Wilhelm Friedrich "Gaius" de Gaay Fortman (; 8 May 1911 – 29 March 1997) was a Dutch jurist and politician of the

Anti-Revolutionary Party The Anti-Revolutionary Party (, ARP) was a Protestant conservative and Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1879 by Abraham Kuyper, a neo-Calvinist theologian and minister who served as Prime Mi ...

(ARP). De Gaay Fortman attended a gymnasium in

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Western Netherlands, lo ...

from June 1923 until September 1925 and the

Amsterdams Lyceum The Amsterdams Lyceum is a Dutch secondary school combining ''gymnasium (school), gymnasium'' and ''Education in the Netherlands#Vwo, atheneum''. Both school types prepare students to go to university. It was established in 1917. The Amsterdams Ly ...

from September 1925 until July 1929 and applied at the

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam The (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public university, public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in ...

in July 1929 majoring in

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 ...

and obtaining a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree in June 1930 before graduating with a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

degree in July 1933 and worked as a researcher at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam from 5 July 1933 until 12 June 1936 when he got a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

as a

Doctor of Law A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

on 12 June 1936. De Gaay Fortman worked as a civil servant from April 1934 until January 1947 for the department of Agricultural Emergency Management of the Ministry of Economic Affairs from April 1934 until September 1935 and for the department of Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries from September 1935 until February 1938 and for the department of Employment Insurances of 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 ...

from February 1938 until January 1947 and as Deputy Director-General of the department for Employment Insurances from April 1939 until August 1943 and as Director-General of the department for Employment Insurances from August 1943 until January 1947. On 10 May 1940

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

invaded An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives of co ...

the Netherlands and the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

fled to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to escape the

German occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

. During the German occupation De Gaay Fortman continued his work for the Ministry of Social Affairs but was sympathetic with the

Dutch resistance The Dutch resistance () to the History of the Netherlands (1939–1945), German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II can be mainly characterized as non-violent. The primary organizers were the Communist Party of the Netherlands, C ...

and worked as an editor for the

underground newspaper The terms underground press or clandestine press refer to periodicals and publications that are produced without official approval, illegally or against the wishes of a dominant (governmental, religious, or institutional) group. In specific rece ...

Vrij Nederland ''Vrij Nederland'' (Free Netherlands) is a Dutch magazine, established during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II as an underground newspaper. It has since grown into a magazine. The originally weekly turned monthly magazin ...

'' from January 1943 until May 1945. De Gaay Fortman worked as professor of

Labour law Labour laws (also spelled as labor laws), labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship be ...

Privacy law Privacy law is a set of regulations that govern the collection, storage, and utilization of personal information from healthcare, governments, companies, public or private entities, or individuals. Privacy laws are examined in relation to an ind ...

and

Property law Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land) and personal property. Property refers to legally protected claims to resources, such as land and personal property, including intellectual prope ...

at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam from 10 January 1947 until May 1973. He also served as Rector Magnificus of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam from 1 January 1961 until 1 January 1962 and from 1 January 1965 until 1 January 1972. De Gaay Fortman was elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in the 1960 Senate election, taking office on 20 September 1960. After the 1971 Senate election De Gaay Fortman was selected as

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 Anti-Revolutionary Party in the Senate, taking office on 11 May 1971. After the 1972 general election De Gaay Fortman was appointed 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 ...

and Minister for Suriname and Netherlands Antilles Affairs in the

Den Uyl cabinet The Den Uyl cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 11 May 1973 until 19 December 1977. The cabinet was formed by the social democratic Labour Party (Netherlands), Labour Party (PvdA), the Christian democratic Catholic People's Party (KV ...

, taking office on 19 December 1977. In March 1977 Gaius de Gaay Fortman announced that he would not stand for the 1977 general election but wanted tot return to the Senate. Following the resignation of

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

and

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

Dries van Agt Andreas Antonius Maria "Dries" van Agt (; 2 February 1931 – 5 February 2024) was a Dutch politician, jurist and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 19 December 1977 until 4 November 1982. He was a prominent leader o ...

De Gaay Fortman took over both positions on 8 September 1977. The Den Uyl cabinet was replaced by the Van Agt–Wiegel cabinet on 19 December 1977. De Gaay Fortman remained in active politics, he was elected again to the Senate in the 1977 Senate election, serving from 20 September 1977 until 10 June 1981. De Gaay Fortman was selected as a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

and dual served in those positions from 13 March 1978 until 15 July 1979. Following the end of his active political career, De Gaay Fortman returned as a professor of privacy law, labor law and administrative law at the

, serving from 20 December 1977 until 10 February 1979. After his retirement De Gaay Fortman occupied numerous seats as a nonprofit director for supervisory boards for non-governmental organizations and research institutes (

Dutch Research Council The Dutch Research Council (NWO, Dutch: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek) is the national research council of the Netherlands. NWO funds thousands of top researchers at universities and institutes and steers the course o ...

, Institute of International Relations Clingendael,

Transnational Institute The Transnational Institute (TNI), is an international non-profit research and advocacy think tank that was founded in 1974 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. According to their website, the organization promotes a "... just, democratic and sustainable w ...

