Theo de Meester

Prime Minister of the Netherlands

Theodoor Herman de Meester 16 December 1851 Harderwijk, Netherlands

27 December 1919(1919-12-27) (68) The Hague, Netherlands

17 August 1905 – 12 February 1908

Dutch politician In this Dutch name, the surname is De Meester, not Meester. Theodoor Herman "Theo" de Meester (16 December 1851 – 27 December 1919) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Liberal Union (LU) now merged into the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and economist. He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 17 August 1905 until 12 February 1908. De Meester was the son of Gerrit Abraham de Meester (1817–1864), who had been a member of the House of Representatives for the Zwolle constituency from 1862 to 1864. A former administrator in the Dutch East Indies, De Meester's cabinet was inaugurated on 17 August 1905. It consisted of five Liberal, two Free-minded Democratic, and two non-partisan ministers. It had no majority in either of the two Dutch chambers, and earned the nickname "Porcelain Cabinet". His government first resigned in December 1906, when the defence budget for 1907 was rejected by the Senate. That resignation was refused by Queen Wilhelmina, but the government fell in December 1907, when the Dutch parliament disapproved the defence budget for 1908. The government remained as a demissionary government until 12 February 1908.