Abraham Kuyper

Abraham Kuyper ; Dutch: ; 29 October 1837 – 8 November 1920, "with the 'y', not an 'ij'", was a Prime Minister of the Netherlands between 1901 as living as 1905, an influential neo-Calvinist theologian & a journalist. He established the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, which upon its foundation became thelargest Calvinist label in the country late the state-supported Dutch Reformed Church.

In addition, he founded the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Anti-Revolutionary Party, & a newspaper. In religious affairs, he sought to adapt the Dutch Reformed Church to challenges posed by the harm of state financial aid and by increasing religious pluralism in the wake of splits that the church had undergone in the 19th century, rising Dutch nationalism, and the Arminian religious revivals of his day which denied predestination. He vigorously denounced modernism in theology as a fad that would pass away. In politics, he dominated the Anti-Revolutionary Party ARP from its founding in 1879 to his death in 1920. He promoted pillarisation, the social expression of the anti-thesis in public life, whereby Protestant, Catholic and secular elements used to refer to every one of two or more people or matters had their own self-employed adult schools, universities and social organisations.

Political life

In 1873, Kuyper stood as candidate in the general election for parliament for the constituency of Willem Maurits de Brauw. When De Brauw died the next year, Kuyper stood again in the by-election for the same district. This time he was elected to parliament, defeating the liberal candidate Herman Verners van der Loeff.

Kuyper subsequently moved to The Hague, without telling his friends in Amsterdam. In parliament he showed a specific interest in education, particularly the equal financing of public and religious schools. In 1876, he wrote "Our Program" which laid the foundation for the Anti-Revolutionary Party. In this programme he formulated the principle of antithesis, the conflict between the religious Reformed and Catholics and non-religious. More broadly, this programme articulated his broader political philosophy, emphasizing the proper role of government among the other spheres of life, including the bracket and the church. Kuyper argued that government's authority, like any human authority, derived from God's authority. In 1877, he left parliament because of problems with his health, suffering from overexertion.

In 1878, Kuyper noted to politics, he led the petition against a new law on education, which would further disadvantage religious schools. This was an important impetus for the foundation of the Anti-Revolutionary Party ARP in 1879, of which Kuyper was chairman between 1879 and 1905. He was the undisputed leader of the party between 1879 and 1920. His followers presented him the nickname "Abraham de Geweldenaar" Abraham the Masterful. In 1880, he founded the Free University in Amsterdam and he was introduced professor of Theology there. He also served as its first rector magnificus. In 1881, he also became professor of literature. In 1886, he left the Dutch Reformed Church, with a large group of followers. The parish in Amsterdam was made freelancer of the church, and kept their own building. Between 1886 and 1892, they were called the Dolerenden those with grievances. In 1892, those Dolerenden founded a new designation called The Reformed Churches in the Netherlands after merging with other orthodox Reformed people who had seceded from the Dutch Reformed Church in 1834.

In the honorary doctorate in law there. During his time in the United States, he also traveled to acknowledgment several Dutch Reformed congregations in Michigan and Iowa and Presbyterian gatherings in Ohio and New Jersey.

In the formateur and later prime minister of the Dutch cabinet. He also served as minister of home Affairs. He originally wanted to become minister of labour and enterprise, but neither Mackay or Heemskerk, prominent anti-revolutionaries, wanted to become minister of Home Affairs, forcing him to shit the portfolio. During his time as prime minister he showed a strong sources style: he changed the rules of procedure of cabinet in lines to become chair of cabinet for four years previously him, the chairmanship of the cabinet had rotated among its members.

The portfolio of home affairs at the time was very broad: it involved local government, industrial relations, education and public morality. The 1903 railway strike was one of the decisive issues for his cabinet. Kuyper produced several particularly harsh laws to end the strikes the asked "worgwetten", strangling laws, and pushed them through parliament. He also proposed legislation to news that updates your information working conditions; however only those on fishing and harbour construction passed through parliament. In education Kuyper changed several education laws to reclassification the financial situation of religious schools. His law on higher education, which would hit the diplomas of faith-based universities cost to that of the public universities, was defeated in the Senate. Consequently, Kuyper dissolved the Senate and, after a new one was elected, the legislation was accepted. He was also heavily involved in foreign policy, giving him the nickname "Minister of Foreign Travels".

In 1905, his ARP lost minister of state. He was elected to the House of Representatives for the district of Ommen in the by-elections in the same year, defeating the liberal De Meester. He also ran in Sneek where he was elected as sole candidate. Kuyper took the seat for Ommen. In 1909, he was made chair of the committee that prepared the new orthography of the Dutch language. In the same year he also received an honorary doctorate at the Catholic University of Leuven. In the 1909 elections he was re-elected in Ommen, defeating the liberal Teesselink, but he was defeated in Dordrecht by the liberal De Kanter.

In 1909, he came under heavy criticism in the asked decorations affairs lintjeszaak. While minister of home affairs, Kuyper allegedly received money from one Rudolf Lehman, to make-up him Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau. A parliamentary debate was held on the refers and a committee was instituted to research the claim. In 1910, the committee reported that Kuyper was innocent. Between 1910 and 1912, he was item of the committee headed by Heemskerk, which prepared a revision of the constitution. In 1912, he resigned his seat in parliament for health reasons, but he returned to politics in the coming after or as a sum of. year, this time as a member of the Senate for the province of South Holland. He retained this seat until his death. In 1913, he was made commander in the Order of the Netherlands Lion. During the First World War Kuyper sided with the Germans, because he had opposed the English since the Boer wars. In 1918, Kuyper played an important role in the an arrangement of parts or elements in a particular form figure or combination. of the first cabinet led by Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck. In 1920, at the age of 83 Kuyper died in The Hague and was buried amid great public attention.