Norbert Schmelzer: Difference between revisions

{{shortShort description|Dutch politician (1921–2008)}}

|imagesize = 250px240px

|caption = Norbert Schmelzer in 1966

|parliamentarygroup1= [[Catholic People's Party]]

|office2 = [[Parliamentary leader|Leader]] inof the [[Catholic People's Party]] <br/> in the [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|House of Representatives]]

|parliamentarygroup2= [[Catholic People's Party]]

|office3 = [[Catholic People's Party#Leadership|Leader of the Catholic People's Party]]

|office4 = [[HouseMember of Representatives (Netherlands)parliament|Member]] of the [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|House of Representatives]]

|parliamentarygroup5= [[Catholic People's Party]]

|office6 = [[Ministry of General Affairs#State Secretary for General Affairs|State Secretary for General Affairs]]

|office7 = [[List of Ministers of the Interior of the Netherlands#List of State Secretaries for the Interior|State Secretary for the Interior, <br/> Property and Public Sector <br/> Organisations]]

|nationality = [[Netherlands|Dutch]]

|spouse = {{plainlist|
*{{marriage|Carla Mutsaerts|26 January 1950|12 February 1977|reason=divorced}} <br/>
*{{marriage|Daphne Mary Nieuwenhuizen|1 August 1977|14 November 2008|reason=his death}}

'''Wilhelm Klaus Norbert "Norbert" Schmelzer''' (22 March 1921 – 14 November 2008) was a [[Netherlands|Dutch]] politician, diplomat and diplomateconomist ofwho theserved defunctas [[Catholic People's Party|Leader of the Catholic People's Party]] (KVP) nowfrom merged1963 intoto the1971 and [[ChristianList Democraticof AppealMinisters of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] (CDA)from party1971 andto economist1973.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.parool.nl/nieuws/norbert-schmelzer-overleden~b453d2e7/|title=Norbert Schmelzer overleden|publisher=Parool|date=14 November 2008|access-date=3 June 2019|language=nl}}</ref>

After the [[1956 Dutch general election|election of 1956]] Schmelzer was appointed as [[List of Ministers of the Interior of the Netherlands#List of State Secretaries for the Interior|State Secretary for the Interior]] in the [[Third Drees cabinet|Cabinet Drees III]], taking office on 29 October 1956. The Cabinet Drees III fell on 11 December 1958 continued to serve in a [[Demissionary cabinet|demissionary]] capacity until the [[Dutch cabinet formation|cabinet formation of 1958]] when it was replaced by the [[caretaker government|caretaker]] [[Second Beel cabinet|Cabinet Beel II]] with Schmelzer continuing as State Secretary for the Interior, taking office on 22 December 1958. Schmelzer was elected as a [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|Member of the House of Representatives]] after the [[1959 Dutch general election|election of 1959]], taking office on 20 March 1959. Following the [[Dutch cabinet formation|cabinet formation of 1959]] Schmelzer was appointed as [[Ministry of General Affairs#State Secretary for General Affairs|State Secretary for General Affairs]] in the [[De Quay cabinet|Cabinet De Quay]], taking office on 19 May 1959. The office of State Secretary for General Affairs was created specially for Schmelzer and was considered as a ''[[de facto]]'' [[Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands|Deputy Prime Minister]]. After the [[1963 Dutch general election|election of 1963]] Schmelzer returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 2 July 1963. Following the [[Dutch cabinet formation|cabinet formation of 1963]] Schmelzer per her own request asked not to be considered for a cabinet post in the new [[Marijnen cabinet|cabinet]], he was seen as a ''[[wikt:rising star|rising star]]'' by the [[Catholic People's Party#Leadership|Catholic People's Party leadership]] and was considered as the ''[[favorite son]]'' to succeed [[Wim de Kort]] as the next [[Catholic People's Party#Leadership|Leader of the Catholic People's Party]]. The Cabinet De Quay was replaced by the [[Marijnen cabinet|Cabinet Marijnen]] on 24 July 1963 he continued serving in the House of Representatives as a [[frontbencher]]. In November 1963 the Leader of the Catholic People's Party and [[Parliamentaryparliamentary leader]] of the Catholic People's Party in the House of Representatives [[Wim de Kort|De Kort]] announced he was stepping down as Leaderleader and Parliamentaryparliamentary leader in the House of Representatives,. theThe Catholic People's Partyparty leadership approached Schmelzer asto be his successor, Schmelzerwho accepted and became the Leaderleader and Parliamentaryparliamentary leader, taking office on 7 December 1963. On 27 February 1965 the Cabinet Marijnen fell and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity and Schmelzer was appointed as [[Formateurformateur]]. Following a failed cabinet formation attempt he approached former [[List of Ministers of Education of the Netherlands|Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences]] [[Jo Cals]] as a candidate for Prime Minister, [[Jo Cals|Cals]] accepted and was appointed as Formateurformateur to form a new cabinet. The following [[Dutch cabinet formation|cabinet formation]] of 1965]] resulted in a coalition agreement between the Catholic People's Party, the [[Labour Party (Netherlands)|Labour Party]] (PvdA) and the [[Anti-Revolutionary Party]] (ARP) which formed the [[Cals cabinet|Cabinet Cals]] on 14 April 1965.

