Jo Cals

Jozef " Jo " Maria Laurens Theo Cals ( born July 18, 1914 in Roermond, † December 30, 1971 in Wassenaar ) was a Dutch politician. From 1965 to 1966 he was Dutch Prime Minister as a member of the CIP.

Life

In his youth Cals was an active member of the Scout Movement. He first went to Rolduc to be trained as a priest, but then switched in 1935 to the Catholic University of Nijmegen and studied law there. In 1940 he completed his studies and settled in Nijmegen as a lawyer down. He married in 1941 a former fellow student, with whom he later had three sons and two daughters ( another son died young ), and became an assistant to his father in law at the University. In the years 1943 to 1945 he was also a lecturer at the College Bisschoppelijk in Roermond.

After the Second World War, he began his political career and was first a member of the municipal council, and in 1948 chairman of the local CIP Group. He retired in the same year in the Second Chamber of the States General in March 1950 and was State Secretary in the Ministry for Education, Arts and Science, and finally in September 1952 Minister himself, which he remained until July 1963. Cal's largest official act was the so-called mammoth law to further education, which was drafted in 1963, but until 1968 came into force. Then he moved first as an ordinary member in parliament, but formed after the end of the Cabinet Marijnen a three-party government KVP, ARP and PvdA and was on April 14, 1965 to Prime Minister. In October 1966, a large part of the Group of CIP, along with the opposition parties CHU, VVD, SGP, GPV BP and voted for one put forward by Norbert Schmelzer request for the revision of the draft budget. Cal saw this as no-confidence vote and resigned.

Despite this event, he remained faithful even as an exponent of the left wing of the party and did not change as other members of this wing to the 1968 spin-off founded PPR. In December 1966 Cals was appointed Minister of State; 1967 he was appointed Chairman of the State Commission for constitutional and electoral reform. In his last years he was also a member of various organizations next and commissions.

Honors

• Grand Cross of the Order of Orange- Nassau ( 1963)