Third Van Agt cabinet

The third Van Agt cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch Government from 29 May 1982 until 4 November 1982. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the social-liberal Democrats 66 (D'66) after the fall of the previous Cabinet Van Agt II. The caretaker rump cabinet was a centrist coalition and had a minority in the House of Representatives with Christian Democratic Leader Dries van Agt continuing as Prime Minister and dual served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Progressive-Liberal Leader Jan Terlouw continued as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs from previous cabinet.

Third Van Agt cabinet
Cabinet of the Netherlands
Installation of the cabinet by Queen Beatrix at Huis ten Bosch on 29 May 1982
Date formed	29 May 1982 (1982-05-29)
Date dissolved	4 November 1982 (1982-11-04) 159 days in office (Demissionary from 8 September 1982 (1982-09-08))
People and organisations
Monarch	Queen Beatrix
Prime Minister	Dries van Agt
Deputy Prime Minister	Jan Terlouw
No. of ministers	14
Member party	Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) Democrats 66 (D'66)
Status in legislature	Centrist Minority government (Caretaker/Rump)
History
Outgoing election	1982 election
Legislature terms	1981–1982
Outgoing formation	1982 formation
Predecessor	Second Van Agt cabinet
Successor	First Lubbers cabinet

The cabinet served in the early years of the economic expansion of the 1980s. Domestically its primary objective was to make preparations for a snap election in 1982, and it had to deal with a growing inflation following the recession in the 1980s and the Cent was removed as an active currency. Following the election the cabinet continued in a demissionary capacity until it was replaced by the First Lubbers cabinet.^[1]

Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Dries van Agt at Ypenburg Airport on 2 June 1982.

Chancellor of West-Germany Helmut Schmidt and Prime Minister Dries van Agt during a press conference at Airport Schiphol on 9 July 1982.

Israeli Ambassador Jacov Nechisthan and Prime Minister Dries van Agt at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel on 18 October 1982.

Formation

Main article: May–June 1982 Dutch cabinet formation

Cabinet members

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]	Christian Democratic Appeal
			Minister	Foreign Affairs		29 May 1982 – 4 November 1982
		Jan Terlouw (born 1931)	Deputy Prime Minister	Economic Affairs		11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 [Retained]	Democrats 66
			Minister
		Max Rood (1927–2001)	Minister	Interior		29 May 1982 – 4 November 1982	Democrats 66
		Fons van der Stee (1928–1999)	Minister	Finance		5 March 1980 – 4 November 1982 [Retained]	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Job de Ruiter (1930–2015)	Minister	Justice		19 December 1977 – 4 November 1982 [Retained]	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Hans van Mierlo (1931–2010)	Minister	Defence		11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 [Retained]	Democrats 66
		Til Gardeniers- Berendsen (1925–2019)	Minister	Health and Environment		11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 [Retained]	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Louw de Graaf (1930–2020)	Minister	Social Affairs and Employment		29 May 1982 – 4 November 1982	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Wim Deetman (born 1945)	Minister	Education and Sciences		29 May 1982 – 14 September 1989 [Continued]	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Henk Zeevalking (1922–2005)	Minister	Transport and Water Management		11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 [Retained]	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Jan de Koning (1926–1994)	Minister	Agriculture and Fisheries		11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 [Retained]	Christian Democratic Appeal
			Minister	Interior	• Netherlands Antilles and Aruba Affairs	29 May 1982 – 7 November 1989 [Continued]
		Erwin Nypels (1933–2024)	Minister	Housing and Spatial Planning		29 May 1982 – 4 November 1982	Democrats 66
		Hans de Boer (born 1937)	Minister	Culture, Recreation and Social Work		29 May 1982 – 11 October 1982 [Note]	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Til Gardeniers- Berendsen (1925–2019)				11 October 1982 – 4 November 1982 [Acting]	Christian Democratic Appeal
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 [Retained]	Christian Democratic Appeal
State Secretaries			Title/Ministry/Portfolio(s)			Term of office	Party
		Gerard van Leijenhorst (1928–2001)	State Secretary	Interior	• Municipalities • Emergency Management • Minorities	11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 [Retained]	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Hans van den Broek (1936–2025)	State Secretary	Foreign Affairs	• European Union • Benelux	11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 [Retained]	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Michiel Scheltema (born 1939)	State Secretary	Justice)	• Immigration and Asylum • Civil Law • Youth Justice	11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 [Retained]	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 [Retained] [Continued]	Christian Democratic Appeal
			State Secretary	Social Affairs and Employment	• Occupational Safety • Elderly Care • Disability Policy	12 June 1982 – 4 November 1982
		Wim Dik (1939–2022)	State Secretary	Economic Affairs	• Trade and Export	11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 [Retained]	Democrats 66
		Jan van Houwelingen (1939–2013)	State Secretary	Defence)	• Human Resources • Equipment	14 September 1981 – 7 November 1989 [Retained] [Continued]	Christian Democratic Appeal
		Ineke Lambers- Hacquebard (1946–2014)	State Secretary	Health and Environment	• Environmental Policy • Food Policy	11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 [Retained]	Democrats 66
		Ad Hermes (1929–2002)	State Secretary	Education and Sciences	• Primary Education • Special Education • Adult Education	9 January 1978 – 4 November 1982 [Retained]	Christian Democratic Appeal

^Acting

^{Retained from the previous cabinet}

^{Continued in the next cabinet}

^{Medical leave of absence from 11 October 1982}