Gerardus Mattheus Johannes "Gerard" Veldkamp (27 June 1921 – 15 September 1990) was a Dutch politician of 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) and economist.
Biography
Veldkamp applied at the
Tilburg Catholic Economic University in September 1945
majoring
An academic major is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits. A student who successfully completes all courses required for the major qualifies for an undergraduate degree. The word ''major'' (also called ''conce ...
in
Economics
Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
and obtaining a
Bachelor of Economics
A Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon)Bureau of Labor StatisticsHow to Become an Economist/ref> is an academic degree, awarded to students who have completed specialised undergraduate studies in economics. Variants include the "Bachelor of Econo ...
degree in August 1946 and worked as a
student researcher before graduating with a
Master of Economics
The Master of Economics (MEcon or MEc)
is a postgraduate master's degree in economics comprising training in economic theory, econometrics, and/or applied economics.
The degree is also offered as an MS or MSc, MA or MCom in economics;
var ...
degree in May 1948 and continued his study at the Tilburg Catholic Economic University where worked as a researcher until 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 Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...
in
Microeconomics
Microeconomics is a branch of economics that studies the behavior of individuals and Theory of the firm, firms in making decisions regarding the allocation of scarcity, scarce resources and the interactions among these individuals and firms. M ...
on 10 November 1949. Veldkamp worked as a civics teacher 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. ...
September 1947 until October 1952 and for the Labour Council in Breda from June 1948 until April 1950. Veldkamp worked as a civil servant for the
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 ...
and Health from April 1950 until October 1952. Veldkamp also worked a writer and columnist for several scientific magazines from February 1947 until October 1952. Veldkamp served on the
Municipal Council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...
of Breda from April 1948 until October 1952.
After the
election of 1952 Veldkamp was appointed as
State Secretary for Economic Affairs in the
Cabinet Drees II, taking office on 10 October 1952. After the
election of 1956 Veldkamp continued as State Secretary for Economic Affairs in the
Cabinet Drees III, taking office on 13 October 1956. The Cabinet Drees III fell on 11 December 1958 continued to serve in a
demissionary
A demissionary cabinet () is a type of caretaker government, caretaker cabinet of the Netherlands, cabinet or provisional government in the politics of the Netherlands, Netherlands.
Overview
The Dutch demissionary cabinet continues the current g ...
capacity until the
cabinet formation of 1958 when it was replaced by the
caretaker
Caretaker may refer to:
Occupations
* Janitor (chiefly in the United States), a person who cleans and maintains buildings such as hospitals and schools
* Property caretaker, a person who cares for a property
* Caregiver or carer (UK), a person wh ...
Cabinet Beel II with Veldkamp remaining as State Secretary for Economic Affairs, taking office on 22 December 1958. Veldkamp was elected as a
Member of the House of Representatives after the
election of 1959, taking office on 24 March 1959. Following the
cabinet formation of 1959 Veldkamp continued as State Secretary for Economic Affairs in the
Cabinet De Quay, taking office on 19 May 1959. Veldkamp was appointed as
Minister of Social Affairs and Health following the resignation of
Charles van Rooy, taking office on 17 July 1961. After the
election of 1963 Veldkamp returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 2 July 1963. Following the
cabinet formation of 1963 Veldkamp remained as Minister of Social Affairs and Health in the
Cabinet Marijnen, taking office on 24 July 1963. The Cabinet Marijnen fell on 27 February 1965 and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until the
cabinet formation of 1965 when it was replaced by the
Cabinet Cals with Veldkamp continuing as Minister of Social Affairs and Health, taking office on 14 April 1965. The Cabinet Cals fell just one year later on 14 October 1966 and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until the
cabinet formation of 1966 when it was replaced by the caretaker
Cabinet Zijlstra with Veldkamp remaining as Minister of Social Affairs and Health, taking office on 22 November 1966. In December 1966 Veldkamp announced that he wouldn't stand for the
election of 1967. Following the
cabinet formation of 1967 Veldkamp per his own request asked not to be considered for a cabinet post in the new
cabinet
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 Cabinet Zijlstra was replaced by the
Cabinet De Jong on 5 April 1967.
Veldkamp semi-retired from active politics and became active in the
private sector
The private sector is the part of the economy which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government.
Employment
The private sector employs most of the workfo ...
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, pu ...
and occupied numerous seats as a corporate director and nonprofit director on several boards of directors and supervisory boards (
Society for Statistics and Operations Research,
World Press Photo
World Press Photo Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Founded in 1955, the organization holds the annual World Press Photo Contest for press photography. Since 2011, World Press Photo has orga ...
,
Leiden University Medical Center
Leiden University Medical Center (Dutch: ''Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum'') or LUMC is the university hospital affiliated with Leiden University, of which it forms the medical faculty. It is located in Leiden, Netherlands. LUMC is a modern u ...
and the
Society for the Advancement of Science, Medicine and Surgery) and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government (Biesheuvel Commission, Netherlands Cadastre Agency,
Public Pension Funds APB,
Toxopeus Commission,
Statistics Netherlands
Statistics Netherlands, founded in 1899, is a Dutch governmental institution that gathers statistical information about the Netherlands. In Dutch it is known as the Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (''Central Agency for Statistics''), often a ...
and the
Scientific Council for Government Policy
The Scientific Council for Government Policy ( Dutch: Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het Regeringsbeleid, WRR) is an independent think tank of the Government of the Netherlands based in The Hague, whose members include prominent social scientists, e ...
). Veldkamp also served as a distinguished professor of
Social security
Welfare spending 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 specifically to social insurance ...
at the
Leiden University
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...
from 1 September 1978 until 1 January 1987 and as distinguished professor of
Welfare economics
Welfare economics is a field of economics that applies microeconomic techniques to evaluate the overall well-being (welfare) of a society.
The principles of welfare economics are often used to inform public economics, which focuses on the ...
at the Tilburg University from 1 January 1984 until 1 November 1986
Veldkamp was known for his abilities as a
debate
Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...
r and ''