Dirk Jan de Geer

Dirk Jan de Geer (14 December 1870 – 28 November 1960) was a Dutch politician of the Christian Historical Union. He served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 8 March 1926 until 10 August 1929, and from 10 August 1939 until 3 September 1940.

Life

Born in Groningen, he was a descendant of the De Geer family. After receiving his J.D. from a college of law in 1895, De Geer worked as a journalist and acted as a town councilor of Rotterdam (1901–1907).

He served from 1907 as a Christian Historical member of Parliament. Before World War II, he was a stable and respected politician. From 1920 to 1921, he served as mayor of Arnhem. Between 1921 and 1923, De Geer served as Minister of Finance. He resigned in 1923 because of his disagreement with the Naval Law of 1924. From 1925 to 1926 he served as Minister of the Interior and Minister of Agriculture, then became Chairman of the Council of Ministers on 8 March 1926, serving for three years until resigning on 10 August 1929. He also served as Minister of Finance from 1926 to 1933.

After the fall of the fifth cabinet of Hendrikus Colijn, De Geer again formed a government in August 1939 and concurrently held the offices of Minister of Finance and of General Affairs. However, as he knew, he was not suited for the role of prime minister of a nation at war. When Nazi Germany attacked the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 (beginning of the Western campaign), the situation soon became very serious, and the government fled to Britain.

In Britain, De Geer advocated negotiating a separate peace between the Netherlands and Germany and damaged the Dutch government and Dutch morale by openly stating that the war could never be won. At the instigation of Queen Wilhelmina, he was removed from office and replaced by Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy – officially on account of ill-health.

Later, he was sent with a diplomatic package to the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. He never arrived there, for on a stopover in Portugal he left the flight and went to the Germans, who allowed him to return to his ailing wife and the rest of his family in the Netherlands.

That greatly angered Wilhelmina, who called him a traitor and deserter to the Dutch cause. He later wrote a controversial leaflet with "instructions" for the people on how to co-operate with the Germans. "With this pamphlet", the Dutch government-in-exile stated in a broadcast, "the writer has betrayed the Netherlands people, whatever happens to him personally". Wilhelmina warned De Geer that if he published the pamphlet, he would be put on trial after the conclusion of the war.

With the permission of the Reichskommissariat Niederlande, De Geer went through with the publication. After the war, he was found guilty of high treason in time of war and was stripped of all of his honorary titles. The Appeal Court confirmed the sentence of a year's imprisonment with three years' probation, but waived the fine of 20,000 guilders and the deprivation of the title "Minister of State".

Personal

On 11 August 1904, De Geer married Maria Voorhoeve (1 May 1883 – 6 April 1955).

De Geer died on 28 November 1960 at Soest, at the age of 89, sixteen days before his 90th birthday, several years after having suffered a stroke.

His grandson is ex-footballer Boudewijn de Geer, and his great-grandson is football manager and former player Mike de Geer.

Decorations

Honours

Ribbon bar	Honour	Country	Date	Comment
File:Order of the Netherlands Lion ribbon - Knight Grand Cross.svg	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion	Netherlands	31 August 1933	Stripped of title on 15 March 1950
File:Order of Orange-Nassau ribbon - Commander.svg	Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau	Netherlands	11 August 1923	Stripped of title on 15 March 1950

Honorific titles

Ribbon bar	Honour	Country	Date	Comment
File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg	Minister of State	Netherlands	31 August 1933	Style of Excellency Stripped of title on 12 November 1947

External links

• Template:PM20
• Jhr.Mr. D.J. (Dirk) de Geer Parlement & Politiek Template:In lang