Petrus Josephus Mattheus "Piet" Aalberse Sr. (27 March 1871 – 5 July 1948) was a Dutch politician of the

General League of Roman Catholic Electoral Associations The General League of Roman Catholic Electoral Associations (), informally called the General League (), was a Catholic political party in the Netherlands. It existed from 1904 to 1926, when it was succeeded by the Roman Catholic State Party. It ...

, later 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 co-founder of 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. He was granted the honorary title of

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

on 31 December 1934. Alberse applied at the

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

in June 1891, majoring in

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 1893. He worked as a student researcher 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 1897. Aalberse worked as a lawyer in

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

from August 1897 until April 1901. Aalberse also worked as editor of the Catholic newspapers ''

De Tijd ''De Tijd'' (; ) is a Belgian daily newspaper that mainly focuses on business and economics. It is published by Mediafin and mainly distributed in Flanders and Brussels. It is the Flemish counterpart of the French-language daily '' L'Echo'', wh ...

'' and the ''

De Maasbode ''HP/De Tijd'' is a Dutch language monthly opinion magazine. Its editorial offices are in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Alongside ''De Groene Amsterdammer'', ''Vrij Nederland'' and ''Elsevier'', it is one of the most influential Dutch opinion magazines ...

'' from November 1898 until 25 September 1918. Aalberse 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 ...

from September 1899 until September 1918, and served as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

in Leiden from September 1901 until February 1903. Aalberse 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 ...

after the death of

Herman Schaepman Herman Johannes Aloysius Maria Schaepman (Tubbergen, Overijssel, 2 March 1844 – Rome, 21 January 1903) was a Dutch priest, politician and poet. Life Herman’s father was major Theodoor Eduard Johannes Schaepman. Schaepman went to primary sch ...

, serving from 24 February until 21 June 1916. Aalberse worked as a professor of

Administrative law Administrative law is a division of law governing the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law includes executive branch rulemaking (executive branch rules are generally referred to as "regul ...

and

Labour law Labour laws (also spelled as labor laws), labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship be ...

at the Delft Institute of Technology from 21 June 1916 until 25 September 1918. After the 1918 general election, Aalberse was appointed as the first

Minister of Labour Minister of labour (in British English) or labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

in the

first Ruijs de Beerenbrouck cabinet The First Ruijs de Beerenbrouck cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 9 September 1918 until 18 September 1922. The cabinet was formed by the List of political parties in the Netherlands, political parties General League of Roman Cathol ...

, taking office on 25 September 1918. After the 1922 general election Aalberse continued as Minister of Labour in the

second Ruijs de Beerenbrouck cabinet The Second Ruijs de Beerenbrouck cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 18 September 1922 until 4 August 1925. The cabinet was formed by the political parties General League of Roman Catholic Electoral Associations (AB), Anti-Revolutiona ...

, taking office on 18 September 1922. On 1 January 1923, the

Ministry of Labour A ministry of labour ('' UK''), or labor ('' US''), also known as a department of labour, or labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, and s ...

and the

Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

, Commerce and Industry were combined to form the

, Commerce and Industry, with Aalberse continuing in the post as the newly renamed

, Commerce and Industry. After the 1925 general election, Aalberse was not given 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 Ruijs de Beerenbrouck II was replaced by the Cabinet Colijn I on 4 August 1925. Aalberse subsequently returned to the House of Representatives 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 ...

, taking office on 15 September 1925. After the leader of the

and

Parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislature, legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. ...

of the Roman Catholic State Party in the House of Representatives

Wiel Nolens Wilhelmus Hubertus "Wiel" Nolens (Venlo, 7 September 1860 - The Hague, 27 August 1931) was a Dutch politician and a Roman Catholic priest. Life Willem Hubert Nolens was born to Martin Nolens, a tanner, and Hermina Hubertina Linskens. He stud ...

announced his retirement from national politics, Aalberse was selected as his successor, taking office on 15 September 1931.

Biography

Early life

He was born in

confectioner Confectionery is the art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two broad and somewh ...

Bartholomeus Hendricus Johannes Aalberse and Johanna Kerkvliet. He attended a public elementary school and, from 1885 until 1891, attended gymnasium at the Sint-Willibrorduscollege 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 started studying Dutch Language at

in 1891, but switched to Jurisprudence in 1893. After graduating in 1897, Aalberse became a lawyer and attorney in Leiden.

Politics

Alderman and House of Representatives

Aalberse was elected into the municipal council of Leiden in 1899, and became alderman of Marital Status, Social Affairs and Public Hygiene of the city in 1901. He gave up both positions in 1903, when he was elected into the

for the constituency of

Almelo Almelo () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. The main population centres in the town are Aadorp, Almelo, Mariaparochie, and Bornerbroek. Almelo has about 72,000 inhabitants in the middle o ...

. In the House, he was mainly concerned with policy regarding labour, trade and industry. After losing his seat in 1916, Aalberse briefly taught at the

Delft University of Technology The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft; ) is the oldest and largest Dutch public university, public Institute of technology, technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. It specializes in engineering, technology, computing, design, a ...

Minister

In 1918, Aalberse became the Netherlands' first minister of Labour, a position renamed minister of Labour, Trade and Industry in 1922. As minister, Aalberse was responsible for the introduction of child benefits for public servants, the introduction of a subsidy programme to stimulate private construction of residences, and the fixing of eight-and-a-half-hour work days and 48-hour working weeks. His term ended in 1925. After serving as minister, Aalberse returned to the House of Representatives.

Speaker of the House and Council of State

In the House, he was leader of the Catholic group from 1931 to 1936, and served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1936 to 1937, when he lost his seat. Aalberse ended his political career as member of the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

, from 1937 to 1946.

Personal

On 21 July 1898, Aalberse married Elisabeth Johanna Maria Schmier, with whom he had seven daughters and one son. He was member of the "Raad der Vereniging" of De Nederlandsche Padvinders from 1936 till 1947.

Decorations

References

Citations Bibliography * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aalberse, Piet 1871 births 1948 deaths 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch educators 20th-century Dutch lawyers 20th-century Dutch male writers 20th-century Roman Catholics Academic staff of the Delft University of Technology Academic staff of Leiden University Catholic People's Party politicians Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Dutch academic administrators Dutch legal scholars Dutch legal writers Dutch magazine editors Dutch newspaper editors Dutch nonprofit directors Dutch nonprofit executives Dutch political party founders Dutch prosecutors Dutch Roman Catholic writers General League of Roman Catholic Caucuses politicians Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Labour law scholars Law and economics scholars Leiden University alumni Members of the Council of State (Netherlands) Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Ministers of economic affairs of the Netherlands Ministers of social affairs of the Netherlands Ministers of state of the Netherlands Municipal councillors of Leiden Politicians from The Hague Roman Catholic State Party politicians Scouting and Guiding in the Netherlands Scholars of administrative law Speakers of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Writers from The Hague