Pieter Oud
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Pieter Oud | |
---|---|
Chairman of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | |
In office 8 April 1949 – 9 November 1963 | |
Leader | Himself (1949–1963) Edzo Toxopeus (1963) |
Preceded by | Dirk Stikker |
Succeeded by | Kornelis van der Pols |
Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | |
In office 28 January 1948 – 16 May 1963 | |
Deputy | See list
|
Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Minister of Finance |
In office 26 May 1933 – 24 June 1937 | |
Prime Minister | Hendrikus Colijn |
Preceded by | Dirk Jan de Geer |
Succeeded by | Jacob Adriaan de Wilde |
Member of the House of Representatives | |
In office 27 July 1948 – 5 June 1963 | |
In office 8 June 1937 – 8 November 1938 | |
In office 28 June 1917 – 26 May 1933 | |
Parliamentary group | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (1948–1963) Free-thinking Democratic League (1917–1938) |
Personal details | |
Born | Pieter Jacobus Oud 5 December 1886 Purmerend, Netherlands |
Died | 12 August 1968 Rotterdam, Netherlands | (aged 81)
Political party | People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (from 1948) |
Other political affiliations | Committee-Oud (1947–1948) Labour Party (1946–1947) Free-thinking Democratic League (1908–1946) |
Spouse |
Johanna Cornelia Fischer
(m. 1912) |
Children | Hendrik Cornelis Oud (1912–1998) |
Relatives | Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (Bachelor of Civil Law) University of Amsterdam (Master of Laws) |
Occupation | Politician · civil servant · Jurist · Historian · Businessman · Tax advisor · Tax collector · Corporate director · Nonprofit director · Editor · Author · professor |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Netherlands |
Branch/service | Royal Netherlands Army |
Years of service | 1914–1916 (Conscription) 1916–1917 (Reserve) |
Rank | Sergeant |
Unit | Regiment Infanterie Oranje Gelderland |
Battles/wars | World War I |
Pieter Jacobus Oud (5 December 1886 – 12 August 1968) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Free-thinking Democratic League (VDB) party and later co-founder of the Labour Party (PvdA) and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and historian. He was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 9 November 1963.[1]
Oud attended the
Oud was elected as a
On 14 May 1940 the
For the
Following the end of his active political career, Oud occupied numerous seats as a corporate director and nonprofit director for supervisory boards in the business and industry world and for supervisory boards for several international non-governmental organisations and research institutes (
Life
Life before politics
Oud came from a middle-class family. His father traded in tobacco, wine, and later stocks, and served as
Political life
For the VDB
Oud was elected in 1917 election for the VDB, the last election with runoff voting. He defeated Staalman of the left-wing Christian Democratic Party in the second round in the district of Den Helder. He retained his legal position as tax collector, but was given a leave for undetermined time. He was even promoted to inspector of finances in 1921, while on leave. In the 1918 election Oud stood for elections again, and was elected with 5,000 preference votes, mainly from the former district of Den Helder. While MP, Oud also served as secretary of the VDB national board and editor of the De Vrijzinnige Democraat, the party's magazine. In parliament Oud took a particular interest in military matters and education, and served as the party's finance spokesperson. As MP he served as member of the Committee on the Navy between 1923 and 1933 and the Committee on the Army since 1925. He was chairman of the association for the promotion of public education "People's Education" for many years.
After the
In Rotterdam
He left the House of Representatives in 1938 to become
Controversially, Oud did not resign after the
In 1945, after the
For the VVD
On 3 October 1947, Oud sent a letter to the board of the PvdA announcing his resignation as a member. The reason he gave for the split was that the PvdA was moving too much into socialist waters, instead of being committed to progressive politics. The fact that he was refused a position on the party list for the Senate is generally seen as the political reason for Oud's split. Oud never felt at home in the new social democratic party.
He immediately founded the Committee of Preparation of the Foundation of a Democratic People's Party, which prepared the foundation of the VVD. He negotiated the merger of the remnants of the old VDB with the newly founded Freedom Party. On 24 January 1948 he became one of the founding members of the liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, together with Dirk Stikker and Henk Korthals, and served in its first national board as vice-chair. In 1948 he was elected to the House of Representatives for the VVD, and became chair of its parliamentary party, combining this position with the position of chair of the party's organisation.
In parliament he mainly spoke on issues of administrative and constitutional law. He was a very influential member of parliament. When the law concerning the decolonisation of
In the last years of his period in the House of Representatives, Oud was the eldest member of the House and on many times functioned as Speaker, such as when a new Speaker was elected. Before the 1963 election Oud announced that he would not continue as MP; he was succeeded by the Minister of the Interior Edzo Toxopeus. In the same year, he was appointed as Minister of State, an honorary title.
Life after politics
After 1963, Oud retired from Dutch political life. He was only asked upon at times of great crisis. In 1966 he was member of the committee that advised the government on the ministerial responsibility towards members of the royal house, together with Willem Drees. In the same year, he co-authored a book on a new constitution.
When Oud died in 1968, his family wanted to announce his death after the burial. His general practitioner did not know this, and told a patient that evening that Oud had died that afternoon. The father of this patient happened to be a journalist for the socialist paper Het Vrije Volk, which published a large In Memoriam the next morning.
Trivia
- Jacobus Oud, a famous Dutch architect, was his brother.
- Oud was a respected voice in parliament, not only because he spoke with a soft high pitched voice, but also because he was the House's conscience when it came to constitutional issues and administrative laws.
- Oud was a lifelong member of the freethinking Protestant broadcasting organisation, VPRO.
Decorations
Honours | ||||
Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown | Belgium | 4 April 1936 | ||
Commander of the Order of the Netherlands Lion | Netherlands | 30 July 1937 | Elevated from Knight (29 August 1925) | |
Grand Cross of the Order of the House of Orange | Netherlands | 10 December 1945 | ||
Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown | Luxembourg | 1 August 1950 | ||
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour | France | 8 March 1957 | ||
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 21 June 1957 | ||
Honorific Titles | ||||
Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
Minister of State | Netherlands | 9 November 1963 | Style of Excellency
|
Bibliography
- "Om de Democratie" (1929; "For Democracy")
- "Het jongste verleden: Parlementaire geschiedenis van Nederland, 1918–1940" (1946; The recent past: parliamentary history of the Netherlands, 1918-194-)
- "Honderd jaren: Hoofdzaken der Nederlandsche staatkundige geschiedenis, 1840–1940" (1946; One hundred years, Important matters of the Dutch political history 1840–1940)
- "Het constitutionele recht van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden" (1947–1953; The constitutional law of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
- "Proeve van een Grondwet (1966; Attempt at a constitution)
References
- ^ "Oud, Pieter Jacobus (1886–1968)" (in Dutch). Huygens ING. 12 November 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
External links
Official
- (in Dutch) Mr. P.J. (Pieter) Oud Parlement & Politiek