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Hendrik Pieter "Henri" Marchant (12 February 1869 – 12 May 1956) was a Dutch politician who co-founded the Free-thinking Democratic League (VDB) and served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1900 until 1933, after which he was Minister of Education, Arts, and Science until 1935.[1][2]

Marchant was active in local politics in Deventer before elected to the House of Representatives in 1900 for the Liberal Union (LU).[1] In 1901 he was one of the founding members of the VDB, a merger of the Radical League and the left wing of the LU.[1][3] In 1916 he became leader of the VDB's parliamentary group.[4]

In 1919 his private member's bill led to women's suffrage in the Netherlands.[5] His main political opponent was Hendrik Colijn, whose first cabinet he helped come to a premature end in 1925.[1][6] Marchant subsequently was appointed formateur but failed to form a new, centre-left cabinet.[1] In 1933 he accepted the position of Minister of Education, Arts, and Science in the Second Colijn cabinet. He introduced a spelling reform that bore his name ("spelling-Marchant").[1] He resigned in 1935 when he lost his party's support following the disclosure of his secret baptism.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Mr. H.P. (Henri) Marchant". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Marchantlezing 2021 – Mariana Mazzucato: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism". canmierlostichting.nl. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Radicale Bond". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  4. ^ Klijnsma 2007, p. 206.
  5. ^ van der Kaaij 2012, p. 110.
  6. ^ Klijnsma 2007, p. 330.
  7. ^ Klijnsma 2007, pp. 489–490.

Sources

  • Klijnsma, Meine Henk (2007). Om de Democratie: de Geschiedenis van de Vrijzinnig-Democratische Bond, 1901-1946 [About Democracy: the History of the Free-thinking Democratic League, 1901–1946] (in Dutch). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Bert Bakker. ISBN 978-90-351-3239-9.
  • van der Kaaij, Meindert (2012). Een Eenzaam Staatsman: Dirk de Geer (1870-1960) [A Lonely Statesman: Dirk de Geer (1870-1960)] (in Dutch). Hilversum, Netherlands: Verloren. ISBN 9789087042936.


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