Jan Eduard de Quay (26 August 1901 – 4 July 1985) was a Dutch politician of the defunct

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) now 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 ...

(CDA) party and psychologist who served as

Prime Minister of the Netherlands The prime minister of the Netherlands () or, before 1945, the chairman of the Council of Ministers () is the ''de facto'' head of government of the Netherlands.''Grondwet voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden'' onstitution of the Kingdom of the N ...

from 19 May 1959 until 24 July 1963. De Quay studied

Applied psychology Applied psychology is the use of psychological methods and findings of scientific psychology to solve practical problems of human and animal behavior and experience. Educational and organizational psychology, business management, law, health, pro ...

and

Literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

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

Master of Psychology The Master of Psychology (often abbreviated Psy.M. or M.Psych.) is a master's degree in the field of Psychology. Australia In Australia, the ''MPsych'' title is usually associated with a specialization, such as ''MPsych (Clinical)'' or ''MPsych ...

and

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degree's followed by a

postgraduate education Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have ...

Clinical Psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of human science, behavioral science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well ...

at the

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

obtaining a

Master of Social Science A Master of Social Science (MSocSc, MSSc or MSS) is a master's degree which has a number of different meanings dependent upon the education system in question. Europe In Finland and Sweden, where the university degree nomenclatura is simply bas ...

degree and worked as a researcher and associate professor of Applied psychology at the

University of Tilburg Tilburg University is a Catholic research university specializing in the social and behavioral sciences, economics, law, business sciences, theology and humanities, located in Tilburg, Netherlands. Tilburg has a student population of about 19,1 ...

from September 1927 until August 1939 before finishing his

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

at his alma and graduated as a

Doctor of Psychology The Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D. or D.Psych.) is a professional doctoral degree intended to prepare graduates for careers that apply scientific knowledge of psychology and deliver empirically based service to individuals, groups and organization ...

in Applied psychology and worked as a professor of Applied psychology,

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

and business theory at the University of Tilburg from March 1933 until August 1939. De Quay also served as Rector Magnificus of the university from January 1938 until January 1939. 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 ...

De Quay was co-founder of the controversial Dutch Union in July 1940 but the organisation was disbanded by the German occupation authority in December 1941. Shortly before the end of the

War War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

De Quay was appointed as

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

in the Cabinet Gerbrandy III, the last

government-in-exile A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovereign state or semi-sovereign state, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usu ...

taking office on 4 April 1945. After 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 ...

De Quay was not included 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 ...

. De Quay continued to be active in politics and in September 1946 was nominated as the next Queen's Commissioner of North Brabant taking office on 1 November 1946. After the election of 1959 De Quay was persuaded to lead a new cabinet. Following a successful cabinet formation De Quay formed the Cabinet De Quay and became

taking office on 19 May 1959. Before the election of 1963 De Quay indicated that he would not serve another term as Prime Minister or not stand for the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

. De Quay left office following the installation of the Cabinet Marijnen on 24 July 1963. De Quay was elected as a Member of the Senate after the Senate election of 1963 taking office on 25 June 1963 serving as a

frontbencher In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then know ...

and

spokesperson A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

for

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

. After the

Night of Schmelzer The Night of Schmelzer was a debate in the House of Representatives (Netherlands), House of Representatives of the Netherlands that took place from 13 October to the early hours of 14 October 1966. This night marked the final day of the general de ...

De Quay was appointed as

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 Transport and Water Management in 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 Zijlstra taking office on 22 November 1966. Shortly thereafter De Quay announced that he would decline to serve in new cabinet and returned to the Senate serving from 13 June 1967 until 16 September 1969. De Quay retired from active politics at 68 and became active in the

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

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 ...

s as a corporate and non-profit director and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government. De Quay was known for his abilities as an effective

team leader A team leader is a person who provides guidance, instruction, direction and leadership to a group of individuals (the team) for the purpose of achieving a key result or group of aligned results. Team leaders serves as the steering wheel for a group ...

and consensus builder. During his premiership, his cabinet was responsible for major reforms to the

education system The educational system generally refers to the structure of all institutions and the opportunities for obtaining education within a country. It includes all pre-school institutions, starting from family education, and/or early childhood education ...

, the

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 ...

and dealing with several major crises such as the

West New Guinea dispute The West New Guinea dispute (1950–1962), also known as the West Irian dispute, was a diplomatic and political conflict between the Netherlands and Indonesia over the territory of Dutch New Guinea. While the Netherlands had ceded sovereignty o ...

. De Quay withdrew from public life and lived in retirement until his death in July 1985 at the age of 83. He holds the distinction as the leading the first cabinet to have completed a full term after World War II and his premiership is consistently regarded both by scholars and the public to have been average.

Biography

Early life

Jan Eduard de Quay was born in

’s-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 160,783. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest city by population. The city is south ...

on 26 August 1901. After attending a Jesuit school in

Katwijk Katwijk () is a coastal municipality and town in the province of South Holland, which is situated in the mid-western part of the Netherlands. The Oude Rijn (Utrecht and South Holland), Oude Rijn ("Old Rhine") river flows through the town and i ...

