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His ExcellencyDries van Agt
Van Agt in 1980
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
In office 19 December 1977 – 4 November 1982
Monarchs	Juliana Beatrix
Deputy	See list Hans Wiegel (1977–1981) Joop den Uyl (1981–1982) Jan Terlouw (1981–1982)
Preceded by	Joop den Uyl
Succeeded by	Ruud Lubbers
Ambassador of the European Union to the United States
In office 1 January 1990 – 1 April 1995
Preceded by	Roy Denman
Succeeded by	Hugo Paemen
Ambassador of the European Union to Japan
In office 1 January 1987 – 1 January 1990
Preceded by	Laurens Jan Brinkhorst
Succeeded by	Jean-Pierre Leng
Queen's Commissioner of North Brabant
In office 1 June 1983 – 22 April 1987
Monarch	Beatrix
Preceded by	Jan Dirk van der Harten
Succeeded by	Frank Houben
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 28 May 1982 – 4 November 1982
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Max van der Stoel
Succeeded by	Hans van den Broek
Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives
In office 10 June 1981 – 24 August 1981
Preceded by	Ruud Lubbers
Succeeded by	Ruud Lubbers
In office 8 June 1977 – 19 December 1977
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Willem Aantjes
Parliamentary group	Christian Democratic Appeal
Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal
In office 10 December 1976 – 25 October 1982
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Ruud Lubbers
Deputy Prime Minister
In office 11 May 1973 – 8 September 1977
Prime Minister	Joop den Uyl
Preceded by	Roelof Nelissen Molly Geertsema
Succeeded by	Gaius de Gaay Fortman
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 16 September 1982 – 16 June 1983
In office 10 June 1981 – 9 September 1981
In office 8 June 1977 – 19 December 1977
In office 23 January 1973 – 22 April 1973
Minister of Justice
In office 6 July 1971 – 8 September 1977
Prime Minister	Barend Biesheuvel Joop den Uyl
Preceded by	Carel Polak
Succeeded by	Gaius de Gaay Fortman
Personal details
Born	Andreas Antonius Maria van Agt (1931-02-02)2 February 1931 Geldrop, Netherlands
Died	5 February 2024(2024-02-05) (aged 93) Nijmegen, Netherlands
Cause of death	Euthanasia
Political party	Christian Democratic Appeal (1980–2021)
Other political affiliations	Catholic People's Party (until 1980)
Spouse	Eugenie Krekelberg
Children	3
Residence(s)	Nijmegen, Netherlands
Alma mater	Radboud University Nijmegen (LL.B., LL.M.)
Signature

Andreas Antonius Maria "Dries" van Agt (Dutch: [ˈdris fɑn ˈɑxt] ; 2 February 1931 – 5 February 2024) was a Dutch politician, jurist and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 19 December 1977 until 4 November 1982. He was a prominent leader of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) and later its successor party, the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA).

Van Agt was known for his abilities as a skilful debater and negotiator. During his premiership, his cabinets were responsible for several major public sector and civil service reforms and further reducing the deficit following the recession in the 1980s. Van Agt continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until he suffered a major stroke in May 2019 which forced him to undergo rehabilitation. He held the distinction as the oldest living and earliest serving former prime minister following the death of Piet de Jong in July 2016, until his own death in February 2024.

Early life

Andreas Antonius Maria van Agt was born in Geldrop in the province of North Brabant in a Roman Catholic family. After receiving his diploma Gymnasium-A at the Augustinianum, he studied at the Catholic University of Nijmegen, where he received his Doctorate in Law in 1955. After graduating, he practised law in Eindhoven until 1957, after which he worked in the office of legal and business affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries until 1962. From 1962 to 1968, he worked for the Ministry of Justice.

Political career

Minister and deputy prime minister

Van Agt entered politics as a member of the Catholic People's Party, which merged with the other two major Christian democratic parties in 1980 to form the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). From 1968 to 1971, Van Agt was Professor of Criminal Law at the Catholic University of Nijmegen. From 1971 to 1973, he served as Minister of Justice in the first and second Biesheuvel cabinets. He caused outrage when he tried to pardon the last three Nazi war criminals still in Dutch prisons (known as The Breda Four) in 1972. From 1973 to 1977, he served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice in the Den Uyl cabinet.

Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal

In 1976, Van Agt was elected the first Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal, then still a federation of the three confessional parties: the Christian Historical Union, the Catholic People's Party and the Anti-Revolutionary Party, which contested with a united list for the first time in the 1977 general election (the merger followed in 1980). With Van Agt as its lead candidate, the Christian Democratic Appeal reversed years of decline in 1977 and returned to power.

Prime minister in the Van Agt I cabinet

In the parliamentary election of May 1977, the Labour Party (PvdA) obtained its largest number of seats, so a second Den Uyl cabinet seemed likely. However, the tension between the Catholic People's Party and the Labour Party in the last coalition, combined with the fact that a coalition between the Christian Democratic Appeal and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) was possible, the talks failed after a period of seven months. Eventually Van Agt negotiated a deal with VVD leader Hans Wiegel. From 19 December 1977 to 11 September 1981, Van Agt served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister of General Affairs in the Van Agt I cabinet.

Prime minister in the Van Agt II cabinet

In 1981 general election, the CDA and the VVD both lost parliamentary seats, so a continuation of the CDA–VVD coalition was not possible, and Van Agt was forced to enter into a coalition with the Labour Party and the Democrats 66 (which, under Jan Terlouw, had gained a significant number of seats). Three months of difficult negotiations resulted in the Van Agt II cabinet (11 September 1981 – 29 May 1982). In this composition, Van Agt worked with Joop den Uyl again as Den Uyl was made Deputy Prime Minister and "super minister" of Social Affairs and Employment. The characterological and political differences led to several divisions, and in May 1982 the government fell.

The personal strife between Van Agt and Den Uyl had deteriorated to such an extent that when Den Uyl died from a brain tumor in 1987, Van Agt was not invited to the memorial service by the family. Den Uyl's wife Liesbeth argued that Van Agt had prevented the second Den Uyl cabinet from forming in 1977.

Prime minister in the Van Agt III cabinet

The caretaker government continued as a minority cabinet, with only ministers from the parties Christian Democratic Appeal and Democrats 66, in the Van Agt III cabinet. For replacing the six Labour Party ministers, five new Christian Democratic Appeal and Democrats 66 ministers were appointed, while Van Agt, in addition to being prime minister, took the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs upon him.

A new parliamentary election was planned for September 1982. Although Van Agt by this point was worn out, he was persuaded to lead his party's list again, but shortly after the election he withdrew as a candidate for prime minister and was succeeded by Ruud Lubbers.

After politics

Diplomat

Dries van Agt served as Ambassador of the European Community to Japan from 1987 to 1990 and to the United States from 1990 to 1995. From 1995 to 1996, he was a Visiting Professor of International Relations at the University of Kyoto.

Professor

Until his death, Van Agt was Prime Counsellor for the International Forum for Justice and Peace, a foundation under Dutch law, registered at the Chamber of Commerce in Amsterdam. Chaired by retired international businessman Ben Smoes, they are currently focused on justice and peace in regard to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

Activism

Van Agt lectured in Cairo in May 2006 at the invitation of the Egyptian electronic magazine Arab-West Report about great changes in the cultural climate of north-western Europe in the past decades, becoming more hostile to religion, including Islam. Muslims, he argued, need to understand those changes to be able to respond better to European criticism of Islam and the Muslim world.

Van Agt also spoke against the Council of State in Egypt for continuous delay in granting the Center for Arab-West Understanding (CAWU) the NGO status. He met with prominent figures in Egypt to persuade them to do so. The Egyptian Council of State, after van Agt's visit to Cairo in 2006, ruled on 18 February 2007 that the center should be recognized as an NGO under Egyptian law, ending its three-year struggle to obtain this status. Egypt is known for its reluctance in granting NGO status to discourage political participation. Cornelis Hulsman, a Dutch sociologist, the editor-in-chief of Arab-West Report, and the head of CAWU, stated that van Agt's effort significantly impacted the realization of their goals, which usually requires a lengthy amount of time and scrutiny in its political purposes.

For some years, Van Agt took an outspoken stance regarding the Middle East, resulting in a fierce criticism of the policies undertaken by the government of Israel with regard to the Palestinians. When in office, Van Agt was a staunch supporter of Israel, but after he stepped down in 1982, he changed his mind. According to his own words an important turning point was a visit at the late nineties at Bethlehem University on the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He accused Israel of "state terrorism" and turning the Palestinian Authority territories into "bantustans".

