Cornelis "Kees" Staf (23 April 1905 – 10 September 1973) was a Dutch politician of the defunct

Christian Historical Union The Christian Historical Union (, CHU) was a Protestant Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), into which it merged in September 1980. History 187 ...

(CHU) party now merged into 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 businessman.

Biography

Staf worked as student researcher at the National Agricultural and Forestry College from June 1926 until July 1928. Staf served in the

Royal Netherlands East Indies Army The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (; KNIL, ; ) was the military force maintained by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its colony of the Dutch East Indies, in areas that are now part of Indonesia. The KNIL's air arm was the Royal Netherl ...

as a

Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

in the Corps of Engineers stationed in

Sawah Besar Sawah Besar is a district (''kecamatan'') of Central Jakarta, Indonesia. Its neighborhoods are among the most historic, containing the 1820-established Pasar Baru ("New Market"), the new colonial city – ''Weltevreden'' – and the old co ...

from December 1928 until December 1929. Staf worked for the

land reclamation Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...

Dutch Heidemaatschappij Company from December 1929 until January 1941 and was

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

and Chairman of the board of directors from November 1939 until May 1941, and he also worked as a civil servant for the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Gelderland Gelderland ( , ), also known as Guelders ( ) in English, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...

from August 1939 until May 1940. On 24 January 1951 the Cabinet Drees–Van Schaik fell 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 the Cabinet Drees I with Staf appointed as Minister of War and the Navy, taking office on 15 March 1951. Staf was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the election of 1952, taking office on 15 July 1952. After the cabinet formation of 1952 Staf continued as Minister of War and the Navy in the Cabinet Drees II, taking office on 2 September 1952. After the election of 1956 Staf returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 3 July 1956. Staf was appointed as Minister of Colonial Affairs following the death of and dual served in both positions, taking office on 18 July 1956. After the cabinet formation of 1956 Staf continued in the post as the newly renamed

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

in the Cabinet Drees III, taking office on 13 October 1956. On 16 February 1957 Staf resigned as Minister of Colonial Affairs following the appointment of

Gerard Helders Gerardus Philippus "Gerard" Helders (9 March 1905 – 6 January 2013) was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the defunct Christian Historical Union (CHU) party now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist. Helders appl ...

but continued as Minister of Defence. Staf served as acting Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Supplies following the appointment of

Sicco Mansholt Sicco Leendert Mansholt (; 13 September 1908 – 29 June 1995) was a Dutch farmer, politician and diplomat of the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP) and later the Labour Party (PvdA), who served as the fourth president of the European Com ...

as the first European Commissioner from the Netherlands, serving from 1 January 1958 until 13 January 1958. The Cabinet Drees III fell on 11 December 1958 and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until 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 Staf continuing as Minister of Defence and also took over as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Supplies, taking office on 22 December 1958. In January 1959 Staf announced that he would not stand for the election of 1959. Following the cabinet formation of 1959 Staf 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 Beel II was replaced by the Cabinet De Quay on 19 May 1959. Staf remained in active politics, he became a Member of the Senate after the death of Gualthérus Kolff, taking office on 9 June 1959. In August 1960 Staf announced that he would not stand for the Senate election of 1960 and continued to serve as a

backbencher In Westminster system, Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no Minister (government), governmental office and is not a Frontbencher, frontbench spokesperson ...

until the end of the parliamentary term on 20 September 1960.

Decorations

References

External links

;Official *
Ir. C. (Kees) Staf
Parlement & Politiek *
Ir. C. Staf (CHU)
Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal {{DEFAULTSORT:Staf, Kees 1905 births 1973 deaths Agricultural engineers Christian Historical Union politicians Commanders of the Order of Merit (Portugal) Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Dutch agronomists Dutch civil engineers Dutch corporate directors Dutch expatriates in Indonesia Dutch expatriates in Poland Dutch expatriates in Portugal Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church Dutch military engineers Dutch nonprofit directors Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Ministers of agriculture of the Netherlands Ministers of colonial affairs of the Netherlands Ministers of defence of the Netherlands Ministers of the Navy of the Netherlands Ministers of war of the Netherlands Politicians from Arnhem People from Ede, Netherlands Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II Recipients of the Order of the House of Orange Royal Netherlands East Indies Army personnel Wageningen University and Research alumni Academic staff of Wageningen University and Research Wrocław University of Technology alumni 20th-century Dutch businesspeople 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch economists 20th-century Dutch engineers 20th-century Dutch military personnel 20th-century Dutch politicians