The Den Uyl cabinet was the

cabinet of the Netherlands The cabinet of the Netherlands () is the main executive body of the Netherlands. The current cabinet of the Netherlands is the Schoof cabinet, which has been in power since 2 July 2024. It is headed by Prime Minister Dick Schoof. Composition an ...

from 11 May 1973 until 19 December 1977. The cabinet was formed by the

social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

Labour Party (PvdA), the

Christian democratic Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...

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

Anti-Revolutionary Party The Anti-Revolutionary Party (, ARP) was a Protestant conservative and Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1879 by Abraham Kuyper, a neo-Calvinist theologian and minister who served as Prime Mi ...

(ARP), the progressive

Political Party of Radicals The Political Party of Radicals (, PPR) was a progressive Christian (''radicaal-christelijke'') and green political party in the Netherlands. The PPR played a relatively small role in Dutch politics and merged with other left-wing parties to for ...

(PPR) and the

social liberal Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited g ...

Democrats 66 Democrats 66 (; D66) is a social liberal and progressive political party in the Netherlands, which is positioned on the centre to centre-left of the political spectrum. It is a member of the Liberal International (LI) and the Alliance of Li ...

(D'66) after the 1972 general election. The cabinet was a

centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...

grand coalition A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political party, political parties of opposing political spectrum, political ideologies unite in a coalition government. Causes of a grand coali ...

and had a substantial

majority A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the "#Related terms, Related terms" section below. It is a subset of a Set (mathematics), set consisting of more than half of the se ...

in 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 ...

with

Labour Leader The ''Labour Leader'' was a British socialist newspaper published for almost one hundred years. It was later renamed ''New Leader'' and ''Socialist Leader'', before finally taking the name ''Labour Leader'' again. 19th century The origins of th ...

Joop den Uyl Johannes Marten den Uijl (9 August 1919 – 24 December 1987), better known as Joop den Uyl (), was a Dutch politician and economist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1973 to 1977. He was a member of the Labour Party (PvdA ...

serving as

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. Prominent

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

politician

Dries van Agt Andreas Antonius Maria "Dries" van Agt (; 2 February 1931 – 5 February 2024) was a Dutch politician, jurist and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 19 December 1977 until 4 November 1982. He was a prominent leader o ...

, the Minister of Justice from the previous cabinet, served 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 ...

until his resignation. Prominent

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

politician Gaius de Gaay Fortman, the Minister of the Interior, assumed the office of Deputy Prime Minister on 8 September 1977. The cabinet served during the tumultuous 1970s and had to deal with several major crises such as the

1973 oil crisis In October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced that it was implementing a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began after Eg ...

, the

Lockheed scandal 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 politi ...

, the Moluccans incidents and the fallout of the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

. Internally the cabinet suffered several conflicts, including the poor working relationship between Prime Minister Den Uyl and Deputy Prime Minister Van Agt, and multiple resignations. The cabinet fell on 22 March 1977, just before the end of its term, following a major

political crisis A cabinet crisis, government crisis or political crisis refers to a situation where an incumbent government is unable to form or function, is toppled through an uprising, or collapses. Political crises may correspond with, cause or be caused by an ...

, and continued 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 it was replaced following the election of 1977.

Formation

After the 1972 general election the Labour Party (PvdA) of

was the winner of the election, winning four new seats and having now a total of 43 seats. Prior to the election the PvdA had formed a

political alliance A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller political parties, who a ...

with the

progressive Christian Progressive Christianity represents a range of related perspectives in contemporary Christian theology and practice. It is a postmodern theological approach, which developed out of the liberal Christianity of the modern era, although progressive C ...

and the

, but this alliance failed to achieve a majority in the

. After lengthy negotiations the

(KVP) and

(ARP) agreed to start talks about joining the coalition. During the formation negotiations between the parties were difficult because of disputes between uncompromising left-wing radicals and the moderate factions of the left-wing parties and the left-wing Christians. In the end both the KVP and the ARP joined the cabinet.

Term

The Den Uyl cabinet was confronted with many problems, starting with the

following Dutch support of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in the

said in a speech on national television that "things would never return to the way they were" and implemented fuel rationing and a ban on Sunday driving. Domestically the cabinet had several major conflicts, including the terrorist attacks by

Moluccans Moluccans are the Melanesian- Austronesian and Papuan-speaking ethnic groups indigenous to the Maluku Islands (also called the Moluccas). The region was historically known as the Spice Islands, and today consists of two Indonesian provinces o ...

seeking independence from

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, ...

