Willem Drees

His Excellency

Willem Drees
His Excellency; Willem Drees
	Willem Drees in 1958
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
	In office; 7 August 1948 – 22 December 1958
Monarch	Wilhelmina (1948) ; Juliana (1948–1958)
Deputy	show See list
Preceded by	Louis Beel
Succeeded by	Louis Beel
Minister of Finance
	In office; 1 July 1952 – 2 September 1952 ; Ad interim
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Piet Lieftinck
Succeeded by	Jo van de Kieft
Minister of Colonial Affairs
	In office; 15 March 1951 – 30 March 1951 ; Ad interim
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Johan van Maarseveen
Succeeded by
Leader of the Labour Party
	In office; 9 February 1946 – 22 December 1958
Deputy	show See list
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Jaap Burger
Deputy Prime Minister
	In office; 25 June 1945 – 7 August 1948
Prime Minister	Willem Schermerhorn ; (1945–1946) ; Louis Beel (1948)
Preceded by	Hendrik van Boeijen (1942)
Succeeded by	Josef van Schaik
Minister of Social Affairs
	In office; 25 June 1945 – 7 August 1948
Prime Minister	Willem Schermerhorn ; (1945–1946) ; Louis Beel (1948)
Preceded by	Dolf Joekes
Succeeded by	Frans Wijffels
Leader of the Social ; Democratic Workers' Party
	In office; 14 May 1940 – 9 February 1946
Deputy	show See list
Preceded by	Willem Albarda
Succeeded by	Office discontinued
Parliamentary leader in the ; House of Representatives
	In office; 10 August 1939 – 25 September 1945
Preceded by	Willem Albarda
Succeeded by	Marinus van der ; Goes van Naters
Parliamentary group	Social Democratic ; Workers' Party
Member of the House ; of Representatives
	In office; 3 July 1956 – 3 October 1956
	In office; 15 July 1952 – 2 September 1952
	In office; 27 July 1948 – 10 August 1948
	In office; 4 June 1946 – 4 July 1946
	In office; 9 May 1933 – 25 June 1945
Parliamentary group	Labour Party ; (1946–1956) ; Social Democratic ; Workers' Party ; (1933–1946)
Personal details
Born	5 July 1886; Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died	14 May 1988 (aged 101); The Hague, Netherlands
Nationality	Dutch
Political party	Labour Party (1946–1971)
Other political; affiliations	Independent Social ; Democrat (from 1971) ; Social Democratic ; Workers' Party (1904–1946)
Relatives	Willem B. Drees (grandson) ; Jacques Wallage (grandson-in-law)
Alma mater	Amsterdam Public Trade School ; (B.Acc)
Occupation	Politician · civil servant · Accountant · Stenographer · Historian · Author
Signature

Willem Drees Sr. (Dutch pronunciation (help·info); 5 July 1886 – 14 May 1988) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP) and later co-founder of the Labour Party (PvdA) and historian who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 7 August 1948 to 22 December 1958.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Drees studied Accounting at the Amsterdam Public Trade School obtaining an Bachelor of Accountancy degree and worked as a bank teller for the Twentsche Bank from July 1903 to July 1906 as a stenographer for Parliament from January 1907 until August 1919. Drees was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the election of 1933, taking office on 9 May 1933 serving as a frontbencher and spokesperson for Social Affairs. After Party Leader and Parliamentary leader Willem Albarda was appointed as Minister of Water Management in the Cabinet De Geer II Drees was selected as his successor on 10 August 1939. Shortly after the German Invasion Party Leader Albarda announced he was stepping down and Drees was anonymously selected as his successor as Leader on 14 May 1940. Following the end of World War II Drees was appointment as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs in the national unity Cabinet Schermerhorn–Drees taking office on 25 June 1945. In February 1946 Drees was one of the co-founders of the Labour Party and became its first Leader. For the election of 1946 Drees served as one of the Lijsttrekkers (top candidates) and following a cabinet formation continued his offices in the Cabinet Beel I. For the election of 1948 Drees served again as one of the Lijsttrekkers and following a successful cabinet formation with the Catholics formed the Cabinet Drees–Van Schaik with Drees becoming Prime Minister of the Netherlands and taking office on 7 August 1948.^[5]