In 2009, Van Agt founded The Rights Forum, a non-profit organization aimed at promoting a “just and sustainable Dutch and European policy regarding the Palestine/Israel issue”. In 2012, he said that Jews should have had a state in Germany instead of Israel. In September 2016, in reference to the visit of Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu to the Netherlands, Van Agt argued that the ongoing Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and the building of settlements there constituted a war crime under the Rome Statute and suggested that Netanyahu should have been sent to the International Criminal Court.

Personal life and death

Van Agt was known for his use of archaic language and complicated phrasing, as well as for his love for cycling. He married Eugenie Krekelberg in 1958, and they had three children and seven grandchildren, including professional cyclist Eva van Agt [nl]. In 2012, he joined the Advisory Board of the International Museum for Family History. Van Agt lived in Heilig Landstichting, near Nijmegen, until his death.

Van Agt and his wife, after choosing euthanasia, died on 5 February 2024, three days after his 93rd birthday. According to family, the couple died holding hands. Van Agt had previously suffered a debilitating brain hemorrhage while giving a speech in 2019.

Decorations

Honours

Honours

Ribbon bar	Honour	Country	Date	Comment
	Honorary Medal for Initiative and Ingenuity of the Order of the House of Orange	Netherlands	19 September 1974
	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau	Netherlands	9 December 1982

Awards

Honorary degrees

Notes

1. van in isolation: [vɑn].

References

1. ^ "Wie is Dries van Agt?". NTR Focus (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 1 April 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
2. For the full text of his lecture, entitled, "Cultures between Clash and Reconciliation: The Role of the Media and Academia," see AWR, 2006, week 53, art. 3
3. "Former Dutch PM champions Palestinian cause" Archived 13 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Radio Netherlands Worldwide (10 December 2009).
4. (in Dutch) "De bekering van Dries van Agt" Archived 19 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine, HP|DE TIJD, 29 September 2006
5. (in Dutch) "Ik kan het wel uitschreeuwen" Archived 20 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine, interview oud-premier Dries van Agt, NRC Handelsblad, 22 August 2009
6. Cnaan Liphshiz, 'Dutch Jimmy Carter' accuses Israel of terrorism in new book Archived 28 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine Haaretz (27 June 2008).
7. ^ "Former Dutch Prime Minister Dries van Agt and his wife die 'hand in hand' by euthanasia at age 93". Associated Press. 9 February 2024. Archived from the original on 9 February 2024. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
8. Former Dutch PM: Jews should have had a state in Germany Archived 27 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine, The Times of Israel (11 November 2012).
9. Cockburn, Harry (6 September 2016). "Former Dutch PM calls Benjamin Netanyahu a 'war criminal' who should be tried in The Hague". independent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 June 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
10. "Oud-premier Dries van Agt (93) overleden". NOS (in Dutch). 9 February 2024. Archived from the original on 18 March 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
11. "Oud-premier Dries van Agt (93) overleden: 'Hij stierf hand in hand samen met zijn vrouw Eugenie'" [Van Agt and wife "died holding hands"]. Retrieved 9 February 2024.

External links

• (in Dutch) Mr. A.A.M. (Dries) van Agt Parlement & Politiek
• (in Dutch) Kabinet-Van Agt I Rijksoverheid
• (in Dutch) Kabinet-Van Agt II Rijksoverheid
• (in Dutch) Kabinet-Van Agt III Rijksoverheid

v t e Prime ministers of the Netherlands
Schimmelpenninck De Kempenaer Thorbecke Van Hall Van der Brugghen Rochussen Van Hall Ja. Van Zuylen van Nijevelt Van Heemstra Thorbecke Fransen van de Putte Ju. Van Zuylen van Nijevelt Van Bosse Thorbecke De Vries J. Heemskerk Kappeyne van de Coppello Van Lynden van Sandenburg J. Heemskerk Mackay Van Tienhoven Roëll Pierson Kuyper De Meester T. Heemskerk Cort van der Linden Ruijs de Beerenbrouck Colijn De Geer Ruijs de Beerenbrouck Colijn De Geer Gerbrandy Schermerhorn Beel Drees Beel De Quay Marijnen Cals Zijlstra De Jong Biesheuvel Den Uyl Van Agt Lubbers Kok Balkenende Rutte Schoof
List (education ◌ religion)

v t e King's and Queen's commissioners of North Brabant
Provinces of the Netherlands
Hultman Holvoet Van Vredenburch Van der Fosse Van den Bogaerde van Terbrugge Borret Bosch van Drakestein Gerrits Van Voorst tot Voorst Van Rijckevorsel Smits van Oyen De Quay Kortmann Van der Harten Van Agt Houben Maij-Weggen Van de Donk Adema