, the Lockheed affair (bribes accepted by the prince consort) and the closing of the Bloemenhove abortion clinic. Many plans could not be implemented because of these problems. The cabinet fell because of a disagreement over land development plans. A deeper cause was the left-wing distrust of the Christian ministers, especially in the case of war criminal

Pieter Menten Pieter Nicolaas Menten (26 May 1899 – 14 November 1987) was a Dutch war criminal, businessman, and art collector. Menten was a Nazi collaborator who committed numerous crimes, including murder, on behalf of the regime. After World War II, he w ...

, where

and

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 ...

was ridiculed (so Van Agt believed) by some party members of Prime Minister Joop den Uyl.

Changes

On 1 November 1973,

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a United Kingdom cabinet position, responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The post was originally named President of the Board of Agriculture and was created in 1889 ...

Tiemen Brouwer (KVP) resigned for reasons of health; shortly after he took office, he suffered a

brain haemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

. That same day State Secretary of Finance

Fons van der Stee Alphonsus Petrus Johannes Mathildus Maria "Fons" van der Stee (30 July 1928 – 9 September 1999) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) and later the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and economist. Biograph ...

(KVP) was installed as Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries. On 21 December 1973,

Martin van Rooijen Martinus Johannes "Martin" van Rooijen (born 31 July 1942) is a Dutch politician of the 50PLUS (50+) party formerly of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and businessman. He is ...

(KVP), who until then had been working as the head of the fiscal tax department for

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New ...

, was appointed as State Secretary of Finance. On 1 March 1974, State Secretary of Defence Joep Mommersteeg (KVP) resigned because of health problems. On 11 March 1974, brigadier general Cees van Lent (KVP), who until then had been working as Chief of the Personnel Department of the

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army (, KL) is the Ground warfare, land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised making the Dutch standing a ...

, was installed as his successor. On 27 May 1975, State Secretary of Justice Jan Glastra van Loon (D'66) resigned due to a conflict with top officials at the

Ministry of Defence 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 ...

after criticising the department's leadership in an interview. On 6 June 1975, former

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 ...

Alderman

Henk Zeevalking Hendrik Jan "Henk" Zeevalking (7 June 1922 – 23 February 2005) was a Dutch politician and co-founder of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. Zeevalking attended a Gymnasium in Utrecht from April 1934 until June 1940 and applied at the Utr ...

(D'66) was appointed his successor. On 1 September 1975, State Secretary of Education and Sciences Antoon Veerman (ARP) resigned because of health reasons. That same day, Klaas de Jong (ARP), who until then had been working as rector of the Christian school in

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht, Netherlands. As of 31 January 2023, the municipality had ...

, was installed as his successor. On 1 January 1977,

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 ...

Henk Vredeling Hendrikus "Henk" Vredeling (20 November 1924 – 27 October 2007) was a Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA). Decorations References External links *Ir. H. (Henk) VredelingParlement & Politiek 1924 birt ...

(PvdA) resigned after he was appointed as European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs. That same day, State Secretary for Defence Bram Stemerdink (PvdA) was appointed as his successor. On 1 May 1977, State Secretary of the Interior Wim Polak (PvdA) resigned after he was appointed

Mayor of Amsterdam Below is a list of Burgomaster, mayors of Amsterdam (Dutch language, Dutch: ''burgemeesters''), capital of the Netherlands. The city had four burgomasters, serving four years. Since 1389 the mayors were elected on 1 February. In the 17th and 18th ...

; because the cabinet was already

he was not replaced. On 8 September 1977,

and

(KVP) resigned because of the

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 ...

of the constitutional convention in the

States General of the Netherlands The States General of the Netherlands ( ) is the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate (Netherlands), Senate () and the House of Representatives (Netherlands), House of R ...

after he was elected to the

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 ...

Gaius de Gaay Fortman (ARP) took over both positions until the new cabinet was installed on 19 December 1977. For the same reason, on 8 September 1977 State Secretary of Foreign Affairs

Laurens Jan Brinkhorst Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (born 18 March 1937) is a retired Netherlands, Dutch politician and diplomat of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. Early life and education Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst was born in the city of Zwolle. His parents were ...

(D'66), State Secretary of Justice

(D'66), State Secretary of Economic Affairs Ted Hazekamp (KVP), State Secretary of Education and Sciences Ger Klein (PvdA), State Secretaries for Housing and Spatial Planning Jan Schaefer (PvdA) and Marcel van Dam (PvdA) and State Secretary of Culture, Recreation and Social Work Wim Meijer (PvdA) also resigned. TamboPronk1977

Composition

Ministers

State secretaries

References

External links

Kabinet-Den Uyl
Parlement & Politiek
Kabinet-Den Uyl
Rijksoverheid {{DEFAULTSORT:Uyl cabinet, Den Cabinets of the Netherlands 1973 establishments in the Netherlands 1977 disestablishments in the Netherlands Cabinets established in 1973 Cabinets disestablished in 1977