The cabinet Drees-Van Schaik fell on 24 January 1951 and after a short cabinet formation was replaced by Cabinet Drees I with Drees continuing as Prime Minister. For the election of 1952 Drees served again as Lijsttrekker and following a successful cabinet formation formed the Cabinet Drees II and continued as Prime Minister for a second term. For the election of 1956 Drees once again served as Lijsttrekker and following another cabinet formation formed the Cabinet Drees III and continued as Prime Minister for a third term. The Cabinet Drees III fell on 11 December 1958 and shortly thereafter Drees announced his retirement and would step down as Leader and wouldn't serve another term as Prime Minister. Drees left office following the installation of the caretaker Cabinet Beel II on 22 December 1958.

Drees retired from active politics at 72 but continued to be active as a valued historian and prolific author and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government. Drees was known for his abilities as a skillful team leader and effective manager. During his premiership, his cabinets were responsible for several major social reforms to social security, welfare, Child benefits and education, overseeing the decolonization of the Dutch East Indies following the Indonesian National Revolution, the fallout of the annexation of former German territory and dealing with several major crises such as the North Sea flood of 1953 and Hofmans-scandal. Drees was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 22 December 1958 and continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until his death in May 1988 at the age of 101. He holds the record as the second longest-serving and longest-lived Prime Minister at 101 years, 314 days and his premiership is consistently regarded both by scholars and the public to have been one of the best in Dutch history.^[6]^[7]^[8]

Education and private career[]

Willem Drees was born in Amsterdam on 5 July 1886. After completing his secondary education in 1903 at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam, he worked until 1906 for the Twentsche Bank in Amsterdam. This was followed by a period as a stenographer with the Municipal Council of Amsterdam and then between 1907 and 1919 with the States General of the Netherlands.

Prime Minister of Belgium Paul-Henri Spaak and Prime Minister Willem Drees at a Benelux conference in The Hague on 10 March 1949.

Newly appointed Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Prime Minister Willem Drees at the Ministry of Defence on 11 January 1951.

Prime Minister of Greece Alexandros Papagos, Prime Minister Willem Drees and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Greece Stefanos Stefanopoulos at the Ministry of General Affairs on 2 February 1954.

Willem Drees in his house in The Hague on 2 July 1981.

Political involvement[]

Early career[]

In 1904 he joined the Social Democratic Workers' Party, which later was absorbed into the Labour Party in 1946. From 1910 to 1931 he was chairman of The Hague branch of the Social Democratic Workers' Party and between 1913 and 1941 a member of the municipal council of The Hague. During that period he was alderman for social affairs from 1919 to 1931 and for finance and public works through to 1933.^[5]

For 22 years between 1919 and 1941 Drees also held a seat on the Provincial Council of South Holland and for 19 years between 1927 and 1946 one on the Social Democratic Workers' Party executive. Between 1933 and 1940 he represented the Social Democratic Workers' Party in the House of Representatives and from 1939 as leader in the House of Representatives

During the German occupation he was taken hostage in Buchenwald concentration camp in October 1940.^{[citation needed]} Freed one year later, he played a prominent role, as vice chairman and acting chairman of the illegal Executive Committee of the SDAP, and as a prominent participant in secret interparty consultations. In 1944 he became chairman of the Contact Commissie van de Illegaliteit and a member of the College van Vertrouwensmannen which the government in exile charged with the preparation of steps to be taken at the time of liberation.

Thereafter, from 24 June 1945 to 7 August 1948 Drees was Minister of Social Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister in the Cabinet Schermerhorn/Drees.

Prime Minister of the Netherlands[]

From 7 August 1948 to 22 December 1958 he was Prime Minister of the Netherlands in four successive cabinets: First Drees cabinet, Second Drees cabinet, Third Drees cabinet and Fourth Drees cabinet.