v t e Ministers of foreign affairs of the Netherlands
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Buys Gogel Van der Goes van Dirxland Röell Mollerus Van der Heim Van Hogendorp Van Nagell Reinhold Van Reede De Coninck Verstolk van Soelen H. van Zuylen van Nijevelt Huyssen van Kettendijke Schimmelpenninck van der Oye De la Sarraz Van Randwijck Schimmelpenninck Bentinck van Nijenhuis Lightenvelt Van Sonsbeeck Ja. van Zuylen van Nijevelt Van Hall Gevers van Endegeest Van Goltstein Van Hall Ju. van Zuylen van Nijevelt Van der Goes van Dirxland Ja. van Zuylen van Nijevelt Strens Stratenus Van der Maesen de Sombreff Huyssen van Kattendijke Cremers Ju. van Zuylen van Nijevelt Van Mulken Roest van Limburg Van Mulken Gericke van Herwijnen Van der Does de Willebois Van Heeckeren van Kell Van Lynden van Sandenburg Rochussen Van der Does de Willebois Du Tour van Bellinchave Van Karnebeek Hartsen Van Tienhoven Jansen Röell De Beaufort Van Lynden Ellis Van Weede van Berencamp Ellis Van Tets van Goudriaan De Marees van Swinderen Cort van der Linden Loudon Van Karnebeek Beelaerts van Blokland De Graeff Ruijs de Beerenbrouck Colijn Patijn Van Kleffens Van Roijen Van Boetzelaer van Oosterhout Stikker Beyen Luns Schmelzer Van der Stoel Van der Klaauw Van der Stoel Van Agt Van den Broek Kooijmans Van Mierlo Van Aartsen De Hoop Scheffer Bot Verhagen Rosenthal Timmermans Koenders Zijlstra Kaag Blok Kaag De Bruijn Knapen Hoekstra Schreinemacher Slot Veldkamp

v t e Deputy prime ministers of the Netherlands
Drees Van Schaik Teulings Beel Struycken Korthals Biesheuvel Vondeling De Quay Witteveen Bakker Nelissen Geertsema Van Agt De Gaay Fortman Wiegel Den Uyl Terlouw Van Aardenne De Korte Kok Dijkstal Van Mierlo Jorritsma Borst Bomhoff Remkes De Boer Zalm De Graaf Brinkhorst Bos Rouvoet Verhagen Asscher De Jonge Ollongren Schouten Koolmees Ollongren Kaag Hoekstra Jetten Van Gennip Agema Hermans Van Hijum Keijzer

v t e Ministers of justice of the Netherlands
Ministry of Justice and Security
Tadama Reuvens Van Hooff Van der Goes van Dirxland Cambier Appelius Van Hugenpoth tot Aerdt Van Maanen Van Pallandt van Keppel Van Maanen Van Hall De Jonge van Campensnieuwland Donker Curtius Wichers Lightenvelt Nedermeyer van Rosenthal Strens Donker Curtius Van der Brugghen Boot Godefroi Olivier Pické Borret J. Heemskerk Wintgens Van Lilaar Jolles De Vries Van Lynden van Sandenburg Smidt Modderman Du Tour van Bellinchave Ruijs de Beerenbrouck Smidt Van der Kaay Cort van der Linden Loeff Van Raalte Nelissen T. Heemskerk Regout T. Heemskerk Ort T. Heemskerk Schokking J. Donner Van Schaik Goseling De Visser Gerbrandy Van Angeren Van Heuven Goedhart Gerbrandy Kolfschoten Van Maarseveen Wijers Van Maarseveen Struycken Mulderije Donker Beel Van Oven Samkalden Struycken Beerman Scholten Samkalden Struycken Polak Van Agt De Gaay Fortman De Ruiter Korthals Altes Hirsch Ballin Kosto Sorgdrager Korthals P. H. Donner Verdonk Hirsch Ballin Opstelten Blok Van der Steur Blok Grapperhaus Yeşilgöz-Zegerius Van Weel

• 1931 births
• 2024 deaths
• 2024 suicides
• Deaths by euthanasia
• Academic staff of United Nations University
• Ambassadors of the European Union to Japan
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• Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands)
• Ministers of foreign affairs of the Netherlands
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• Euthanasia in the Netherlands
• People from Eindhoven
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