View source for Jo Cals

{{Short description|Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1965 to 1966}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[Excellency|His Excellency]]
| name                = Jo Cals
| image               = Jo Cals 1966.jpg
| caption             = Cals in 1966
| office              = [[Prime Minister of the Netherlands]]
| term_start          = 14 April 1965
| term_end            = 22 November 1966
| monarch             = [[Juliana of the Netherlands|Juliana]]
| deputy              = [[Anne Vondeling]] <br/> [[Barend Biesheuvel]]
| predecessor         = [[Victor Marijnen]]
| successor           = [[Jelle Zijlstra]]
| office1             = [[List of Ministers of Education of the Netherlands|Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences]]
| term_start1         = 4 February 1962
| term_end1           = 23 April 1963
| primeminister1      = [[Jan de Quay]]
| predecessor1        = [[Marga Klompé]] (''ad interim'')
| successor1          = [[Marga Klompé]] (''ad interim'')
| term_start2         = 2 September 1952
| term_end2           = 7 November 1961
| primeminister2      = {{List collapsed|title=''See list''|1=[[Willem Drees]] (1952–1958) <br/> [[Louis Beel]] (1958–1959) <br/> [[Jan de Quay]] (1959–1961)}}
| predecessor2        = [[Theo Rutten]]
| successor2          = [[Marga Klompé]] (''ad interim'')
| office3             = [[List of Ministers of Education of the Netherlands#List of State Secretaries for Education|State Secretary for Education, Arts and Sciences]]
| term_start3         = 15 March 1950
| term_end3           = 2 September 1952
| primeminister3      = [[Willem Drees]]
| predecessor3        = ''Office established''
| successor3          = [[Anna de Waal]]
| office4             = Member of the [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|House of Representatives]]
| term_start4         = 2 July 1963
| term_end4           = 14 April 1965
| term_start5         = 20 March 1959
| term_end5           = 19 May 1959
| term_start6         = 3 July 1956
| term_end6           = 3 October 1956
| term_start7         = 15 July 1952
| term_end7           = 2 September 1952
| term_start8         = 19 August 1948
| term_end8           = 15 March 1950
| birthname           = Jozef Maria Laurens Theo Cals
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|df=y|1914|07|18}}
| birth_place         = [[Roermond]], Netherlands
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|df=y|1971|12|30|1914|07|18}}
| death_place         = [[The Hague]], Netherlands
| nationality         = Dutch
| party               = [[Catholic People's Party]] <br/> (from 1945)
| otherparty          = [[Roman Catholic State Party]] (until 1945)
| spouse              = {{marriage|Truus van der Heijden|6 May 1941}}
| children            = 3 sons and 2 daughters
| residence           = 
| alma_mater          = [[Radboud University Nijmegen]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LL.B.]], [[Master of Laws|LL.M.]])
| occupation          = Politician · Diplomat · civil servant · [[Jurist]] · Lawyer · [[Prosecutor]] · Judge · Researcher · [[Board of directors|Corporate director]] · [[Nonprofit organization|Nonprofit director]] · [[Academic administration|Academic administrator]] · [[Lobbyist]] · Teacher
| signature           = 
| allegiance          = {{flag|Netherlands}}
| branch              = [[Royal Netherlands Army]]
| serviceyears        = 1945 ([[Active duty]]) <br/> 1945–1946 ([[Military reserve force|Reserve]])
| rank                = [[File:Nl-landmacht-kapitein ritmeester.svg|15px]] [[Captain (armed forces)|Captain]]
| unit                = Justice Corps
| commands            = 
| battles             = 
{{tree list}}
* [[World War II]]
** [[Liberation of Arnhem]]
{{tree list/end}}
| awards              = 
}}

