Willem "Wim" Schermerhorn (; 17 December 1894 – 10 March 1977) was a Dutch politician who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 25 June 1945 until 3 July 1946. He was a member of the Free-thinking Democratic League (VDB) and later co-founder of the Labour Party (PvdA). According to Harry W. Laidler, the government under Schermerhorn's premiership "achieved important results in the fields of labor, finance, housing, old age pensions, and the social services".

Early life

Willem Schermerhorn was born on 17 December 1894 in Akersloot in the Dutch province of

North Holland North Holland (, ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht (province), Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevola ...

. He grew up in a

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 ...

family of farmers. He became professor of

land surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the land, terrestrial Plane (mathematics), two-dimensional or Three-dimensional space#In Euclidean geometry, three-dimensional positions of Point (geom ...

and

geodesy Geodesy or geodetics is the science of measuring and representing the Figure of the Earth, geometry, Gravity of Earth, gravity, and Earth's rotation, spatial orientation of the Earth in Relative change, temporally varying Three-dimensional spac ...

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 ...

on 7 September 1926. He was a leader in

photogrammetry Photogrammetry is the science and technology of obtaining reliable information about physical objects and the environment through the process of recording, measuring and interpreting photographic images and patterns of electromagnetic radiant ima ...

and founder of the International Training Centre for Aerial Survey. The

International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing The International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) is an international non-governmental organization that enhances international cooperation between the worldwide organizations with interests in the photogrammetry, remote sen ...

has offers an award in memory of Schermerhorn. Schermerhorn remained professor until 1944, when he was removed by the German occupational forces because of his activities in the Dutch resistance. He was interned by the German occupational forces as a hostage in Kamp Sint-Michielsgestel from May 1942 until December 1943. After he was removed as professor in 1944 Schermerhorn went into hiding to avoid being taken prisoner by the German occupational forces.

Politics

On 24 June 1945 he became Prime Minister of the Schermerhorn–Drees cabinet, the first cabinet after World War II. Schermerhorn was the first Dutch Prime Minister who appointed civil servants with a political background, people like Koos Vorrink and Hendrik Brugmans (nicknamed "The Schermerboys"). After the elections of 1946 he became a member of parliament, as a member of the social democratic Labour Party. He remained a member of parliament until 1951. After his parliamentarian career ended he became director of the International Training Center for Aerial Survey in 1951 (until 1969). In 1956 he became member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

Personal life

On 9 April 1919, Schermerhorn married Barbara Rook (13 June 1897 – 7 January 1986). Wim Schermerhorn died on 10 March 1977 in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

. He was 82. His brother, , was an engineer in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(he was involved in the construction of the Moscow Subway). He was killed during the Stalinist purges in 1937. His sister, Neeltje, was married to theologian Johannes Marie de Jonge, principal of the Theological Seminary of the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...

in Driebergen (1960–1968).

Decorations

References

External links

*
Dr.Ir. W. (Willem) Schermerhorn
Parlement & Politiek *
Dr.Ir. W. Schermerhorn (PvdA)
Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal {{DEFAULTSORT:Schermerhorn, Willem 1894 births 1977 deaths Prime ministers of the Netherlands Delft University of Technology alumni Academic staff of the Delft University of Technology Dutch cartographers Dutch civil engineers Dutch magazine editors Dutch resistance members Dutch technology writers Dutch political party founders Dutch prisoners of war in World War II Free-thinking Democratic League politicians Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Labour Party (Netherlands) politicians Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the Senate (Netherlands) People from Akersloot Remonstrants World War II prisoners of war held by Germany World War II civilian prisoners 20th-century Dutch civil servants 20th-century Dutch educators 20th-century Dutch engineers 20th-century Dutch male writers 20th-century Dutch politicians Photogrammetrists 20th-century cartographers Labour Party (Netherlands) MPs Dutch MPs 1948–1952