Dirk Jan de Geer
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Jonkheer Dirk Jan de Geer |
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| 30th and 33rd Prime Minister of the Netherlands | |
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In office 10 August 1939 – 3 September 1940 |
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| Monarch | Wilhelmina |
| Preceded by | Hendrikus Colijn |
| Succeeded by | Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy |
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In office 8 March 1926 – 10 August 1929 |
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| Monarch | Wilhelmina |
| Preceded by | Hendrik Colijn |
| Succeeded by | Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
14 December 1870 Groningen, Netherlands |
| Died | 28 November 1960 (aged 89) Soest, Netherlands |
| Political party | Christian Historical |
| Spouse(s) | Maria Voorhoeve (1883-1955) |
| Children | 5 |
| Occupation | Statesman |
| Religion | Dutch Reformed |
Jonkheer Dirk Jan de Geer (14 December 1870 – 28 November 1960) was a Dutch nobleman, lawyer, conservative statesman and prime minister of the Netherlands (1926–1929, 1939–1940). He was disgraced for advocating a peace settlement between the Kingdom and Nazi Germany in 1940.
Born in Groningen, he was a descendant of the De Geer family painted by Rembrandt. After receiving his doctorate in law in 1895, De Geer worked as a journalist and acted as town councillor of Rotterdam (1901–1907). He served from 1907 as a Christian Historical) member of Parliament.
De Geer was a stable and respected politician before the war. From 1920 to 1921 de Geer 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 1925-1926 he served as minister of the interior and minister of agriculture. He was Prime Minister from 8 March 1926 to 10 August 1929. He also served as Minister of Finances from 1926 to 1933.
After the end of the fifth cabinet of Colijn he was again asked to form a government in August 1939, concurrently holding the office of Minister of Finance and of General Affairs. However, he was not suited for the role of prime minister of a nation at war as he knew himself. When the Germans attacked the Netherlands on 10 May 1940, the situation soon became very serious. Because of this the government decided to flee to London.
When in London, De Geer advocated negotiating a separate peace between the Netherlands and the Third Reich. He damaged the Dutch government and the Dutch morale by openly stating that the war could never be won. He was finally removed from office on the instigation of the iron-willed Queen Wilhelmina, and replaced by Gerbrandy.
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