Drees's period in office saw at least four major political developments: the traumas of decolonisation, economic reconstruction, the establishment of the Dutch welfare state,^[9]^[10] and international integration and co-operation, including the formation of Benelux, the OEEC, NATO, the ECSC, and the EEC. When his Cabinet broke up in December 1958, he was appointed to the honorary position of Minister of State, the Labour Party appointed him a member of its Executive Council for life in 1959. Due to impaired hearing he stopped attending its meetings in 1966. He strongly disagreed with New Left tendencies in the membership and strategies of the Labour Party. He eventually gave up membership of a party he had served for close to 67 years.

Drees was an Esperantist and addressed the 1954 World Congress of Esperanto, which was held in Haarlem.^[11]

A wide range of social reforms were carried out during Drees's tenure as Prime Minister. The Occupational Pensions Funds Act of March 1949 made membership of industry-wide pension funds compulsory, while the General Old Age Pensions Act of May 1956 introduced universal flat-rate old age pensions for all residents as a right and with no retirement condition at the age of 65. The Retired Persons' Family Allowances Act of November 1950 established a special allowance for pensioned public servants with children, a law of November 1950 extended compulsory health insurance to cover other groups, such as old-age and invalidity pensioners, and a law of December 1956 introduced health insurance with special low contributions for old-aged pensioners below a certain income ceiling. A law of August 1950 established equal rights for illegitimate children, and introduced an allowance for disabled children between the ages of 16 and 20. The Temporary Family Allowances Act for the Self-employed of June 1951 entitled self-employed persons with low incomes to family allowance for the first and second child, and a law of February 1952 introduced an allowance for studying and for disabled children until the age of 27.^[12] In 1950, works councils were established,^[13] and in 1957 the dismissal of female civil servants upon marriage was abolished.^[14]

In the field of housing, the Implementation for Rent Act (1950) fixed rents and rent increases, while the Regional and Town Planning Act (1950) regulated the planning of house building. In addition, the Reconstruction Act of 1950 established housebuilding programmes,^[15] and legislation was passed on house building standards (1951), the uniformity of buildings (1954), and uniform building standards (1956).^[16] In education, measures were carried out such as increased expenditure on the system, a reduction in registration fees at State universities and at the institute of technology,^[15] and the granting (in January 1956) of a special benefit to primary school teachers and to certain categories of vocational teachers, "particularly those who risk being unemployed and who cannot lay claim to a retaining fee."^[17] Other initiatives included secondary schools for girls and special primary education in 1949, teacher training colleges in 1952,^[18] the extension of compulsory education to 8 years in 1950,^[19] and the Nursery Education Act of 1955, which introduced the option of kindergarten for children from the age of four upwards, while also establishing regulations for nursery-school teachers.^[12] A department of social welfare was also established (1952), while laws were passed on unemployment benefits (1952) and a widows' and orphans' pension (1956).^[16]

Personal life[]

On 28 July 1910, Drees married Catharina Hent (6 May 1888 – 30 January 1974)^[20]^[21] and had two sons and two daughters, Both his sons Jan Drees and Willem Drees Jr. were active members of the Labour Party, but left the party around 1970 to join the Democratic Socialists '70. The cause was a row with younger party members who wanted to plot a more radical left-wing course for the party. Drees himself left the Labour Party in 1971 leaving them without their icon, but he never joined the Democratic Socialists '70.

Drees was a Teetotaler. Willem Drees died on 14 May 1988 in The Hague, two months before his 102nd birthday.^[22] From 22 August 1986, when former Turkish President Celâl Bayar died, until his own death Drees was the world's oldest living former head of government.

