Johannes Henricus "Johan" van Maarseveen (3 August 1894 – 18 November 1951) was a Dutch politician of the

Roman Catholic State Party The Roman Catholic State Party (, RKSP) was a Catholic Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1926 as a continuation of the General League of Roman Catholic Electoral Associations. During its entire exis ...

(RKSP) and later 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 jurist.

Early years

Van Maarseveen applied 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 ...

in June 1914

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 ...

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 July 1916 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 1920.

Career

Van Maarseveen worked as a lawyer and prosecutor in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

from August 1920 until September 1937. Van Maarseveen 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 Utrecht from May 1929 until September 1937 and served as an Alderman in Utrecht from September 1935 until March 1937. Van Maarseveen 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 ...

following the appointment of

Carel Goseling Carolus Maria Joannes Franciscus (Carel) Goseling (10 June 1891, Amsterdam – 14 April 1941, Buchenwald) was a Dutch lawyer and politician for the Roman Catholic State Party (RKSP). Goseling was a member of the House of Representatives (Net ...

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 ...

in the Colijn IV cabinet, taking office on 21 September 1937. 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

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 ...

Van Maarseveen continued to serve as a member of the House of Representatives but in reality the ''de facto'' political influence of the House of Representatives was marginalized. Following the end of the War,

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 Van Maarseveen remained a member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 20 November 1945. On 22 December 1945 the Roman Catholic State Party was renamed as the Catholic People's Party. After the election of 1946 Van Maarseveen was appointed as

in the Beel I cabinet, taking office on 3 July 1946. After the election of 1948 Van Maarseveen returned to the House of Representatives, taking office on 27 July 1948. Following the cabinet formation of 1948 Van Maarseveen 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 ...

in 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 ...

, taking office on 7 August 1948. Van Maarseveen was appointed as Minister of Colonial Affairs following the resignation

Maan Sassen Emmanuel Marie Joseph Antony "Maan" Sassen (11 September 1911 – 20 December 1995) was a Dutch politician who served as European Commissioner for Competition in the Rey Commission from 1967 to 1971. Career Sassen studied law and earned a doct ...

, taking office on 14 February 1949. Van Maarseveen served as acting Minister of Justice from 15 May 1950 until 10 July 1950 following the resignation of René Wijers. The Cabinet Drees–Van Schaik fell on 24 January 1951 and 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 1951 when it was replaced by Drees I cabinet with Van Maarseveen appointed again as Minister of the Interior, taking office on 15 March 1951.

Death

On 18 November 1951 Van Maarseveen died after suffering a fatal

heart Attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

at his home in Utrecht.

Decorations

References

External links

Mr. J.H. van Maarseveen
Parlement & Politiek {{DEFAULTSORT:Maarseveen, Johan van 1894 births 1951 deaths Aldermen of Utrecht Catholic People's Party politicians Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Dutch expatriates in Indonesia Dutch prosecutors Dutch Roman Catholics Ministers of colonial affairs of the Netherlands Ministers of justice of the Netherlands Ministers of the interior of the Netherlands Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Municipal councillors of Utrecht (city) Roman Catholic State Party politicians Utrecht University alumni 20th-century Dutch jurists 20th-century Dutch lawyers