'''Jozef Maria Laurens Theo "Jo" Cals''' (18 July 1914 – 30 December 1971) was a Dutch politician of the [[Catholic People's Party]] (KVP) and jurist who served as [[Prime Minister of the Netherlands]] from 14 April 1965 until 22 November 1966.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/bwn1880-2000/lemmata/b/bwn2/bwn1/cals|title=Cals, Jozef Maria Laurens Theo (1914–1971)|publisher=Huygens ING|date=12 November 2013|access-date=24 May 2019|language=nl}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politicalheroes.org/index.php?page=item&id=31|title=Jo Cals|publisher=Politicalheroes.org|date=8 March 2015|access-date=1 September 2019|language=nl|archive-date=29 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170429231237/http://www.politicalheroes.org/index.php?page=item&id=31|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.parlement.com/id/vh8lnhrouwx7/kabinetscrisis_1966_de_nacht_van|title=Kabinetscrisis 1966: de Nacht van Schmelzer|publisher=Parlement & Politiek|date=10 December 2010|access-date=3 June 2019|language=nl}}</ref>

Cals studied law at the [[Radboud University Nijmegen]] obtaining a [[Master of Laws]] degree and worked as a lawyer and prosecutor in [[Nijmegen]] from November 1940 until August 1948 and as researcher at his alma mater from February 1941 until May 1949. Cals also worked as a legal and economics teacher in [[Roermond]] from October 1943 until June 1945. Cals became a member of the [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|House of Representatives]] shortly after [[1948 Dutch general election|1948 general election]] taking office on 19 August 1948 serving as a [[frontbencher]] and spokesperson for education and social work. Following a [[cabinet reshuffle]] he was appointed as [[List of Ministers of Education of the Netherlands#List of State Secretaries for Education|State Secretary for Education, Arts and Sciences]] in the [[Drees–Van Schaik cabinet]], taking office on 15 March 1950. The Drees–Van Schaik cabinet fell on 24 January 1951 and was replaced by the [[first Drees cabinet]], with Cals continuing his office. After the [[1952 Dutch general election|1952 general election]], Cals was appointed as [[List of Ministers of Education of the Netherlands|Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences]] in the [[second Drees cabinet]], taking office on 2 September 1952. After the [[1956 Dutch general election|1956 general election]], Cals retained his position in the [[third Drees cabinet]]. The third Drees cabinet fell on 11 December 1958 and was replaced by the [[caretaker government|caretaker]] [[second Beel cabinet]], with Cals continuing his function. After the [[1959 Dutch general election|1959 general election]], Cals once again retained his office in the [[De Quay cabinet]]. After the [[1963 Dutch general election|1963 general election]], Cals was not offered a cabinet post in the new [[Marijnen cabinet|cabinet]] and returned to the House of Representatives on 2 July 1963, serving as a frontbencher and spokesperson for the interior and Kingdom relations. Cals also became active in the [[public sector]] as a non-profit director and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government.

After the fall of the [[Marijnen cabinet]], Cals was asked to lead a new cabinet. Following a successful [[1965 Dutch cabinet formation|cabinet formation]], Cals formed the [[Cals cabinet]] and became [[Prime Minister of the Netherlands]], taking office on 14 April 1965. The cabinet fell just one year into its term after a major political crisis and following a difficult cabinet formation was not included in a new cabinet. Cals left office upon the installation of the [[Caretaker government|caretaker]] [[Zijlstra cabinet]] on 22 November 1966 and announced his retirement.