In 2004 he ended in third place in the election of The Greatest Dutchman.^[23]^[24]

Decorations[]

Ribbon bar	Honour	Country	Date	Comment
Honours
	Medal of Freedom with Gold Palm	United States	7 April 1953
	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George	United Kingdom
	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Trinity	Ethiopia	1954
	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion	Netherlands	22 December 1958
Honorific Titles
Ribbon bar	Honour	Country	Date	Comment
	Minister of State	Netherlands	22 December 1958	Style of Excellency

References[]

^ The Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier. 18 November 1992. ISBN 9780717201235 – via Google Books.
^ (in Dutch) Geschiedenis VPRO Geschiedenis 24.
^ Mcwhirter, Norris; McFarlan, Donald (18 November 1989). the Guinness Book of Records 1990. Guinness Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9780851123417 – via Google Books.
^ (in Dutch) Willem Drees beste crisismanager Archived 18 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine Geencommentaar.nl.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b (in Dutch) Biography Willem Drees BWSA
^ (in Dutch) Willem Drees gekozen tot ‘Dé premier na WO II’, Geschiedenis24.nl, 15 January 2006
^ (in Dutch) NRC-enquête: Drees en Lubbers beste premiers sinds 1900, NRC Handelsblad, 28 September 2013
^ (in Dutch) I&O Research, I&O Research, 13 March 2020
^ Orlow, D. (2000). Common Destiny: A Comparative History of the Dutch, French, and German Social Democratic Parties, 1945–1969. Berghahn Books. p. 120. ISBN 9781571812254. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
^ Lentz, H.M. (2014). Heads of States and Governments Since 1945. Taylor & Francis. p. 578. ISBN 9781134264902. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
^ UEA: Reta Muzeo. Materialoj el Biblioteko Hector Hodler. 1947–1974 World Esperanto Association.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Growth to Limits: The Western European Welfare States Since World War II, Volume 2 edited by Peter Flora.
^ Wilkinson, A.; Donaghey, J.; Dundon, T.; Freeman, R.B. (2014). Handbook of Research on Employee Voice: Elgar original reference. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 68. ISBN 9780857939272. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
^ http://nidi.knaw.nl/shared/content/output/2002/ssm-54-05-fokkema.pdf
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Moore, B.; van Nierop, H. (2006). Twentieth-Century Mass Society in Britain and the Netherlands. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 60. ISBN 9781845205256. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b van Heffen, O.; Kickert, W.J.M.; Thomassen, J. (2013). Governance in Modern Society: Effects, Change and Formation of Government Institutions. Springer Netherlands. ISBN 9789401594868. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
^ http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001329/132929eo.pdf
^ Wolthuis, J. (1999). Lower Technical Education in the Netherlands 1798–1993: The Rise and Fall of a Subsystem. Coronet Books Incorporated. p. 202. ISBN 9789053508619. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
^ Hindman, H.D. (2009). The World of Child Labor: An Historical and Regional Survey. M.E. Sharpe. p. 635. ISBN 9780765626479. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
^ "Graftombe.nl – Informatie over Catharina Hent". www.graftombe.nl.
^ "SeniorPlaza – Willem Drees". seniorplaza.nl.
^ "Willem Drees Dies at 101; Postwar Dutch Leader". The New York Times. 19 May 1988.
^ (in Dutch) 'Pim Fortuyn toch niet de Grootste Nederlander' NU.nl
^ (in Dutch) Zoektocht naar ‘Grootste Nederlander’ begint Geschiedenis24

External links[]

Media related to Willem Drees at Wikimedia Commons

Official

(in Dutch) Dr. W. (Willem) Drees Parlement.com
(in Dutch) Kabinet-Drees-Van Schaik Rijksoverheid
(in Dutch) Kabinet Drees I Rijksoverheid
(in Dutch) Kabinet-Drees II Rijksoverheid
(in Dutch) Kabinet-Drees III Rijksoverheid

