Josephus Antonius van Kemenade (6 March 1937 – 19 February 2020) was a Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and sociologist. He was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 5 April 2002.[1]

Jos van Kemenade
Van Kemenade in 2002
Queen's Commissioner of North Holland
In office
1 May 1992 – 1 April 2002
MonarchBeatrix
Preceded byRoel de Wit
Succeeded byHarry Borghouts
Mayor of Eindhoven
In office
1 March 1988 – 1 May 1992
Preceded byGilles Borrie
Succeeded byRein Welschen
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
16 September 1982 – 1 September 1984
In office
16 January 1978 – 11 September 1981
In office
8 June 1977 – 8 September 1977
Parliamentary groupLabour Party
Minister of Education and Sciences
In office
11 September 1981 – 29 May 1982
Prime MinisterDries van Agt
Preceded byArie Pais
Succeeded byWim Deetman
In office
11 May 1973 – 19 December 1977
Prime MinisterJoop den Uyl
Preceded byChris van Veen
Succeeded byArie Pais
Personal details
Born
Josephus Antonius van Kemenade

(1937-03-06)6 March 1937
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died19 February 2020(2020-02-19) (aged 82)
Heiloo, Netherlands
Political partyLabour Party (from 1958)
Spouse
Anny Nijman
(m. 1965; died 2016)
ChildrenAnna van Kemenade
Ferd-Jan van Kemenade
Pieter van Kemenade
Joran van Kemenade
Alma materRadboud University Nijmegen
(Bachelor of Social Science, Master of Social Science, Doctor of Philosophy)
OccupationPolitician · Civil servant · Sociologist · Pedagogue · Researcher · Nonprofit director · Academic administrator · Editor · Author · Professor

Life and career

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Van Kemenade was born in Amsterdam. He attended a Gymnasium in Amsterdam from June 1949 until 1955 and applied at the Radboud University Nijmegen in June 1955 majoring in Sociology and obtaining a Bachelor of Social Science degree in June 1957 and worked as a student researcher before graduating with a Master of Social Science degree in May 1960. Van Kemenade worked as a researcher at the Radboud University Nijmegen from May 1960 until January 1965 and was director of the ITS Nijmegen from 1 January 1965 until 11 May 1973. Van Kemenade returned to the Radboud University Nijmegen in July 1964 for a postgraduate education in sociology where he got a doctorate as a Doctor of Philosophy in sociology on 10 May 1968. Van Kemenade worked as a professor of pedagogy at the Radboud University Nijmegen from 1 January 1970 until 11 May 1973.

After the election of 1972 Van Kemenade was appointed as minister of education and sciences in the Cabinet Den Uyl, taking office on 11 May 1973. The Cabinet Den Uyl fell on 22 March 1977 and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity. Van Kemenade was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the election of 1977, taking office on 8 June 1977 but he was still serving in the cabinet, and because of dualism customs in the constitutional convention of Dutch politics, he couldn't serve a dual mandate so he subsequently resigned as a Member of the House of Representatives on 8 September 1977. The Cabinet Den Uyl was replaced by the Cabinet Van Agt–Wiegel following the cabinet formation of 1977 on 11 May 1973 and he subsequently returned as Member of the House of Representatives after the resignation of Frits Niessen, taking office on 16 January 1978 serving as a frontbencher and spokesperson for Education, Science and Technology. Van Kemenade also returned as a distinguished professor of Pedagogy at the University of Groningen from 1 May 1978 until 11 September 1981. After the election of 1981 Van Kemenade was again appointed as Minister of Education and Sciences in the Cabinet Van Agt II, taking office on 11 September 1981. The Cabinet Van Agt II fell just seven months into its term on 12 May 1982 and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until it was replaced by the caretaker Cabinet Van Agt III on 29 May 1982. After the election of 1982 Van Kemenade again returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 16 September 1982 serving as a frontbencher chairing the parliamentary committee on Education and Science and the parliamentary committee on Kingdom Relations. Van Kemenade also returned as a distinguished professor of Pedagogy at the University of Amsterdam from 1 July 1982 until 1 September 1984.

In September 1984 Van Kemenade was nominated as the president of the university council of the University of Amsterdam, he resigned as a Member of the House of Representatives the same day he was installed as president of the university council on 1 September 1984. Van Kemenade also served as a distinguished professor of pedagogy at the Open University from 1 February 1987 until 1 February 1995. In February 1988 Van Kemenade was nominated as Mayor of Eindhoven, he resigned as president of the university council the same day he was installed as mayor, taking office on 1 March 1988. In February 1992 Van Kemenade was nominated as the Queen's Commissioner of North Holland, he resigned as mayor the same day he was installed as Queen's Commissioner, serving from 1 May 1992 until 1 April 2002. Van Kemenade also became active in the public sector and occupied numerous seats as a nonprofit director on several boards of directors and supervisory boards (Institute for Multiparty Democracy, Organisation for Scientific Research, Transnational Institute, Parliamentary Documentation Center, International Institute of Social History, ProDemos, Foundation for Academic Heritage, International Society for Comparative Adult Education, T.M.C. Asser Instituut, Anne Frank Foundation, and the Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences) and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government (Raad voor het Openbaar Bestuur, Public Pension Funds APB, Raad voor Cultuur and the Cadastre Agency. Van Kemenade also served as a distinguished visiting professor of sociology at the University of Amsterdam from 1 March 2000 until 1 May 2002. Van Kemenade was also a prolific author, having written more than a dozen books since 1970 about politics and education.[2]

Van Kemenade was known for his abilities as a consensus builder and policy wonk. Van Kemenade died on 19 February 2020.[3] He continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until his death.

Decorations

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Honours
Ribbon bar Honour Country Date Comment
  Knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Holy See 30 November 1973
  Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II Belgium 1 August 1975
  Knight Commander of the Order of Merit Germany 10 December 1975
  Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour France 28 February 1976
  Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown Luxembourg 19 August 1977
  Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Spain 8 March 1982
  Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau Netherlands 9 September 1982
  Knight Commander with Star of the Order of St. Gregory the Great Holy See 21 March 1996
  Commander of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Netherlands 5 April 2002 Elevated from Knight (11 April 1978)
Honorific Titles
Ribbon bar Honour Country Date Comment
  Minister of State Netherlands 5 April 2002 Style of Excellency

References

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  1. ^ "Dr. J.A. van Kemenade" (in Dutch). Rijksoverheid. 5 April 2002. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Jos van Kemenade: "Politiek is een essentieel onderdeel van de samenleving"" (in Dutch). NHNieuws. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  3. ^ Hanneke Keultjes (19 February 2020). "Minister van Staat en oud-onderwijsminister Jos van Kemenade overleden" (in Dutch). Algemeen Dagblad. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
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  Media related to Jos van Kemenade at Wikimedia Commons

Official
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Education
and Sciences

1973–1977
1981–1982
Succeeded by
Preceded by Succeeded by
Preceded by Mayor of Eindhoven
1988–1992
Succeeded by
Preceded by Queen's Commissioner
of North Holland

1992–2002
Succeeded by
Civic offices
Preceded by Chairman of the
Supervisory board of the
Raad voor het Openbaar Bestuur

2001–2009
Succeeded by
Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by
Office established
Chairman of the
Supervisory board of the
Institute for Multiparty Democracy

2000–2007
Succeeded by
Academic offices
Preceded by
Unknown
Vice President of the University council
of the Radboud University Nijmegen

1972–1973
Succeeded by
Unknown
Preceded by
Unknown
President of the University council
of the University of Amsterdam

1984–1988
Succeeded by
Unknown