Â鶹APP

Joop den Uyl Photo by Rijksoverheid.nl

Top 10 Remarkable Facts about Joop den Uyl

Johannes Marten den Uijl, better known as Joop den Uyl who was born on 9th August 1919 was a Dutch politician and economist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1973 to 1977. He was a member of the Labour Party (PvdA).

Den Uyl was known for his abilities as a skillful debater and as an idealistic and determined leader. During his premiership, his cabinet were responsible for major social reforms and dealing with several major crises. Let’s take a look at some of the most remarkable facts about him;

1.Johannes Marten den Uijl was born on 9 August 1919 in the town of Hilversum

Johannes Marten den Uijl was born on 9 August 1919 in the town of Hilversum. He was born in a Calvinist Reformed family. His father, Johannes den Uyl, was a shopkeeper and a basket weaver who died when Den Uyl was just 10 years old. 

Den Uyl attended the Christian Lyceum, the modern-day Comenius College, in Hilversum from 1931 to 1936. Following this he studied Economics at the University of Amsterdam. During this period in his life he left the church. In 1942 he attained the doctorandus degree. 

2.He was part of the underground newspaper group published the clandestine Het Parool

Until 1945 he was a civil servant at the National Bureau for Prices of Chemical Products, part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. During that period he was part of the underground newspaper group that published the clandestine Het Parool. After World War II, Den Uyl worked for Het Parool, Vrij Nederland and other former resistance papers.

From January 1949 to 1963 he was the head of the Wiardi Beckman Stichting, the think tank of the social democratic Labour Party. In 1953, at the invitation of the American government, Den Uyl stayed in the United States for a few months, gaining an appreciation of the American experience.

3.He started his political career in 1953

Joop den Uyl Photo sourced from

He started his political career in 1953, when he was elected to the municipal council of Amsterdam and in 1956 he was elected to the House of Representatives. In 1963 he became municipal administrator for economic affairs in Amsterdam, resigning his parliamentary seat.

He resigned that post in 1965 to become Minister of Economic Affairs in the Cals cabinet. As the responsible minister, he decided to close the uneconomic coal mines in Limburg, causing high local unemployment. Following the parliamentary elections of 1967, he became leader of the Labour Party in parliament.

4.His cabinet faced many problems 

Den Uyl’s Labour Party won the 1972 election in alliance with the progressive liberal Democrats 66 and radical Christian Political Party of Radicals, but failed to achieve a majority in parliament. After lengthy negotiations, he formed Den Uyl cabinet as prime minister with the Christian democratic Catholic People’s Party and Anti-Revolutionary Party.

This cabinet faced many problems. An early problem was the 1973 oil boycott following the Dutch support of Israel in the Yom Kippur war. Den Uyl said in a speech on national television that “things would never return to the way they were” and implemented fuel rationing and a ban on Sunday driving.

5.He received several honors in his life 

Joop den Uyl Photo by Rob Bogaerts / Anefo

He received several honors in his life including; The Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion, The Honorary Medal for Initiative and Ingenuity of the Order of the House of Orange, and The Grand Officer of the Honorary Order of the Palm.

Others include ; Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau and an honorary degree in Economics from University of Amsterdam on 8th January 1985.These and many more are some of his achievements for his contribution to the political and education arena. 

6.Den Uyl was known for his abilities as a skillful debater

Den Uyl was known for his abilities as a skillful debater and as an idealistic and determined leader. During his premiership, his cabinet were responsible for major social reforms and dealing with several major crises such as the 1973 oil crisis, the Lockheed scandal, Moluccans incidents and the fallout of the Yom Kippur War.

He holds the distinction as leading the most left-wing Dutch cabinet, and his premiership is seen as divisive with both scholars and the public, from considering him to have been average to him having been one of the best Prime Ministers since World War II

7.He helped lead opposition to NATO plans for the deployment of 48 cruise missiles on Dutch soil

Joop den Uyl Photo by Rob Bogaerts / Anefo

After his coalition Government broke up in 1977, Mr. den Uyl helped lead opposition to NATO plans for the deployment of 48 cruise missiles on Dutch soil. He was also an outspoken advocate of international disarmament efforts, and served as vice president of the Socialist International.

Mr. den Uyl, a short, owlish man, was a pragmatic leader who moderated many of his more radical programs in reponse to growing economic pressures, and led his country during a series of difficult national crises. He led the emergence of the European Council and the expanding role of the prime minister in Dutch foreign policy. 

8.He led the Labor Party in opposition in Parliament

He won national respect by dealing with the Lockheed payoff scandal that in 1976 forced Prince Bernhard, husband of then-Queen Juliana, to resign from his official positions. Den Uyl had served as economics minister from 1965 to 1966 in the center-left coalition government of Premier Jo Cals.

For the next six years of center-right governments, Den Uyl led the Labor Party in opposition in Parliament, and when Labor swept back to power in 1973, he became premier in a center-left coalition. He was criticized for creating a budget deficit and polarizing Dutch politics. 

9.He married Liesbeth Den Uyl in 1944 and they were blessed with 7 children

On 30 August 1944, Den Uyl married Liesbeth Den Uyl, (18 June 1924 – 30 September 1990).They had three sons and four daughters. Of those the eldest Saskia Noorman-den Uyl became a member of parliament for the Labour Party herself serving until 1994 until 2006.

Another one of his children known as Xander Den Uyl became a leading figure in ABVAKABO, one of the Dutch labour unions and serves as Member of the Provincial-Council of North Holland for the Labour Party since 2011.

10.He died of brain tumor on Christmas eve 1987 aged 68

After the elections of 1986, in which the Labour Party won 5 seats but failed to retain its position as largest party, Den Uyl left politics. He was succeeded as leader of the Labour Party by Wim Kok.

On 24 October 1987, the VU University Medical Center announced that Den Uyl had become terminally ill. He was in October 1987 diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor and died just three months later at the age of 68 on Christmas Eve of 1987.