On 14 October 1966 Schmelzer proposed a [[Motion (parliamentary procedure)|motion]] in the House of Representatives that called for a stronger financial and economic policy to further reduce the [[Government budget balance|deficit]] from the Cabinet Cals, Prime Minister [[Jo Cals|Cals]] saw this as an indirect [[motion of no confidence]] from his own party against his [[Cals cabinet|cabinet]] and announced the resignation of the [[Cals cabinet|cabinet]] that same day, the crisis would [[eponym]]ous be called the ''[[:nl:Nacht van Schmelzer|'' ("Night of Schmelzer]]''"). The Cabinet Cals continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until the [[Dutch cabinet formation|cabinet formation]] of 1966]] when it was replaced by the caretaker [[Zijlstra cabinet|Cabinet Zijlstra]] on 22 November 1966.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.parlement.com/id/vh8lnhrouwx7/kabinetscrisis_1966_de_nacht_van|title=Kabinetscrisis 1966: de Nacht van Schmelzer|publisher=Parlement & Politiek|date=10 December 2010|access-date=3 June 2019|language=nl}}</ref>

For the [[1967 Dutch general election|election of 1967]] Schmelzer served as ''[[Lijsttrekkerlijsttrekker]]'' (top candidate). The Catholic People's Party suffered a small loss, losing 8 seats but retained its place as the largest party and now had 42 seats in the House of Representatives. The following [[Dutch cabinet formation|cabinet formation]] of 1967]] resulted in a coalition agreement between the Catholic People's Party, the [[People's Party for Freedom and Democracy]] (VVD), the Anti-Revolutionary Party and the [[Christian Historical Union]] (CHU) which formed the [[De Jong cabinet|Cabinet De Jong]] on 5 April 1967.<ref>{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.geschiedenis24.nl/nieuws/2005/december/P-J-S-Piet-de-Jong.html P. J. S. (Piet) de Jong 5 April 1967 – 6 juli 1971], Geschiedenis24, 9 December 2005</ref><ref>{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.groene.nl/2005/43/de-putschisten-zijn-onder-ons De putschisten zijn onder ons], De Groene Amsterdammer, 28 October 2005</ref> In February 1971 Schmelzer unexpectedly announced that he was stepping down as Leaderparty leader and that he wouldn'twould not stand for the [[1971 Dutch general election|general election of 1971]] but wanted to run for the [[Senate (Netherlands)|Senate]]. Schmelzer was elected as a Membermember of Senate after the [[Historic composition of the Senate of the Netherlands|Senate election of 1971]], he resigned as a Membermember of the House of Representatives the same day he was installed as a Membermember of Senate, taking office on 11 May 1971. Following the [[Dutch cabinet formation|cabinet formation]] of 1971]] Schmelzer was appointed as [[List of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] in the [[First Biesheuvel cabinet|Cabinet Biesheuvel I]], taking office on 6 July 1971. The Cabinet Biesheuvel I fell just one year later on 19 July 1972 and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until it was replaced by the caretaker [[Second Biesheuvel cabinet|Cabinet Biesheuvel II]] with Schmelzer continuing as Minister of Foreign Affairs, taking office on 9 August 1972. In September 1972 Schmelzer announced his retirement from national politics and that he wouldn'twould not stand for the [[1972 Dutch general election|election of 1972]]. The Cabinet Biesheuvel II was replaced by the [[Den Uyl cabinet|Cabinet Den Uyl]] following the [[Dutch cabinet formation|cabinet formation of 1973]] on 11 May 1973.

Schmelzer retired after spending 16 years in national politics and became active in the [[private sector]] and [[public sector]]; andhe occupied numerous seats as a corporate director and nonprofit director on several boards of directors and supervisory boards ([[Douwe Egberts]], [[AkzoNobel|Akzo]], [[Heijmans]], [[Netherlands Atlantic Association]] and the [[Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael|Institute of International Relations Clingendael]]) and served on several [[:nl:Staatscommissie|state commissions]] and councils on behalf of the government ([[KPN]], [[Stichting Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn|Public Pension Funds PFZW]] and the [[:nl:Kadaster|Cadastre Agency]]), andas well as served as an diplomat and lobbyist for several economic delegations on behalf of the government and the [[European Economic Community]]. Schmelzer was also a prolific composer, pianist and poet having written more than a dozen compositions and poems sincefrom 1973.

Schmelzer, who joined the newly-formed [[Christian Democratic Appeal]] (CDA) in 1980, was known for his abilities as a [[debate]]r and [[Negotiation|negotiator]]. SchmelzerHe continued to comment on political affairs until his death at the age of 87. andHe holds the distinction as the first State Secretary for the Interior and the first and only State Secretary for General Affairs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://historiek.net/de-nacht-van-schmelzer-jo-cals/64497/|title=De Nacht die de Nederlandse politiek veranderde|publisher=Historiek.net|date=12 November 2013|access-date=27 May 2019|language=nl}}</ref>

[[Category:20th-century Dutch diarists]]

[[Category:Grand Cross of the NationalOrdre Ordernational ofdu Merit (France)Mérite]]

[[Category:Grand OfficiersOfficers of the LégionLegion d'honneurof Honour]]

[[Category:PeopleDiplomats from Rotterdam]]