Willem Schermerhorn
| Wim Schermerhorn | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 28th Prime Minister of the Netherlands | |
|
In office 24 June 1945 – 3 July 1946 |
|
| Monarch | Wilhelmina |
| Deputy | Willem Drees |
| Preceded by | Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy |
| Succeeded by | Louis Beel |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Willem Schermerhorn December 17, 1894 Akersloot, Netherlands |
| Died | March 10, 1977 (aged 82) Haarlem, Netherlands |
| Political party |
Free-thinking Democratic League (1945–1946) Labour Party (1946–1977) |
| Spouse(s) | Barbara Rook (1919–1977) |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | Delft University of Technology |
| Religion | Remonstrants |
Willem "Wim" Schermerhorn (17 December 1894 – 10 March 1977) was a Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA). He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1945 until 1946. He was the first Prime Minister after World War II. According to Harry W. Laidler, the government under Schermerhorn's premiership "achieved important results in the fields of labor, finance, housing, old age pensions, and the social services."
Willem Schermerhorn was born on 17 December 1894 in Akersloot in the Dutch Province of North Holland. He grew up in a Protestant family of farmers. He became professor at the Delft University of Technology on 7 September 1926. Schermerhorn remained professor until 1944, when he was removed by the German occupational forces because of his activities in the Dutch resistance. He was interned by the German occupational forces as a hostage in Sint-Michielsgestel from May 1942 until December 1943. After he was removed as professor in 1944 Schermerhorn went into hiding to avoid being taken prisoner by the German occupational forces.
On 24 June 1945 he became Prime Minister of the cabinet Schermerhorn/Drees, the first cabinet after World War II. Schermerhorn was the first Dutch Prime Minister who appointed civil servants with a political background, people like Koos Vorrink and Hendrik Brugmans (nicknamed 'The Schermerboys"). After the elections of 1946 he became a member of parliament, as a member of the social-democratic Labour Party. He remained a member of parliament until 1951. After his parliamentarian career ended he became director of the International Training Center for Aerial Survey in 1951 (until 1969). In 1956 he became member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
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