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Jo Cals. Minister-president van Nederland. Photo by Rijksoverheid.

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Jo Cals

Jo Cals was a popular Dutch politician who belonged to the Catholic People’s Party currently known as Christian Democratic Appeal. His birth name was Jozef Maria Laurens Theo Cals and he was born on July 1914 in Roermond, Netherlands.

Jo Cals pursued his career in Law at Radboud University Nijmegen and later served as a lawyer and attorney at the same university. From October 1943 to June 1945, Jo Cals worked as an economics and legal teacher in Roermond.

He entered into politics in 1945 as a councilor of Nijmegen and after three years of service, he became an MP. He became the prime minister of the Cals cabinet in 1965, after serving as the deputy government minister for Education, Arts, and Sciences.

At the age of 52, he semi-retired from active politics and joined the private and public sectors. Jo Cals later passed on in 1971 at the age of 57 after suffering a brain tumor.

Below are the top ten amazing facts about Jo Cals

1. Jo Cals had a Very Successful Career

Photo by Jack de Nijs.

Jo Cals became very successful in his academics before he indulged in this great political career that saw him rise to higher heights. He pursued his studies at the popular Radboud University Nijmegen where he obtained his Masters of Law.

For about eight years, he worked as a prosecutor and a lawyer in Nijmegen between 1940 and 1948.

Between 1943 and 1945, he worked as an economic and legal teacher in Roermond. He also worked as a researcher at his alma mater between the years 1941 and 1949.

2. Jo Cals Pursued Priesthood in Rolduc

Although Jo Cals is very popular for his successful career in law and political adventure, he also studied Priesthood. Immediately after Jo Cals completed his secondary school education, he went on to pursue priesthood in Rolduc.

He however did not proceed with his studies in theological training and he decided to pursue law at the Radboud University Nijmegen.

3. He became a Member of the House of Representative

Jo Cals. Photo by Anefo.

After the elections that were held in 1948, Jo Cals was elected as the Member of the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives is the lower house of the parliament of the Netherlands as well as the Senate and the State General.

After taking office on 19^th August 1948, he served as a spokesperson for the social work and the education sector. He was also appointed as the State Secretary for Education, Arts, and Sciences after the reshuffle of the cabinet.

4. Jo Cals was Appointed Minister of Education, Arts, and Sciences

After the elections that took place in 1952, Jo Cals was appointed Minister of Education, Arts, and Science. Jo Cals took his office on 2nd September 1952, in Cabinet Drees 2.

Even after the next elections of the nation that took place in 1956, he retained his position during the Cabinet Drees 3.

Jo Cals retained his position after the fall of Cabinet 3 which was replaced by the caretaker Cabinet Beel 2. In the Cabinet De Quay that came in after the elections in 1959, Jo Cals still retained his position.

5. He served as a Spokesperson and Frontbencher for the Interior

Jo Cals. Photo by

After the elections that took place in 1963, Jo Cals did not get any opportunity to serve in any cabinet post. Later in 1963, he went back to the House of Representatives where he served as a spokesperson and frontbencher.

Afterward, he became more active in the public sector and the non-profit director. He also had an opportunity to serve in many state commissions and also several council meetings on behalf of the government.

6. Jo Cals Became the Prime Minister of the Netherlands

Jo Cals took the office of the Prime minister of the Netherlands on April 1965 after the formation of the cabinet Cals. He formed the new cabinet after the fall of Cabinet Marijnen and he was asked to lead the new cabinet which he led successfully.

The cabinet however fell after one year following the major political crisis. Jo Cals announced his retirement after the installation of the caretaker Cabinet Zijlstra in 1966 after leaving office.

7. He served as Diplomat and Lobbyist for Several Economic Delegations

Jo Cals. Photo by Eric Koch.

After the semi-retirement of Jo Cals at the age of 52, he became very proactive in the public and private sectors. He diligently served as a non-profit and corporate director.

He also had the chance to serve as the diplomat and lobbyist for many delegations and presided over several councils of government. In his position, he was also popularly recognized for his work ethic and efficient management.

8. Jo Cals was Given the Honorary Title of Minister of State

Upon his retirement, Jo Cals was greatly honored by his country where he was granted the honorary title of Minister of State. He received the title on December 1966 and he proceeded with his comments on political affairs as the statesman.

Sadly he was later diagnosed with a terrible terminal brain tumor that caused his death while serving as the Minister of State. He however holds the position of the fourth long-serving cabinet member.

9. He was Among the First Members of De Katholieke Verkenners

In early 1930, Jo Cals became one of the first members of the De Katholieke Verkenners. This was one of the scout organizations in the Netherland which had approximately 110,000 members.

The group was also known as the Catholic Scouts. After the liberation of the southern part of the Netherlands, Jo Cals became one of the major forces in rebuilding the Catholic Scouts.

10. His Cabinet Experienced a Slight Recession

After wonderful economic growth for about two decades, his cabinet however experienced a slight recession. His plans were tempered where he had organized to build houses, roads, and sports halls. The coal mines which provided income to re locals were closed to educate and re-employing the former workers.

Jo Cals is a prominent hero, especially for his hard work and his efficient management in the various roles he was given. He also managed to retain his position as the Minister of Education, Arts, and Science several times after different elections.

He is also known to be the fourth person to have held the cabinet member position the longest.