The Den Uyl shadow cabinet was a shadow cabinet formed by the Labour Party (PvdA), Democrats 66 (D'66) and the Political Party of Radicals (PPR) in preparation for the upcoming election of 1971 on 28 April 1971. The left-wing collaboration was a first time a shadow cabinet was formed in Dutch politics. It was based on the shadow cabinet in the Westminster system of government. Labour Party Member of the House of Representatives Ed van Thijn promised the idea as a basis for a proposed coalition after the election. After the election of 1971 and the formation of the First Biesheuvel cabinet, the shadow cabinet was disbanded 2 July 1971. One year later after the election of 1972 the basis of the shadow cabinet was used as a template for the formation of the Den Uyl cabinet.^[1]

Composition

Ministers

Portrait	Name	Shadow position	Position in 1971	Position in the Den Uyl cabinet after the 1972 election	Party
	Joop den Uyl (1919–1987)	Prime Minister Minister of General Affairs	Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives	Prime Minister Minister of General Affairs		Labour Party
	Hans van Mierlo (1931–2010)	Deputy Prime Minister Minister for Constitutional Affairs (within Interior)	Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives	None		Democrats 66
	Jacques Aarden (1914–1997)	Deputy Prime Minister Minister of the Interior	Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives	None		Political Party of Radicals
	Max van der Stoel (1924–2011)	Minister of Foreign Affairs	Member of the House of Representatives	Minister of Foreign Affairs		Labour Party
	Rob van den Bergh (1913–1997)	Minister of Finance	Member of the House of Representatives	None		Labour Party
	Anneke Goudsmit (born 1933)	Minister of Justice	Member of the House of Representatives	None		Democrats 66
	Dr. Cees de Galan (1932–1987)	Minister of Economic Affairs	Economist	None		Labour Party
	Jaap Burger (1904–1986)	Minister of Defence	Member of the Council of State	None		Labour Party
	Dr. Wiebe Draijer (1924–2007)	Minister of Health and Environment	Professor at the University of Twente	None		Democrats 66
	Theo van Lier (1916–1992)	Minister of Social Affairs	Member of the House of Representatives	None		Labour Party
	Dr. Anne Vondeling (1916–1979)	Minister of Education and Sciences	Member of the House of Representatives	None		Labour Party
	Ed van Thijn (born 1934)	Minister of Transport and Water Management	Member of the House of Representatives	None		Labour Party
	Henk Vredeling (1924–2007)	Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries	Member of the House of Representatives	Minister of Defence		Labour Party
	Hans van den Doel (1937–2012)	Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning	Member of the House of Representatives	None		Labour Party
	Dr. Max Rood (1927–2001)	Minister of Culture, Recreation and Social Work	Professor at the Leiden University	None		Democrats 66
	Dr. Bas de Gaay Fortman (born 1937)	Minister for Development Cooperation (within Foreign Affairs)	Member of the House of Representatives	None		Political Party of Radicals

State Secretaries

Portrait	Name	Shadow position and portfolio	Position in 1971	Position in the Den Uyl cabinet after the election of 1972	Party
	Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (born 1937)	State Secretary of Foreign Affairs • European affairs • NATO affairs • Benelux affairs	Professor at the University of Groningen	State Secretary of Foreign Affairs		Democrats 66
	Irene Vorrink (1918–1996)	State Secretary of Social Affairs • Social security • Occupational safety	Member of the Senate	Minister of Health and Environment		Labour Party
	Jaap van der Doef (born 1934)	State Secretary of Social Affairs • Social security • Occupational safety	Trade union leader	None		Labour Party
	Tineke Schilthuis (1921–2013)	State Secretary of Transport and Water Management • Transport infrastructure • Water infrastructure • Public transport	Member of the House of Representatives	None		Labour Party
	Marcel van Dam (born 1938)	State Secretary of Culture, Recreation and Social Work • Social services • Welfare	Ombudsman	State Secretary for Housing and Spatial Planning		Labour Party

References