Marcel Parcival Arthur van Dam (; born 30 January 1938) is a retired

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politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and journalist. Van Dam worked as a researcher for the Wiardi Beckman Foundation from April 1967 until September 1969. Van Dam also was active as a political activist and was one of the leaders of the

New Left The New Left was a broad political movement that emerged from the counterculture of the 1960s and continued through the 1970s. It consisted of activists in the Western world who, in reaction to the era's liberal establishment, campaigned for freer ...

movement in the Netherlands which aimed to steer the Labour Party more to the left. Van Dam worked as a journalist for the VARA from September 1969 until May 1973 as an

ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

from September 1969 until May 1973 and as an editor from April 1971 until May 1973. After the 1972 general election Van Dam was appointed as State Secretary for Housing and Spatial Planning 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 11 May 1973. The cabinet fell on 22 March 1977 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. Van Dam was elected to 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 ...

in the 1977 general election, taking office on 8 June 1977 but he was still serving in the cabinet and because of

dualism Dualism most commonly refers to: * Mind–body dualism, a philosophical view which holds that mental phenomena are, at least in certain respects, not physical phenomena, or that the mind and the body are distinct and separable from one another * P ...

customs in the constitutional convention of Dutch politics he could not serve a

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he subsequently resigned as State Secretary on 8 September 1977. After the 1981 general election Van Dam was appointed as Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning in the Van Agt II cabinet, taking office on 11 September 1981. The cabinet fell just seven months into its term on 12 May 1982 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 ...

Van Agt III cabinet on 29 May 1982. After the 1982 general election Van Dam returned to the House of Representatives, taking office on 16 September 1982. In December 1985 Van Dam was nominated as chairman of the board of directors of public broadcaster VARA, he resigned from the House of Representatives on 22 January 1986 and was installed as a chairman serving from 10 January 1986 until 30 November 1995. Van Dam remained active in the public sector for the VARA working as a television presenter and television producer for several political programs from January 1996 until January 2005 and occupied numerous seats as a nonprofit director on several boards of directors and supervisory boards (

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and the Institute for Multiparty Democracy) and as an advocate and activist for

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

social integration Social integration is the process during which newcomers or minorities are incorporated into the social structure of the host society. Social integration, together with economic integration and identity integration, are three main dimensions o ...

anti-war movement An anti-war movement is a social movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term ''anti-war'' can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during con ...

multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...

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s and housing reformer. Van Dam is known for his abilities as a debater and negotiator. Following his retirement Van Dam remains active as a political pundit and columnist for the VARA and the ''

de Volkskrant ''De Volkskrant'' (; ), stylized as de Volkskrant, is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000. Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium- ...

'' and continues to comment on political affairs.

Early life

Van Dam was born into a Catholic family as one of nine siblings, however during his childhood, both his youngest brother and one of his elder brothers died. 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 Dam's family had to go into hiding, as a result of his father's refusal to arrest

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, and his subsequent contribution to the resistance. In 1956 Van Dam became a member of the KVP and from 1957 he studied law and sociology at Utrecht University. He never completed studies in law, graduating instead as a sociologist. In 1965 he graduated with thesis on voter behaviour, before performing the first exit poll held in the Netherlands during parliamentary elections as per the methodology he had earlier developed.

Labour Party

During the first Van Agt cabinet (1977–1981), Van Dam became the state secretary of Housing for the PvdA before the fall of the cabinet, then later becoming member of the House of Representatives (1977–1981). At the height of the

Lockheed bribery scandals The Lockheed bribery scandals encompassed bribes and contributions made by officials of U.S. aerospace company Lockheed from the late 1950s to the 1970s in the process of negotiating the sale of aircraft. The scandal caused considerable pol ...

in 1976, Van Dam came into conflict with then-Prime Minister Joop den Uyl. The Prime Minister pushed for a compromise on the sensitive issue, advocating that

Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld (later Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands; 29 June 1911 – 1 December 2004) was Prince consort of the Netherlands, Prince of the Netherlands from 6 September 1948 to 30 April 1980 as the husband of Queen J ...

should escape legal prosecution. Van Dam, however, thought the prince would be unjustly released. As he recounts: "I called Joop and said, Joop, I am resigning. And I went home." He later rescinded his resignation.

Decorations

References

External links

;Official
Drs. M.P.A. (Marcel) van Dam
Parlement & Politiek {{DEFAULTSORT:Dam, Marcel van 1938 births Living people Dutch anti-racism activists Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Dutch anti–nuclear weapons activists Dutch anti-war activists Dutch atheists Dutch columnists Dutch former Christians Dutch magazine editors Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch opinion journalists Dutch people of World War II Dutch political commentators Dutch political journalists Dutch public broadcasting administrators Dutch republicans Dutch social justice activists Dutch sociologists Dutch television editors Dutch television presenters Dutch television producers Former Roman Catholics Housing reformers Dutch housing rights activists Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Labour Party (Netherlands) politicians Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Ministers of housing and spatial planning of the Netherlands Minority rights activists Ombudsmen People from Nunspeet Politicians from Utrecht (city) Political sociologists State secretaries for housing and spatial planning of the Netherlands Utrecht University alumni Writers about activism and social change 20th-century Dutch journalists 20th-century Dutch male writers 20th-century Dutch politicians 21st-century Dutch journalists 21st-century Dutch male writers