Catholic National Party

The Catholic National Party (in Dutch: Katholieke Nationale Partij, KNP) was a Dutch conservative Catholic political party. The KNP served as a Catholic protest party against Indonesian independence.

The KNP was founded on December 11, 1948 as a continuation of the list-Welter (Committee for Action). This list got one seat in the 1948 election. It was led by Charles Welter, a former Dutch Minister for Colonial Affairs, who rejected the Dutch government's support for Indonesian independence. It also turned against the cooperation of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) with the Labour Party.

In the 1952 election the party won another seat. In 1955, the bishops pressured the KNP to return to the KVP. Welter joined the KVP parliamentary party. In the 1956 and 1959 elections, Welter got a seat for the KVP.

The KNP was a catholic party, which advocated christian-democratic politics. The party was conservative in economic and ethical matters.

The most important issue for the KNP was the unity of the Dutch empire. It rejected the independence of the Dutch Indies and it instead wanted to form a kingdom in which the Netherlands and Indonesia were equal partners. In 1950, the independence of Indonesia was irreversible, and the party oriented towards other issues. It became an advocate for the interests of the Papuas, Ambonese people and Dutch citizens for the Netherlands. The two Protestant parties, ARP and CHU, were also divided on the issue of Indonesian independence, with the CHU cooperating in the Dutch cabinet and the ARP rejecting Indonesian independence.

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