Pieter W. A. Cort Van Der Linden, Netherlands (1846-1935)
Born in The Hague, Netherlands. Dutch Liberal statesman whose ministry (1913-18) settled controversies over state aid to denominational schools and extension of the franchise, central issues in Dutch politics since the mid-19th century. Key planks of his platform included workmen's compensation and educational and public health reforms, enacted under the Liberal ministry of 1897-1901, in which he served as minister of justice.
He became a member of the state council in 1902. In 1913, when the Liberals proved unable to form a government, Cort van der Linden assembled a distinguished extra-parliamentary administration and became Prime Minister. Cort van der Linden gained passage in 1914 of an unemployment insurance programme and began implementing a policy of neutrality and economic austerity to deal with wartime conditions. His ministry sponsored revisions of the constitution in 1917, by which extension of the franchise and at-large elections were granted by the religious parties in exchange for enactment of equal state aid to public and denominational schools.