# Schermerhorn–Drees cabinet

The Schermerhorn–Drees cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 25 June 1945 until 3 July 1946. The cabinet was formed by the Roman Catholic State Party (RKSP), the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP) and the Free-thinking Democratic League (VDB) by royal decree following the end of World War II. The cabinet was a provisional centre-left grand coalition and had a substantial majority in the House of Representatives, with prominent civil engineer Willem Schermerhorn of the VDB serving as Prime Minister. SDAP leader Willem Drees served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs.
This, the first Dutch cabinet after World War II, was appointed by Queen Wilhelmina just a month after the Netherlands was liberated by the Allied forces. It was a royal cabinet (which means that the cabinet is appointed by the monarch, and is not the result of an election). The States General of the Netherlands was not yet functional, and would not become so until November 1945.
The cabinet served during the early days of the post–World War II 1940s. Domestically, it initiated recovery and rebuilding, and implemented several major reforms to social security. Internationally, the formation of the United Nations was started and the beginning of the decolonization of the Dutch East Indies.
The Schermerhorn–Drees cabinet consisted of ministers from the SDAP – which in 1946 merged with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the VDB to become the Labour Party (PvdA) – the RKSP (replaced by the new KVP on 22 December 1945) and the ARP, with in addition the CHU minister Dr. Piet Lieftinck, who became a member of the PvdA on 9 February 1946. Prime Minister Willem Schermerhorn later became a member of the PvdA.

## Cabinet actions

One of the main tasks of the cabinet was to revive the Dutch economy after the war and to rebuild the devastated infrastructure (ports, railroads, roads). Furthermore the Dutch administration had to be restored. Furthermore the cabinet had to deal with the arrest and prosecution of Dutch war criminals and Dutch collaborators.
Until August 1945 the war against Japan in the Dutch East Indies was also a main objective of the cabinet. After the Japanese surrender the cabinet was faced with the Indonesian nationalists Sukarno and Hatta, who proclaimed the independence of their country.
Another objective of the cabinet was the purification of the black money circuit. During the period the bank accounts in the Netherlands were under investigation by the Ministry of Finance, every Dutch citizen was given 10 guilders by the cabinet, in the Netherlands known as 'Het tientje van Lieftinck' (Lieftinck's tenner), named after the minister of Finance, Dr. Lieftinck.

## Composition

| Title | Minister | Minister | Minister | Minister | Term of office | Term of office |
| Title | Image | Name | Party | Party | Start | End |
| Prime Minister Minister of General Warfare | | Willem Schermerhorn | | VDB | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Prime Minister Minister of General Warfare | | Willem Schermerhorn | | PvdA | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of Social Affairs | | Willem Drees | | SDAP | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of Social Affairs | | Willem Drees | | PvdA | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of the Interior | | Louis Beel | | RKSP | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of the Interior | | Louis Beel | | KVP | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | | Eelco van Kleffens | | Indep. | 25 June 1945 | 1 March 1946 |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | | Herman van Roijen | | Indep. | 1 March 1946 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of Finance | | Piet Lieftinck | | CHU | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of Finance | | Piet Lieftinck | | PvdA | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of Justice | | Hans Kolfschoten | | RKSP | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of Justice | | Hans Kolfschoten | | KVP | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of Commerce and Industry | | Hein Vos | | SDAP | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of Commerce and Industry | | Hein Vos | | PvdA | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of War | | Jo Meynen | | ARP | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of the Navy Minister of Shipping (ad interim) | | Jim de Booy | | Indep. | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences | | Gerard van der Leeuw | | Ind. CH | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences | | Gerard van der Leeuw | | PvdA | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of Transport and Energy | | Steef van Schaik | | RKSP | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of Transport and Energy | | Steef van Schaik | | KVP | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of Food Supply, Agriculture and Fisheries (1945) Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Supply (1945–1946) | | Sicco Mansholt | | SDAP | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of Food Supply, Agriculture and Fisheries (1945) Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Supply (1945–1946) | | Sicco Mansholt | | PvdA | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of Public Works and Reconstruction | | Johan Ringers | | Indep. | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of Overseas Territories | | Johann Logemann | | Indep. | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister of Overseas Territories | | Johann Logemann | | PvdA | 25 June 1945 | 3 July 1946 |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | | Herman van Roijen | | Indep. | 25 June 1945 | 1 March 1946 |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | | Eelco van Kleffens | | Indep. | 1 March 1946 | 3 July 1946 |

## Trivia

* Four cabinet members had previous experience as scholars or professors: Willem Schermerhorn (Hydraulic Engineering and Surveying), Louis Beel (Administrative Law), Piet Lieftinck (Financial and Business Economics), Gerard van der Leeuw (History of Religion and Egyptian Language and Hieroglyphs).