Schermerhorn–Drees cabinet


The Schermerhorn–Drees cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 25 June 1945 until 3 July 1946. The cabinet was formed by the political parties Roman Catholic State Party, Social Democratic Workers' Party and the Free-thinking Democratic League a month after the Netherlands were liberated by the Allied Forces after the German occupation. The national unity government cabinet served as a caretaker government and was sometimes referred to as an emergency–cabinet, its main objectives where to reorganise the state and make preparations for the election of 1946.

Introduction

The Schermerhorn–Drees cabinet, the first Dutch cabinet after World War II, was appointed by Queen Wilhelmina just a month after the Netherlands were liberated by the Allied forces. It was a royal cabinet. The States-General of the Netherlands did not function yet and would not become functional until November 1945.
The Schermerhorn–Drees cabinet consisted of ministers from the SDAP, the CHU minister Dr. Piet Lieftinck, the ARP and the RKSP. Prime Minister Willem Schermerhorn was a member of the VDB, but would later become a member of the PvdA. Deputy Prime Minister Willem Drees was a member of the SDAP.

Cabinet actions

One of the main tasks of the cabinet was to revive the Dutch economy after the war and to rebuild the devastated infrastructure. Furthermore the Dutch administration had to be restored. Furthermore the cabinet had to deal with the arrest and prosecution of Dutch war criminals and Dutch collaborators.
Until August 1945 the war against Japan in the Dutch East Indies was also a main objective of the cabinet. After the Japanese surrender the cabinet was faced with the Indonesian nationalists Sukarno and Hatta, who proclaimed the independence of their country.
Another objective of the cabinet was the purification of the black money circuit. During the period the bank accounts in the Netherlands were under investigation by the Ministry of Finance, every Dutch citizen was given 10 guilders by the cabinet, in the Netherlands known as 'Het tientje van Lieftinck', named after the minister of Finance, Dr. Lieftinck.

Cabinet Members