Cals semi-retired from active politics at just 52 and became active in the [[private sector|private]] and [[public sector]]s as a corporate and non-profit director, and served as a diplomat and lobbyist for several economic delegations and presided over several state commissions and councils for the government. Cals was known for his abilities as a efficient manager and his work ethics. During his premiership, his cabinet were responsible for major social reforms to social security, [[South Limburg coal mining basin|closing the mines in Limburg]] and stimulating urban development in the [[Randstad]]. Cals was granted the honorary title of [[Minister of State (Netherlands)|Minister of State]] on 5 December 1966 and continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until he was diagnosed with a [[Terminal illness|terminal]] [[brain tumor]] and died in December 1971 at the age of just 57. He holds the distinction of as the fourth longest-serving cabinet member since 1850 with 14 years and 353 days and his premiership is consistently [[Historical rankings of prime ministers of the Netherlands|considered]] both by scholars and the public to have been average.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/1991/10/12/noud-cals-over-zijn-vader-mr-jo-cals-en-het-einde-6983490-a1204670|title=Noud Cals over zijn vader mr. Jo Cals en het einde van diens kabinet; "Hij was geen bezeten man, eerder: bevlogen'|newspaper=NRC |publisher=NRC Handelsblad|date=12 October 1991|access-date=1 September 2019|language=nl |last1=Abrahams |first1=Frits }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ru.nl/kdc/bladeren/archieven-thema/subpagina-archieven-thema/politiek/archieven_van_0/politiek-personen/cals_j_m_l_t/|title=Cals, J.M.L.T.|publisher=Katholiek Documentatie Centrum|date=21 March 2012|access-date=1 September 2019|language=nl}}</ref><ref>{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.geschiedenis24.nl/nieuws/2006/januari/Willem-Drees-gekozen-tot-D-premier-na-WO-II.html Willem Drees gekozen tot ‘Dé premier na WO II’], Geschiedenis24.nl, 15 January 2006</ref><ref>{{in lang|nl}} [https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2013/09/28/nrc-enquete-drees-en-lubbers-beste-premiers-sinds-1900/ NRC-enquête: Drees en Lubbers beste premiers sinds 1900], NRC Handelsblad, 28 September 2013</ref><ref>{{in lang|nl}} [https://www.ioresearch.nl/actueel/mark-rutte-gezien-als-beste-premier-sinds-woii/ I&O Research], I&O Research, 13 March 2020</ref>

==Biography==
===Early life===
[[File:Receptie op Catshuis, Minister President Cals (rechts) gesprek met Alain Poher e, Bestanddeelnr 919-1891.jpg|thumb|left|220px|[[President of the European Parliament]] [[Alain Poher]] and Prime Minister Jo Cals during a meeting at the [[Catshuis]] on 24 May 1966.]]
[[File:President Bourguiba in het Catshuis, nummer 28 v.l.n.r. Luns, Bourguiba en Cals, Bestanddeelnr 919-3317.jpg|thumb|left|220px|Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Luns, [[President of Tunisia]] [[Habib Bourguiba]] and Prime Minister Jo Cals during a meeting at the [[Catshuis]] on 7 July 1966.]]

Jozef Maria Laurens Theo Cals was born in [[Roermond]] on 18 July 1914. After completing his secondary education in his home town, he studied for the priesthood in Rolduc. In 1935, however, he interrupted his theological training to study law at the [[Radboud University Nijmegen]], after graduating in 1940 he practised law in that same city up until 1950, in the meantime also teaching economics at his old secondary school in [[Roermond]].

===Politics===
In 1945 Cals became leader of the [[Catholic People's Party]] in the municipal council of [[Nijmegen]] until 1946. He was elected to the [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|House of Representatives]] in 1948. From 15 March 1950 to 2 September 1952 he was [[State Secretary (Netherlands)|State Secretary]] for [[Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (Netherlands)|Education, Arts and Sciences]], serving from 15 March 1950 until 2 September 1952 in the [[Drees-Van Schaik cabinet|Drees-Van Schaik]] and [[First Drees cabinet|Drees I]] cabinets. He became [[Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (Netherlands)|Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences]] serving from 2 September 1952 until 24 July 1963 in the cabinets [[Second Drees cabinet|Drees II]] and [[Third Drees cabinet|III]], [[Second Beel cabinet|Beel II]] and [[De Quay cabinet|De Quay]], he helped pass the ''[[Mammoetwet]]'', a law that transformed secondary education. In the debate, he spoke for 6 hours and 50 minutes, setting a record. In 1963, however, he returned to the House of Representatives. Alongside his duties there, he was a member of the board of governors of the [[University of Groningen]], chairman of the Arts Council and a member of the Press Council.

