Johannes Tak van Poortvliet

Johannes Pieter Roetert Tak van Poortvliet (born J.P.R. Tak) (21 June 1839, Engelen – 26 January 1904, The Hague), lord of the manor of Poortvliet and Cleverskerke, was a Dutch politician.

He was born in Engelen, North Brabant where his father, Adriaan Tak, was a Dutch Reformed minister. His father was a wealthy man, being the largest landowner in Zeeland. Johannes Tak studied law in Leiden (1857–1862), but he didn't practise law. He entered the public service and was one of the secretaries (commies-griffier) of de House of Representatives, the lower house of the Dutch parliament. In 1868 he became the secretary of the State Commissioner for water management in Zeeland and he showed himself a skillful man.

Johannes Tak van Poortvliet was attracted to liberalism. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1870 and was a strong supporter of Jan Kappeyne van de Coppello, the leader of the progressive liberals. In 1877 he entered the Kappeyne van de Coppello cabinet as Minister of Water Management and Trade. In 1878 his "Canal Act," intended to improve the Dutch waterways, mainly by adding some major canals, was rejected by the House of Representatives. Tak and the other ministers of the cabinet resigned.

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