, he graduated in psychology from the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of 39,769 students, a ...

in 1926. The following year he was awarded a doctorate for his thesis on the contribution of sensory and motor factors to the learning and labour process. In 1928 he was appointed lecturer in psychotechnology at the Catholic college of higher education in Tilburg (now the

) and in 1933 professor of business economics and psychotechnology at the same institution. During the pre-war mobilisation of the Netherlands (1939-1940) De Quay became a lieutenant in the reserve. In July 1940 he formed the Triumvirate of the controversial nationalist Dutch Union with

Louis Einthoven Louis Einthoven (30 March 1896 – 29 May 1979) was a Dutch lawyer and the co-founder of Nederlandsche Unie. After the war, Einthoven was put in charge of Bureau Nationale Veiligheid, which was renamed Binnenlandse Veiligheidsdienst. He was bor ...

and

Hans Linthorst Homan Johannes (Hans) Linthorst Homan (17 February 1903 – 6 November 1986) was a Dutch politician and diplomat. He was born in Assen to the patrician Linthorst Homan family, the son of Jan Tijmens Linthorst Homan. He studied law in Leiden, and star ...

. This Union was controversial because its leaders suggested partial collaboration with the German occupiers. In August 1940 De Quay started secret meetings with the fascistic Nationaal Front in order to fuse the two organisations. During these talks De Quay called himself a fascist, the Union a fascistic organisation and said that he rejected democracy. In May and June of the same year he was government commissioner for labour at the Ministry of Social Affairs. In this position he encouraged the Dutch population to seek employment in Germany. From July 1942 to June 1943 he was interned in Haaren, after which he went into hiding from the occupation authorities. This lasted until June 1943, when he went into hiding. Following the liberation of the area south of the rivers in late 1944, he became chairman of the Board of Commissioners for Agriculture, Industry, Trade and Commerce set up to restore the national economy.

Politics

From 5 April until 23 June 1945, De Quay was

in the

second Gerbrandy cabinet The Second Gerbrandy cabinet, also called the Third London cabinet was the Dutch government-in-exile from 27 July 1941 until 23 February 1945. The cabinet was formed by the List of political parties in the Netherlands, political parties Roman Ca ...

. On 1 November 1946 he became

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 ...

North Brabant North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to ...

until 19 May 1959. He served as

from 19 May 1959 until 24 July 1963. The free Saturday was introduced (for

civil 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 ...

s, in 1961), as well as laws for education (

mammoetwet Education in the Netherlands is characterized by division: education is oriented toward the needs and background of the pupil. Education is divided over schools for different age groups, some of which are divided in streams for different educatio ...

unemployment benefit Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (hu ...

(bijstandwet) and

child benefit Child benefit or children's allowance is a social security payment which is distributed to the parents or guardians of children, teenagers and in some cases, young adult (psychology), young adults. Countries operate different versions of the benefi ...

(kinderbijslagwet).

Natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

was discovered in

Slochteren Slochteren () is a village and former municipality with a population of 15,546 in the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. On 1 January 2018, Slochteren merged with Hoogezand-Sappemeer and Menterwolde, forming the municipal ...

, which would later turn out to be one of the biggest gas reserves in the world and a major source of income for the Netherlands in the decades to come. On 23 December 1960 the cabinet fell over extra public housing (woningwetwoningen), but Gaius de Gaay Fortman reconciled matters and the cabinet resumed on 2 January 1961. In August/September 1962,

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

was handed over to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, under supervision of the UN. Shortly after the installation of the new government, minister of defence Ven den Bergh resigned for personal reasons (family affairs with his

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

wife and children). In 1962, the new minister of defence Visser also had to resign after protests against his dismissal of a critical civil servant. In 1961 minister Van Rooy of social affairs resigned after criticism of how he dealt with the new child benefit law. His post was taken over by former state secretary Veldkamp, whose now vacant former position in turn was taken over by Gijzels. In 1963, a proposal to install commercial television was not accepted. He served as a Member of the Senate from 25 June 1963 until 22 November 1966. During the Cabinet Zijlstra he served as Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management and

from 22 November 1966 until 5 April 1967. On 13 June 1967 he again was a Member of the Senate until 16 September 1969.

Personal life

On 8 August 1927, De Quay married Maria van der Lande (29 August 1901 – 6 November 1988). De Quay died on 4 July 1985 in Beers, he was 83.

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
Dr. J.E. (Jan) de Quay
Parlement & Politiek *
Dr. J.E. de Quay (KVP)
Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal *
Kabinet-De Quay
Rijksoverheid {{DEFAULTSORT:Quay, Jan de 1901 births 1985 deaths 20th-century Dutch educators 20th-century Dutch male writers 20th-century Dutch non-fiction writers 20th-century Dutch scientists 20th-century psychologists 20th-century Roman Catholics Academic staff of Tilburg University Academic staff of Utrecht University Catholic People's Party politicians Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Deputy prime ministers of the Netherlands Dutch academic administrators Dutch business theorists Dutch business writers Dutch education writers Dutch expatriates in the United States Dutch male non-fiction writers Dutch management consultants Dutch people of World War II Dutch political party founders Dutch prisoners of war in World War II Dutch psychologists Dutch Roman Catholic writers Dutch science writers Dutch sociologists Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau King's and Queen's Commissioners of North Brabant Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Ministers of defence of the Netherlands Ministers of general affairs of the Netherlands Ministers of transport and water management of the Netherlands Ministers of war of the Netherlands People from Cuijk People from 's-Hertogenbosch Prime ministers of the Netherlands Psychology writers Rectors of universities in the Netherlands Roman Catholic State Party politicians Royal Netherlands Army officers Royal Netherlands Army personnel of World War II Stanford University alumni Utrecht University alumni World War II civilian prisoners World War II prisoners of war held by Germany