Piet Bukman, son of a gardener who firmly led the CDA and later became Minister of Agriculture –

Few politicians have held more diverse positions in The Hague than Piet Bukman, who passed away today at the age of 88. He was a member of the Senate and House of Representatives, party chairman, State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Minister of Agriculture, Defense and Development Cooperation. He also became Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 1990s.

Besides, he was only defense minister for 17 days. He succeeded Wim van Eekelen, who had to resign in 1988 because of the ‘passport issue’ and was subsequently replaced by Frits Bolkestein, the future leader of the VVD.

His entry into politics dates back to 1980, when he became the first chairman of the CDA after the merger of the KVP, CHU and ARP. Bukman was a stranger at the Binnenhof, although of course he had contacts in The Hague as chairman of the Christelijke Boeren- en Tuindersbond (CBTB).

Bukman was born on February 7, 1934 in Delft as the son of a gardener. He was a member of the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP), which first merged with the CDA in 1980.

‘Lenin van Voorschoten’

Initially reformed, Bukman proved to be a strong new party chairman who tolerated few contradictions and effectively steered the CDA merger process. This earned him nicknames like “knout” and “Vorschoten’s Lenin”. He also served as a member of the Senate during his party leadership years.

He was rewarded for his work with a ministerial post as Minister for Development Cooperation in the Lubbers II cabinet. Bukman made little impression there. He was therefore only offered a position for the cabinet of Lubbers III as State Secretary for Economic Affairs. Bukman saw this as relegation, but was allowed to call himself Minister of Foreign Trade Development. Reluctantly, she finally said “yes” to the post.

However, his luck quickly turned when Agriculture Minister Gerrit Braks was forced to resign over allegations of fisheries fraud. Fishermen have reported lower catches than they actually landed. Bukman replaced Braks.

‘Friendly note’

In agriculture, he had to deal with angry farmers who did not agree with the manure policy and the European plans to combat the overproduction of milk and grains. Yet he put these plans into practice. During the cabinet twilight, Bukman fell out of favor because he encouraged his EZ colleague in an internal ‘friendship note’ for gardeners to postpone the increase in petrol prices because it could cost votes in the CDA.

The CDA suffered a historic defeat in the 1994 elections in vain and joined the opposition for the first time in history. After party leader Elco Brinkman resigned, Bukman wanted to become party chairman, but lost to Enneüs Heerma. Bukman became the new MP.

President of the Assembly

But even now, fate was in his favor. In 1996, chamber chairman Wim Deetman (also CDA) was appointed mayor of The Hague. CDA deputy and vice-chairman Alie Doelman-Pel would replace her as the first woman in office. Most of the votes, however, went to Bukman.

The presidency of the Assembly was not seen as a great achievement. As the 1998 elections approached, he announced that he would no longer be on the CDA list. Hans Helgers, then party chairman, advised him to do the same.

Source: NOS

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