Second Van Agt cabinet

At the 1981 general election the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), led by incumbent Prime Minister Dries van Agt, lost one seat but ended up with 48 seats, the greatest number of any party. The Labour Party (PvdA), led by former Prime Minister Joop den Uyl, lost nine seats, ending up with 44. Democrats 66 (D'66), led by Jan Terlouw, gained the most, adding nine new seats, for a total of 17. A long negotiation between CDA, PvdA and D'66 followed. The negotiation was troubled by personal animosity between leader of CDA Dries van Agt and leader of PvdA Joop den Uyl. The two men had previously, as (respectively) Deputy Prime Minister and Prime Minister, had a bad working relationship during the Den Uyl cabinet (1973–1977). In the end a coalition was formed.

Many conflicts made a healthy coalition impossible. Den Uyl, as Minister of Social Affairs, tried to create employment; but a plan to reform health insurance was met with huge resistance from the left wing. The cabinet fell because the Christian Democrats wanted a cut in government spending, while the Labour Party opposed this.

More information Ministers, Title/Ministry/Portfolio(s) ...

Ministers			Title/Ministry/Portfolio(s)			Term of office	Party
		Dries van Agt (1931–2024)	Prime Minister	General Affairs		19 December 1977 – 4 November 1982 [Retained] [Continued]	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Joop den Uyl (1919–1987)	Deputy Prime Minister	Social Affairs and Employment		11 September 1981 – 29 May 1982 [Res]	Labour Party
			Minister
			Minister	Interior	• Netherlands Antilles
		Jan Terlouw (1931–2025)	Deputy Prime Minister	Economic Affairs		11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 [Continued]	Democrats 66
			Minister
		Ed van Thijn (1934–2021)	Minister	Interior		11 September 1981 – 29 May 1982 [Res]	Labour Party
		Max van der Stoel (1924–2011)	Minister	Foreign Affairs		11 September 1981 – 29 May 1982 [Res]	Labour Party
		Fons van der Stee (1928–1999)	Minister	Finance		5 March 1980 – 4 November 1982 [Retained] [Continued]	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Job de Ruiter (1930–2015)	Minister	Justice		19 December 1977 – 4 November 1982 [Retained] [Continued]	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Hans van Mierlo (1931–2010)	Minister	Defence		11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 [Continued]	Democrats 66
		Til Gardeniers- Berendsen (1925–2019)	Minister	Health and Environment		11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 [Continued]	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Jos van Kemenade (1937–2020)	Minister	Education and Sciences		11 September 1981 – 29 May 1982 [Res]	Labour Party
		Henk Zeevalking (1922–2005)	Minister	Transport and Water Management		11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 [Continued]	Democrats 66
		Jan de Koning (1926–1994)	Minister	Agriculture and Fisheries		11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 [Continued]	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Marcel van Dam (born 1938)	Minister	Housing and Spatial Planning		11 September 1981 – 29 May 1982 [Res]	Labour Party
		André van der Louw (1933–2005)	Minister	Culture, Recreation and Social Work		11 September 1981 – 29 May 1982 [Res]	Labour Party
Minister without portfolio			Title/Ministry/Portfolio(s)			Term of office	Party
		Kees van Dijk (1931–2008)	Minister	Foreign Affairs	• Development Cooperation	11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 [Continued]	Christian Democratic Appeal
State Secretaries			Title/Ministry/Portfolio(s)			Term of office	Party
		Saskia Stuiveling (1945–2017)	State Secretary	Interior	• Municipalities	11 September 1981 – 29 May 1982 [Res]	Labour Party
		Gerard van Leijenhorst (1928–2001)			• Emergency Management • Minorities	11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 [Continued]	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Hans van den Broek (1936–2025)	State Secretary	Foreign Affairs	• European Union • Benelux	11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 [Continued]	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Hans Kombrink (born 1946)	State Secretary	Finance	• Fiscal Policy • Governmental Budget	11 September 1981 – 29 May 1982 [Res]	Labour Party
		Michiel Scheltema (born 1939)	State Secretary	Justice)	• Immigration and Asylum • Civil Law • Youth Justice	11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 [Continued]	Democrats 66
		Piet van Zeil (1927–2012)	State Secretary	Economic Affairs	• Small and Medium-sized Businesses • Regional Development • Consumer Protection • Tourism	11 September 1981 – 22 June 1986 [Continued]	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Wim Dik (1939–2022)			• Trade and Export	11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 [Continued]	Democrats 66
		Bram Stemerdink (born 1936)	State Secretary	Defence	• Equipment • Justice	11 September 1981 – 29 May 1982 [Res]	Labour Party
		Jan van Houwelingen (1939–2013)			• Human Resources	14 September 1981 – 7 November 1989 [Continued]	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Ineke Lambers- Hacquebard (1946–2014)	State Secretary	Health and Environment	• Environmental Policy • Food Policy	11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 [Continued]	Democrats 66
		Ien Dales (1931–1994)	State Secretary	Social Affairs and Employment	• Social Security • Unemployment • Elderly Care • Disability Policy	11 September 1981 – 29 May 1982 [Res]	Labour Party
		Hedy d'Ancona (born 1937)			• Occupational Safety • Adult Education • Equality • Emancipation	11 September 1981 – 29 May 1982 [Res]	Labour Party
		Ad Hermes (1929–2002)	State Secretary	Education and Sciences	• Primary Education	9 January 1978 – 4 November 1982 [Retained] [Continued]	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Wim Deetman (born 1945)			• Secondary Education	11 September 1981 – 29 May 1982	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Jaap van der Doef (1934–2025)	State Secretary	Transport and Water Management	• Public Transport • Aviation • Water Management • Postal Service • Weather Forecasting	11 September 1981 – 29 May 1982 [Res]	Labour Party
		Siepie de Jong (born 1940)	State Secretary	Housing and Spatial Planning	• Public Housing • Spatial Planning	11 September 1981 – 29 May 1982 [Res]	Labour Party
		Hans de Boer (born 1937)	State Secretary	Culture, Recreation and Social Work	• Social Services • Nature • Culture • Art • Recreation	11 September 1981 – 29 May 1982	Christian Democratic Appeal

Close

^Resigned

^{Retained from the previous cabinet}

^{Continued in the next cabinet}

• Five cabinet members had previous experience as scholars and professors: Dries van Agt (Criminal Law and Procedure), Jan Terlouw (Nuclear Physics), Job de Ruiter (Civil Law), Jos van Kemenade (Education Sociology) and Michiel Scheltema (Constitutional and Administrative Law).
• Four cabinet members (later) served as Party Leaders and Lijsttrekkers: Dries van Agt (1976–1982) of the Christian Democratic Appeal, Joop den Uyl (1966–1986) of the Labour Party, Jan Terlouw (1973–1982) and Hans van Mierlo (1966–1973, 1986–1998) of the Democrats 66.
• Four cabinet members would later be granted the honorary title of Minister of State: Max van der Stoel (1991), Hans van Mierlo (1998), Jos van Kemenade (2002) and Hans van den Broek (2005).
• Twelve cabinet members (later) served as Mayor: Ed van Thijn (Amsterdam), Jos van Kemenade (Eindhoven), Henk Zeevalking (Utrecht and Rijswijk), André van der Louw (Rotterdam), Hans Kombrink (Zaanstad), Piet van Zeil (Heerlen), Jan van Houwelingen (Haarlemmermeer), Ien Dales (Nijmegen), Wim Deetman (The Hague), Jaap van der Doef (Vlissingen and Almere), Siepie de Jong (Leek) and Hans de Boer (Haarlemmermeer).