Third Drees cabinet

The cabinet formation took four months. This was the longest and most difficult formation the Netherlands had ever seen, partly as a result of the rising tensions between the Labour Party and the Catholic People's Party. After the formation these tensions kept rising, leading to the fall of the cabinet in December 1958. The root of the tensions was the decision of the Roman Catholic Church to excommunicate Catholic socialists from the church. Nearly 100% of the south of the Netherlands used to vote for the Catholic People's Party for decades, but in the 1950s secular political parties got an increase in votes. The excommunication had the result of social exclusion in cities and villages which used to be solidly Catholic blocks. Protestants in the north supported the Catholics.

After considerable growth after World War II, the rising wages, combined with lowered taxes, now led to overspending, which endangered the export. In reaction, wages and government spending were both lowered.

Rising tension with Indonesia, mostly about New Guinea, came to a climax when Indonesia nationalised Dutch properties in the country. The Dutch were supposed to leave entirely.

Other international problems were the Suez Crisis and the Hungarian revolt, which led to monetary and economic problems. The threat of an oil crisis as a result of the Suez crisis led to the installation of car-free Sundays. The suppression of the Hungarian revolution by the USSR led to plundering of communist institutions. Several thousands of Hungarian refugees were accepted into the Netherlands and welcomed in Dutch homes.

On 1 January 1957, the state pension AOW after the age of 65, that was proposed during the former cabinet Drees II, was installed. This resulted from a previous emergency law by Drees, and is the one thing he is remembered for most.

Secretary General of NATO Paul-Henri Spaak and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Luns at the Binnenhof on 2 February 1957

Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Luns in Rotterdam on 7July 1957

Prime Minister of Luxembourg Joseph Bech, Prime Minister Willem Drees and Prime Minister of Belgium Achille Van Acker at a Benelux conference in the Ridderzaal on 3 February 1958