Party political offices
Preceded by Willem Albarda	Parliamentary leader of the Social Democratic Workers' Party in the House of Representatives 1939–1945	Succeeded by Marinus van der Goes van Naters
Preceded by Willem Albarda	Leader of the Social Democratic Workers' Party 1940–1946	Party merged into the Labour Party
Preceded by Office established	Leader of the Labour Party 1946–1958	Succeeded by Jaap Burger
Preceded by Office established	Lijsttrekker of the Labour Party 1946 • 1948 • 1952 • 1956 With: Jaap Burger (1946 • 1948) Marinus van der Goes van Naters (1946 • 1948)	Succeeded by Jaap Burger (1959) Ko Suurhoff (1959) Anne Vondeling (1959)
Political offices
Preceded by Office established	Deputy Prime Minister 1945–1948	Succeeded by Josef van Schaik
Preceded by Dolf Joekes	Minister of Social Affairs 1945–1948	Succeeded by Frans Wijffels
Preceded by Louis Beel	Prime Minister of the Netherlands 1948–1958	Succeeded by Louis Beel
Preceded by Louis Beel	Minister of General Affairs 1948–1958	Succeeded by Louis Beel
Preceded by Johan van Maarseveen	Minister of Colonial Affairs Ad interim 1951	Succeeded by
Preceded by Piet Lieftinck	Minister of Finance Ad interim 1952	Succeeded by Jo van de Kieft
Records
Preceded by Celâl Bayar	Oldest living state leader 22 August 1986 – 14 May 1988	Succeeded by Naruhiko Higashikuni

[1] The Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier. 18 November 1992. ISBN 9780717201235 – via Google Books.

[2] (in Dutch) Geschiedenis VPRO Geschiedenis 24.

[3] Mcwhirter, Norris; McFarlan, Donald (18 November 1989). the Guinness Book of Records 1990. Guinness Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9780851123417 – via Google Books.

[4] (in Dutch) Willem Drees beste crisismanager Archived 18 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine Geencommentaar.nl.

[Biography_Willem_Drees-5] Jump up to: ^a ^b (in Dutch) Biography Willem Drees BWSA

[6] (in Dutch) Willem Drees gekozen tot ‘Dé premier na WO II’, Geschiedenis24.nl, 15 January 2006

[7] (in Dutch) NRC-enquête: Drees en Lubbers beste premiers sinds 1900, NRC Handelsblad, 28 September 2013

[8] (in Dutch) I&O Research, I&O Research, 13 March 2020

[google-9] Orlow, D. (2000). Common Destiny: A Comparative History of the Dutch, French, and German Social Democratic Parties, 1945–1969. Berghahn Books. p. 120. ISBN 9781571812254. Retrieved 13 January 2017.

[google2-10] Lentz, H.M. (2014). Heads of States and Governments Since 1945. Taylor & Francis. p. 578. ISBN 9781134264902. Retrieved 13 January 2017.

[11] UEA: Reta Muzeo. Materialoj el Biblioteko Hector Hodler. 1947–1974 World Esperanto Association.

[ReferenceA-12] Jump up to: ^a ^b Growth to Limits: The Western European Welfare States Since World War II, Volume 2 edited by Peter Flora.

[google3-13] Wilkinson, A.; Donaghey, J.; Dundon, T.; Freeman, R.B. (2014). Handbook of Research on Employee Voice: Elgar original reference. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 68. ISBN 9780857939272. Retrieved 13 January 2017.

[14] ttp://nidi.knaw.nl/shared/content/output/2002/ssm-54-05-fokkema.pdf

[books.google.co.uk-15] Jump up to: ^a ^b Moore, B.; van Nierop, H. (2006). Twentieth-Century Mass Society in Britain and the Netherlands. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 60. ISBN 9781845205256. Retrieved 13 January 2017.

[google4-16] Jump up to: ^a ^b van Heffen, O.; Kickert, W.J.M.; Thomassen, J. (2013). Governance in Modern Society: Effects, Change and Formation of Government Institutions. Springer Netherlands. ISBN 9789401594868. Retrieved 13 January 2017.

[17] ttp://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001329/132929eo.pdf

[google5-18] Wolthuis, J. (1999). Lower Technical Education in the Netherlands 1798–1993: The Rise and Fall of a Subsystem. Coronet Books Incorporated. p. 202. ISBN 9789053508619. Retrieved 13 January 2017.