, T.M.C. Asser Instituut and the Carnegie Foundation). De Gaay Fortman was known for his abilities as a negotiator and consensus builder. De Gaay Fortman continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until his death. His eldest son

Bas de Gaay Fortman Bastiaan "Bas" de Gaay Fortman (born 6 November 1937) is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat of the Political Party of Radicals (PPR) and later the GroenLinks (GL) party and economist. Career before politics After attending public element ...

was also a politician, professor and author, he like his father had served in the Senate.

Biography

Early life

Wilhelm Friedrich "Gaius" de Gaay Fortman was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

on 8 May 1911 to an orthodox

Reformed Protestant Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

family. The De Gaay Fortman family were descendants of 17th century Walloon immigrant Jacques Le Gay, and became one of the foremost

Neo-Calvinist Neo-Calvinism is a Calvinist theological movement that was initiated in the late-19th century in the Netherlands. It was originally developed by theologians like Abraham Kuyper, a former Dutch prime minister, and Herman Bavinck who insisted on ...

families in the Dutch Patriciate, with prominent ministers, scholars, business people and politicians.

Politics

The Reformed De Gaay Fortman was a progressive politician of the

, the party which later merged with other Christian parties to form the

Christian Democratic Appeal The Christian Democratic Appeal ( , CDA) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in the Netherlands. Formed as a federation in 1975 by the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolutionary Party, and the Christian Historical ...

politician. He was a

Public servant 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 ...

, secretary of the government labour negotiation team and a teacher at the CNV-school (Christian Labour Union). Later he became a professor at the

Vrije Universiteit The (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the othe ...

and its Rector Magnificus. In 1956 he was unsuccessful as informateur during the long 1956 cabinet formation. However, he was able in 1960 to quickly resolve a cabinet crisis. In 1973 he, together with Boersma, were persuaded to become a minister in the Cabinet Den Uyl. He had a good relationship with the formerly Reformed social-democrat party leader

Joop den Uyl Johannes Marten den Uijl (9 August 1919 – 24 December 1987), better known as Joop den Uyl (), was a Dutch politician and economist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1973 to 1977. He was a member of the Labour Party (PvdA ...

. As Minister of Home Affairs he proposed a plan to divide the Netherlands into 24 mini-provinces and he played a key role in the independence negotiations for

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

in 1975. In 1981 he again acted in a cabinet formation as informateur and managed to pave the way for a government of CDA, PvdA and D66. De Gaay Fortman was in favor of co-operation of the ARP and later the CDA with the PvdA (left). He refuted offered positions in Christian Democrat – Liberal coalitions. De Gaay Fortman became a member of the CDA, but he became alienated from the party mainstream. In his view the CDA too much emphasised policies that resulted in the dismantling of social security. In the parliamentary elections of 1994 he endorsed

Gert Schutte Gerrit Jan Schutte (24 May 1939 – 25 January 2022) was a Dutch politician and teacher. He was the party leader of the now defunct Reformed Political League (GPV), which later merged into the Christian Union (Netherlands), Christian Union (CU), ...

, the leader of the

Reformed Political League The Reformed Political LeagueTranslation used by Rudy Andeweg, Andeweg and Irwin in ''Governance and Politics of the Netherlands'' (2002: 45) (, GPV) was an orthodox Protestant list of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the ...

. He is buried at Zorgvlied cemetery. His son

followed in the political footsteps of his father and became leader of the

Political Party of Radicals The Political Party of Radicals (, PPR) was a progressive Christian (''radicaal-christelijke'') and green political party in the Netherlands. The PPR played a relatively small role in Dutch politics and merged with other left-wing parties to for ...

in the Second Chamber and later a Senator for its successor, the GreenLeft party.

Decorations

References

External links

;Official
Mr.Dr. W.F. de Gaay Fortman
Parlement & Politiek
Mr.Dr. W.F. de Gaay Fortman (CDA)
Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaay Fortman, Gaius de 1911 births 1997 deaths Anti-Revolutionary Party MEPs Christian Democratic Appeal politicians Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Deputy prime ministers of the Netherlands Dutch academic administrators Dutch legal scholars Dutch legal writers Dutch magazine editors Dutch newspaper editors Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Dutch people of Walloon descent Dutch people of World War II Grand Officers of the Order of Leopold II Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Honorary Order of the Yellow Star Labour law scholars Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Ministers of kingdom relations of the Netherlands Ministers of justice of the Netherlands Ministers of the interior of the Netherlands MEPs for the Netherlands 1958–1979 Politicians from Amsterdam People from Dordrecht Politicians from The Hague Rectors of universities in the Netherlands Recipients of the Order of the House of Orange Reformed Churches Christians from the Netherlands Scholars of administrative law Scholars of privacy law Scholars of property law Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni Academic staff of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Writers from Amsterdam Writers from The Hague Burials at Zorgvlied Cemetery 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch educators 20th-century Dutch jurists 20th-century Dutch male writers Members of the European Commission of Human Rights