mr. ''Mister'', usually written in its contracted form ''Mr.'' or ''Mr'', is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. The title 'Mr' derived from earlier ...

dr. Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...

Wilhelmus Hubertus (Wiel) Nolens (

Venlo Venlo () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg (Netherland ...

, 7 September 1860 -

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, 27 August 1931) was a Dutch politician and a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

Life

Willem Hubert Nolens was born to Martin Nolens, a tanner, and Hermina Hubertina Linskens. He studied

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

at the ''Bisschoppelijk College'' of

Rolduc Rolduc is the name of a medieval abbey located on the edge of the town of Kerkrade in the far south-east of the Netherlands. It is today a Roman Catholic seminary with an affiliated conference center. The abbey is a '' rijksmonument'' (Dutch n ...

(1874–1880),

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Roermond Roermond (; li, Remunj or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received town rights in 1231. Roer ...

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

(1880–1884) and

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

and

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

(1887–1890). He was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1887 and taught

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

and

moral philosophy Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...

at Rolduc. In 1896 he was elected to the Dutch

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. He joined the club of Roman Catholic members of parliament of which fellow priest

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 ...

was the chairman.

Politics

In 1904, a year after Schaepman's death, Nolens and other Roman Catholic politicians founded the

General League of Roman Catholic Caucuses A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

. He was a democratically minded politician who strove to better the fate of the working class and favoured better social security. Like Schaepman before him, this brought him into conflict with the conservative Catholics in parliament. In 1910 Nolens became the ''

fractievoorzitter 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 legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are their ...

'' of the General League in parliament, a position he would retain until his death in 1931. In 1918 he became ''

formateur A formateur (French for "someone who forms, who constitutes") is a politician who is appointed to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur is ...

'' of a cabinet. Although in Dutch political discourse becoming formateur normally leads to the office of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, Nolens could not accept the position because of his

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

al status. Instead

Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck Charles Joseph Marie Ruijs de Beerenbrouck (1 December 1873 – 17 April 1936) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Roman Catholic State Party (RKSP), later formed to the Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic A ...

was named the first Roman Catholic Prime Minister in Dutch history and he chaired the cabinet Nolens had formed. In 1926 the loose organisation of the General League was further tightened and it was renamed to

Roman Catholic State Party The Roman Catholic State Party ( nl, Roomsch-Katholieke Staatspartij, 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 Caucuses. ...

. When young Catholic intellectuals drifted towards

right-wing extremism Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

at the end of the 1920s Nolens faced increasing criticism. In 1930 the

National Socialist Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

Catholic poet Gerard Wijdeveld fiercely attacked Nolens in his poem ''De Droom van Nolens (Nolens's Dream)'' because of his perceived soft stance on

freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...

in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

Importance

Nolens was an influential politician in Dutch politics throughout the 1920s and 1930s as the Roman Catholic State Party was the largest party in Dutch parliament at the time. He was immensely popular amongst the

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

s in his native

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

for they owed much of their improved working and living conditions to his support for social reforms. The night before his funeral

street lighting A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, street lamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution ...

in Venlo was covered as a sign of

mourning Mourning is the expression of an experience that is the consequence of an event in life involving loss, causing grief, occurring as a result of someone's death, specifically someone who was loved although loss from death is not exclusively ...

. Ten thousand people attended the funeral next day.

External links

Biography of Willem Nolens at the Institute for Dutch History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nolens, Willem Hubert 1860 births 1931 deaths 19th-century Dutch Roman Catholic priests Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) People from Venlo Roman Catholic State Party politicians 20th-century Dutch politicians Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion 20th-century Dutch Roman Catholic priests