In the aftermath of the collapse of the [[Marijnen cabinet]], Cals became [[Prime Minister of the Netherlands]] on 14 April 1965. After two decades of economic growth, his cabinet experienced a slight [[recession]]. Plans to build sports halls, roads and houses had to be tempered. In [[Limburg (Netherlands)|Limburg]] the coal mines were closed and plans were drawn to educate and re-employ the former miners. There was also social unrest ('the sixties'), which became apparent in the [[Provo (movement)|Provo]] movement, construction worker protests, riots over the marriage of princess [[Beatrix]] in Amsterdam and the rise of new parties like [[Farmers' Party (Netherlands)|Farmers' Party]] (BP), [[Pacifist Socialist Party]] (PSP), [[Reformed Political League]] (GPV) and the [[Democrats 66]] (D'66). Especially the last party wanted to change the political order<!-- politiek bestel -->.

On 14 October 1966, [[Norbert Schmelzer]], the leader of the [[Catholic People's Party]] and chair of its parliamentary group in the House of Representatives, tabled a motion that was interpreted as a [[motion of no confidence]] against the government and Prime Minister Cals. A shocking and surprised action in [[Politics of the Netherlands|Dutch politics]], later known as the [[Night of Schmelzer]], it marked the first time that a motion of no confidence was tabled against a government by a member of a government party.{{cn|date=July 2024}} The cabinet resigned the next day.

===Scouting===
Cals was in 1930, just after the foundation as a separate Scouting organisation, one of the first members of [[Scouting Nederland|De Katholieke Verkenners]] (The Catholic Scouts). He went to the [[4th World Scout Jamboree]] in Gödöllo, Hungary in 1933. After the liberation of the southern part of the Netherlands in 1944 he was one of the main forces in rebuilding Catholic Scouting as a separate Scouting movement in the Netherlands. During his second term as [[Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (Netherlands)|Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences]], the [[State Secretary (Netherlands)|State Secretary]] for [[Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (Netherlands)|Education, Arts and Sciences]] was his former [[Scout Master]] René Höppener.

===Trivia===
Between 1968 and 1970, Cals was in charge of the Dutch entry to the [[Expo '70]] in Japan. From 1967 he was chairman of the National Advisory Committee on the amendment of the Constitution.

Cals was a hard worker but this was at the expense of his health, he died from a [[brain tumor]] in the [[MCH Westeinde hospital]] in [[The Hague]] on 30 December 1971 at the age of 57.

==Decorations==
{| class="wikitable" style="width:60%;"
|- style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;"
| colspan=5 |'''Honours'''
|-
! style="width:80px;"| Ribbon bar !! Honour !! Country !! Date !! Comment
|-
| [[File:OESSG Cavaliere BAR.jpg|80px]] 
| [[Order (distinction)|Knight]] of the [[Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic)|Order of the Holy Sepulchre]]
| [[Holy See]]
| 
| 
|-
| [[File:NLD Order of Orange-Nassau - Knight Grand Cross BAR.png|80px]]
| [[Grand Cross|Knight Grand Cross]] of the [[Order of Orange-Nassau]]
| Netherlands
| 27 July 1963
| 
|-
| [[File:NLD Order of the Dutch Lion - Commander BAR.png|80px]]
| [[Order (distinction)|Commander]] of the [[Order of the Netherlands Lion]]
| Netherlands
| 5 December 1966
| 
|- style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;"
| colspan=5 |'''[[Honorific]] Titles'''
|-
! style="width:80px;"| Ribbon bar !! Honour !! Country !! Date !! Comment
|-
| [[File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg|75px]]
| [[Minister of State (Netherlands)|Minister of State]]
| Netherlands
| 5 December 1966
| [[style (manner of address)|Style]] of [[Excellency]]
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}