[google6-19] Hindman, H.D. (2009). The World of Child Labor: An Historical and Regional Survey. M.E. Sharpe. p. 635. ISBN 9780765626479. Retrieved 13 January 2017.

[20] "Graftombe.nl – Informatie over Catharina Hent". www.graftombe.nl.

[21] "SeniorPlaza – Willem Drees". seniorplaza.nl.

[22] "Willem Drees Dies at 101; Postwar Dutch Leader". The New York Times. 19 May 1988.

[23] (in Dutch) 'Pim Fortuyn toch niet de Grootste Nederlander' NU.nl

[24] (in Dutch) Zoektocht naar ‘Grootste Nederlander’ begint Geschiedenis24

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show v t Third Drees cabinet (1956–1958)
Preceded: Second Drees cabinet Succeed: Second Beel cabinet
Prime Minister	Willem Drees (General Affairs)
Deputy Prime Minister	Teun Struycken (Interior, Property and Public Sector Organisations)
Ministers	Ko Suurhoff (Interior) (Ad interim) Joseph Luns (Foreign Affairs) Henk Hofstra (Finance) Ivo Samkalden (Justice) Jelle Zijlstra (Economic Affairs) Kees Staf (War and Navy) Ko Suurhoff (Social Affairs and Health) Jo Cals (Education, Arts and Sciences) Jacob Algera (Transport and Water Management) (1956–1958) Herman Witte (Transport and Water Management) (Ad interim) Jan van Aartsen (Transport and Water Management) (1958) Sicco Mansholt (Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Supplies) (1956–1958) Kees Staf (Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Supplies) (Ad interim) Anne Vondeling (Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Supplies) (1958) Herman Witte (Housing and Construction) Marga Klompé (Social Work) Kees Staf (Colonial Affairs) (Ad interim) Gerard Helders (Colonial Affairs)
State Secretaries	Norbert Schmelzer (Interior, Property and Public Sector Organisations) Ernst van der Beugel (Foreign Affairs) Gerard Veldkamp (Economic Affairs) (War) (1956–1958) (War) (1958) (Navy) Aat van Rhijn (Social Affairs and Health) Anna de Waal (Education, Arts and Sciences) (1956–1957) (Education, Arts and Sciences) (1956–1957)

show v t Second Drees cabinet (1952–1956)
Preceded: First Drees cabinet Succeed: Third Drees cabinet
Prime Minister	Willem Drees (General Affairs)
Deputy Prime Minister	Louis Beel (Interior) (1952–1956)
Ministers	Julius Christiaan van Oven (Interior) (Ad interim) Johan Beyen (Foreign Affairs) Jo van de Kieft (Finance) Leendert Antonie Donker (Justice) (1952–1956) (†) Louis Beel (Justice) (Ad interim) Julius Christiaan van Oven (Justice) (from 1956) Jelle Zijlstra (Economic Affairs) Kees Staf (War and the Navy) Ko Suurhoff (Social Affairs and Health) Jo Cals (Education, Arts and Sciences) Jacob Algera (Transport and Water Management) Sicco Mansholt (Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Supplies) Herman Witte (Reconstruction and Housing) Louis Beel (Social Work) (Ad interim) Frans-Jozef van Thiel (Social Work) (Colonial Affairs) (1952–1956) (†) Kees Staf (Colonial Affairs) (1956–1957) (Ad interim)
Ministers without portfolio	(Economic Policy) Joseph Luns (United Nations Affairs and Colonial Policy)
State Secretaries	(Finance) Gerard Veldkamp (Economic Affairs) (War) (Navy) Aat van Rhijn (Social Affairs and Health) (Social Affairs and Health) (1952–1953) Anna de Waal (Education, Arts and Sciences)