Ministers			Title/Ministry/Portfolio(s)			Term of office	Party
		Willem Drees (1886–1988)	Prime Minister	General Affairs		7 August 1948 – 22 December 1958 [Retained]	Labour Party
		Ko Suurhoff (1905–1967)	Minister	Interior		13 October 1956 – 29 October 1956 [Ad Interim]	Labour Party
		Teun Struycken (1906–1977)		Interior, Property and Public Organisations		29 October 1956 – 19 May 1959 [Continued]	Catholic People's Party
			Deputy Prime Minister
		Joseph Luns (1911–2002)	Minister	Foreign Affairs		13 October 1956 – 6 July 1971 [Continued]	Catholic People's Party
		Henk Hofstra (1904–1999)	Minister	Finance		13 October 1956 – 22 December 1958	Labour Party
		Dr. Ivo Samkalden (1912–1995)	Minister	Justice		13 October 1956 – 22 December 1958	Labour Party
		Dr. Jelle Zijlstra (1918–2001)	Minister	Economic Affairs		2 September 1952 – 19 May 1959 [Retained] [Continued]	Anti- Revolutionary Party
		Kees Staf (1905–1973)	Minister	War and Navy		15 March 1951 – 19 May 1959 [Retained] [Continued]	Christian Historical Union
		Ko Suurhoff (1905–1967)	Minister	Social Affairs and Health		2 September 1952 – 22 December 1958 [Retained]	Labour Party
		Jo Cals (1914–1971)	Minister	Education, Arts and Sciences		2 September 1952 – 24 July 1963 [Retained] [Continued]	Catholic People's Party
		Jacob Algera (1902–1966)	Minister	Transport and Water Management		2 September 1952 – 10 October 1958 [Retained] [App]	Anti-Revolutionary Party
		Herman Witte (1909–1973)				10 October 1958 – 1 November 1958 [Ad Interim]	Catholic People's Party
		Jan van Aartsen (1909–1992)				1 November 1958 – 19 May 1959 [Continued]	Anti-Revolutionary Party
		Sicco Mansholt (1908–1995)	Minister	Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Supplies		25 June 1945 – 1 January 1958 [Retained] [App]	Labour Party
		Kees Staf (1905–1973)				1 January 1958 – 13 January 1958 [Ad Interim]	Christian Historical Union
		Dr. Anne Vondeling (1916–1979)				13 January 1958 – 22 December 1958	Labour Party
		Herman Witte (1909–1973)	Minister	Housing and Construction		2 September 1952 – 19 May 1959 [Retained] [Continued]	Catholic People's Party
		Dr. Marga Klompé (1912–1986)	Minister	Social Work		13 October 1956 – 24 July 1963 [Continued]	Catholic People's Party
		Kees Staf (1905–1973)	Minister	Colonial Affairs		18 July 1956 – 16 February 1957 [Retained] [Acting]	Christian Historical Union
		Gerard Helders (1905–2013)				16 February 1957 – 19 May 1959 [Continued]	Christian Historical Union
State Secretaries			Title/Ministry/Portfolio(s)			Term of office	Party
		Norbert Schmelzer (1921–2008)	State Secretary	Interior, Property and Public Organisations	• Public Organisations	29 October 1956 – 19 May 1959 [Continued]	Catholic People's Party
		Ernst van der Beugel (1918–2004)	State Secretary	Foreign Affairs	• European Economic Community • European Union • Benelux	8 January 1957 – 22 December 1958	Labour Party
		Dr. Gerard Veldkamp (1921–1990)	State Secretary	Economic Affairs	• Small and Medium-sized Businesses • Consumer Protection • Tourism	10 October 1952 – 17 July 1961 [Retained] [Continued]	Catholic People's Party
		Ferdinand Kranenburg (1911–1994)	State Secretary	War and Navy	• Army • Air Force	1 June 1951 – 1 June 1958 [Retained] [Res]	Labour Party
		Meine van Veen (1893–1970)				25 October 1958 – 22 December 1958	Labour Party
		Vice admiral Harry Moorman (1899–1971)			• Navy	1 May 1949 – 19 May 1959 [Retained] [Continued]	Catholic People's Party
		Dr. Aat van Rhijn (1892–1986)	State Secretary	Social Affairs and Health	• Social Security • Unemployment • Occupational Safety • Social Services	15 February 1950 – 22 December 1958 [Retained]	Labour Party
		Dr. Anna de Waal (1906–1981)	State Secretary	Education, Arts and Sciences	• Primary Education • Secondary Education • Special Education • Youth Care	2 February 1953 – 16 March 1957 [Retained] [Res]}	Catholic People's Party
		René Höppener (1903–1983)			• Youth Care • Nature • Media • Culture • Art • Recreation • Sport	12 November 1956 – 19 May 1959 [Continued]	Catholic People's Party

^Resigned

^{Retained from the previous cabinet}

^{Continued in the next cabinet}

^Acting

^{Ad Interim}

^{Appointed as Member of the Council of State}

^{Appointed as European Commissioner}

• Eight cabinet members had previous experience as scholars and professors: Henk Hofstra (Fiscal Law), Ivo Samkalden (Agricultural Law), Jelle Zijlstra (Public Economics), Anne Vondeling (Agronomy and Agricultural Engineering), Marga Klompé (Chemistry), Gerard Veldkamp (Microeconomics), Aat van Rhijn (Fiscal Law) and Anna de Waal (Geography).
• Five cabinet members would later be granted the honorary title of Minister of State: Willem Drees (1958), Ivo Samkalden (1985), Jelle Zijlstra (1983), Jo Cals (1966) and Marga Klompé (1971).
• Four cabinet members (later) served as Party Leaders and Lijsttrekkers: Willem Drees (1946–1946) of the Social Democratic Workers' Party and (1946–1958) of the Labour Party, Anne Vondeling (1962–1966) of the Labour Party, Jelle Zijlstra (1956, 1958–1959) of the Anti-Revolutionary Party and Norbert Schmelzer (1963–1971) of the Catholic People's Party.
• Two cabinet members lived to centenarian age: Willem Drees (1886–1988) lived to 101 years, 314 days and Gerard Helders (1905–2013) lived to 107 years, 303 days.

Official

• (in Dutch) Kabinet-Drees IV Parlement & Politiek
• (in Dutch) Kabinet-Drees III Rijksoverheid

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