* {{in lang|nl}} [https://www.parlement.com/id/vg09lkz3c9yt/j_m_l_th_jo_cals Mr. J.M.L.Th. (Jo) Cals] Parlement & Politiek
* {{in lang|nl}} [https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/regering/over-de-regering/kabinetten-sinds-1945/kabinet-cals Kabinet-Cals] Rijksoverheid

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-new|office}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Ministers of Education of the Netherlands#List of State Secretaries for Education|State Secretary for Education, <br/> Arts and Sciences]]|years=1950–1952}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Anna de Waal]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Theo Rutten]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Ministers of Education of the Netherlands|Minister of Education, <br/> Arts and Sciences]]|years=1952–1961 <br/> 1962–1963|rows=2}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Prime Minister of the Netherlands]] <br/> [[Ministry of General Affairs|Minister of General Affairs]]|years=1965–1966}}
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{{s-civ}}
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{{s-aft|after=[[Louis Regout Jr.]]}}
{{s-break}}
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{{s-ttl|title=Chairman of the <br/> [[Supervisory board]] of the <br/> {{ill|Raad voor de Kunst|nl}}|years=1963–1965}} 
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{{s-bus}}
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{{s-vac|unknown}} 
{{s-ttl|title=Chairman of the <br/> [[Supervisory board]] of [[Elsevier (magazine)|Elsevier]]|years=1968–1971}} 
{{s-vac|unknown}}
{{s-npo}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-vac|unknown}} 
{{s-ttl|title=Chairman of <br/> [[Scouting Nederland|The Catholic Scouts]]|years=1949–1950}} 
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{{s-ttl|title=Vice Chairman of <br/> [[Scouting Nederland]]|years=1949–1950}} 
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{{s-vac|unknown}} 
{{s-ttl|title=Chairman of the <br/> [[Supervisory board]] of <br/> [[Oxfam#Oxfam Novib (Netherlands)|Oxfam Novib]]|years=1970–1971}} 
{{s-vac|unknown}} 
{{s-aca}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-vac|unknown}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chairman of the <br/> [[Board of education|Education board]] of the <br/> [[University of Groningen]]|years=1963–1965}}
{{s-vac|unknown}}
{{s-end}}

{{Prime Ministers of the Netherlands}}
{{Ministers of Education of the Netherlands}}
{{State Secretaries for Education of the Netherlands}}
{{Cals cabinet}}
{{De Quay cabinet}}
{{Second Beel cabinet}}
{{Third Drees cabinet}}
{{Second Drees cabinet}}
{{First Drees cabinet}}
{{Drees–Van Schaik cabinet}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cals, Jo}}
[[Category:1914 births]]
[[Category:1971 deaths]]
[[Category:Catholic People's Party politicians]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion]]
[[Category:Deaths from brain cancer in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Dutch academic administrators]]
[[Category:Dutch corporate directors]]
[[Category:20th-century Dutch judges]]
[[Category:Dutch legal educators]]
[[Category:Dutch lobbyists]]
[[Category:Dutch nonprofit directors]]
[[Category:Dutch nonprofit executives]]
[[Category:Dutch people of World War II]]
[[Category:Dutch prosecutors]]
[[Category:Dutch Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands)]]
[[Category:Ministers of education of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Ministers of general affairs of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Ministers of state of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Municipal councillors of Nijmegen]]
[[Category:Oxfam people]]
[[Category:People from Roermond]]
[[Category:Politicians from The Hague]]
[[Category:Prime ministers of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Radboud University Nijmegen alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Radboud University Nijmegen]]
[[Category:Royal Netherlands Army officers]]
[[Category:Royal Netherlands Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic State Party politicians]]
[[Category:Scouting and Guiding in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:State secretaries for education of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Groningen]]
[[Category:20th-century Dutch businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century Dutch civil servants]]
[[Category:20th-century Dutch diplomats]]
[[Category:20th-century Dutch educators]]
[[Category:Dutch MPs 1948–1952]]