making the Dutch standing a ...

from November 1944 until August 1945. Toxopeus worked as a

criminal defense lawyer A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the Defense (legal), defense of individuals and companies charged with Criminal law, criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while other ...

in Breda from August 1945 until May 1959.

Political career

From 1949 to 1959, Toxopeus served on the municipal council of Breda. He became a member of 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 ...

on 6 November 1956, shortly after the 1956 general election, when the number of seats was increased from 100 to 150. He served as spokesperson for law enforcement and spatial planning. After the 1959 general election Toxopeus was appointed as

in the De Quay cabinet, taking office on 19 May 1959. Shortly before the 1963 general election,

party leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a politica ...

and

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. ...

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. ...

announced his retirement, and Toxopeus was selected as his successor on 30 March 1963. Toxopeus served as lead candidate in the election, and following a

cabinet formation Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

, the coalition continued and Toxopeus retained his ministerial post in the Marijnen cabinet. As Minister of the Interior, Toxopeus introduced several major reforms to the

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

, including major increase to salaries, improvements to employment conditions and the free Saturday was implemented in 1961. However, this cabinet fell just 19 months into its term and was replaced by the Cals cabinet on 14 April 1965. Toxopeus returned to the House of Representatives on 21 September 1965 but against custom did not take over as parliamentary leader immediately, serving instead as chair of the Committee for the Interior, deputy parliamentary leader and spokesperson for general affairs before taking over as parliamentary leader on 12 March 1966. Toxopeus also served as President of the Liberal International from 15 April 1966 until 25 April 1970. For the 1967 general election Toxopeus reprised as lead candidate, and following a successful

with the

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

formed the De Jong cabinet, with Toxopeus opting to remain parliamentary leader. On 1 October 1969 Toxopeus unexpectedly announced he was stepping down as leader, but he continued to serve in the House of Representatives until his resignation on 1 November 1969. Toxopeus continued to be active in politics and in January 1970 was nominated as the next

Queen's Commissioner A King's commissioner (, ''CvdK'') is the head of government and legislature in a province of the Netherlands. When the reigning monarch is a woman, the title is Queen's commissioner (''Commissaris van de Koningin''). A commissioner is appointed ...

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

serving from 16 February 1970 until 1 November 1980. Following the formation of the Van Agt–Wiegel cabinet in 1977, Toxopeus was asked to become

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

, but he refused. Toxopeus also became active in the private and public sectors as a corporate and non-profit director and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government. In October 1980 Toxopeus was nominated as a member of the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

, serving from 1 November 1980 until 1 March 1988.

Later life and death

Toxopeus retired from active politics at 70, but continued to be active as an advocate and lobbyist for

European integration European integration is the process of political, legal, social, regional and economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe, or nearby. European integration has primarily but not exclusively come about through the European Union ...

, and he served as an occasional diplomat for economic and diplomatic delegations for the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. Toxopeus died on 23 August 2009, at age 91.Minister van staat Edzo Toxopeus (91) overleden
Toxopeus was known for his abilities as a skilful manager and effective negotiator. Toxopeus granted the honorary title of

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

on 22 January 1985 and continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until his death in August 2009 at the age of 91. He holds the distinction as the longest-serving Minister of the Interior after

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 ...

with .

Decorations

References

External links

Mr. E.H. (Edzo) Toxopeus
Parlement & Politiek {{DEFAULTSORT:Toxopeus, Edzo 1918 births 2009 deaths Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Criminal defense lawyers Dutch corporate directors Dutch human rights activists Dutch lobbyists Dutch Mennonites Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Dutch activists Former Lutherans Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit (Portugal) Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau King's and Queen's Commissioners of Groningen Leaders of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Members of the Council of State (Netherlands) Ministers of state of the Netherlands Ministers of the interior of the Netherlands Municipal councillors of Breda People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians Presidents of the Liberal International People from Amersfoort People from Breda People from Oegstgeest Royal Netherlands Army officers Royal Netherlands Army personnel of World War II 20th-century Dutch businesspeople 20th-century Dutch jurists 20th-century Dutch lawyers Dutch MPs 1967–1971