show v First Drees cabinet (1951–1952)
Preceded: Drees–Van Schaik cabinet Succeed: Second Drees cabinet
Prime Minister	Willem Drees (General Affairs)
Deputy Prime Minister	Frans Teulings (Civil Defence)
Ministers	Johan van Maarseveen (Interior) (1951) (†) Frans Teulings (Interior) (Ad interim) Louis Beel (Interior) (from 1951) Dirk Stikker (Foreign Affairs) Piet Lieftinck (Finance) (1951–1952) Willem Drees (Finance) (Ad interim) Hendrik Mulderije (Justice) Jan van den Brink (Economic Affairs) Kees Staf (War and the Navy) Dolf Joekes (Social Affairs and Health) Theo Rutten (Education, Arts and Sciences) (Transport and Water Management) Sicco Mansholt (Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Supplies) Joris in 't Veld (Reconstruction and Housing) Willem Drees (Colonial Affairs) (Ad interim) (Colonial Affairs) (from 1951)
Minister without portfolio	Guus Albregts (Economic Policy)
State Secretaries	(Foreign Affairs) (War) (Navy) Aat van Rhijn (Social Affairs and Health) (Social Affairs and Health) Jo Cals (Education, Arts and Sciences) Lubbertus Götzen (Colonial Affairs)

show v Drees–Van Schaik cabinet (1948–1951)
Preceded: First Beel cabinet Succeed: First Drees cabinet
Prime Minister	Willem Drees (General Affairs)
Deputy Prime Minister	Josef van Schaik (Kingdom Reconstruction)
Ministers	Johan van Maarseveen (Interior) (1948–1949) Josef van Schaik (Interior) (Ad interim) Frans Teulings (Interior) (from 1949) Dirk Stikker (Foreign Affairs) Piet Lieftinck (Finance) (Justice) (1949–1950) Johan van Maarseveen (Justice) (Ad interim) Teun Struycken (Justice) (from 1950) Jan van den Brink (Economic Affairs) Wim Schokking (War and the Navy) (1948–1950) Hans s'Jacob (War and the Navy) (from 1950) Dolf Joekes (Social Affairs) Theo Rutten (Education, Arts and Sciences) Josef van Schaik (Transport and Water Management) (Ad interim) Derk Spitzen (Transport and Water Management) (from 1948) Sicco Mansholt (Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Supplies) Joris in 't Veld (Reconstruction and Housing) Maan Sassen (Colonial Affairs) (1948–1949) Johan van Maarseveen (Colonial Affairs) (from 1949)
Minister without portfolio	Lubbertus Götzen (Indonesian Monetary Policy)
State Secretaries	(Foreign Affairs) (from 1950) (Economic Affairs) (from 1949) (War) (1949–1950) (War) (from 1950) Harry Moorman (Navy) (from 1949) Aat van Rhijn (Social Affairs) (from 1950) (Social Affairs) (from 1950) Jo Cals (Education, Arts and Sciences) (from 1950)

show v First Beel cabinet (1946–1948)
Preceded: Schermerhorn–Drees cabinet Succeed: Drees–Van Schaik cabinet
Prime Minister	Louis Beel (General Affairs)
Deputy Prime Minister	Willem Drees (Social Affairs)
Ministers	Louis Beel (Interior) (1946–1947) (Interior) (from 1947) Pim van Boetzelaer van Oosterhout (Foreign Affairs) Piet Lieftinck (Finance) Johan van Maarseveen (Justice) Gerardus Huysmans (Economic Affairs) (1946–1948) Sicco Mansholt (Economic Affairs) (Ad interim) Jan van den Brink (Economic Affairs) (from 1948) Alexander Fiévez (War) Alexander Fiévez (Navy) (Ad interim) (Navy) (1946–1947) Alexander Fiévez (Navy) (from 1947) Jos Gielen (Education, Arts and Sciences) Hein Vos (Transport) (1946–1947) Hein Vos (Transport and Water Management) (from 1947) Johan Ringers (Public Works and Reconstruction (1946) Hein Vos (Public Works and Reconstruction (1946–1947) (Ad interim) Lambertus Neher (Reconstruction and Housing (1947–1948) Joris in 't Veld (Reconstruction and Housing (from 1948) Jan Jonkman (Colonial Affairs)
Ministers without portfolio	Eelco van Kleffens (United Nations Affairs) Lubbertus Götzen (Indonesian Monetary Policy)