Piet De Jong: Prime minister of the Netherlands (1915–2016)

He was for the Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA).

His Excellency Piet de Jong
Parliamentary leader of the Catholic People's Party in the Senate
In office May 11, 1971 – September 17, 1974
Preceded by	Jan Niers
Succeeded by	Jan Teijssen
Member of the Senate
In office May 11, 1971 – September 17, 1974
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
In office April 5, 1967 – July 6, 1971
Monarch	Juliana
Deputy	Johan Witteveen Joop Bakker
Preceded by	Jelle Zijlstra
Succeeded by	Barend Biesheuvel
Minister of Economic Affairs
In office January 7, 1970 – January 14, 1970
Prime Minister	Piet de Jong
Preceded by	Leo de Block
Succeeded by	Roelof Nelissen
Member of the House of Representatives
In office February 23, 1967 – April 5, 1967
Minister of Defence
In office July 24, 1963 – April 5, 1967
Prime Minister	Vic Marijnen (1963-1965) Jo Cals (1965-1966) Jelle Zijlstra (1966-1967)
Preceded by	Sim Visser
Succeeded by	Willem den Toom
State Secretary for Defence
In office June 25, 1959 – July 24, 1963 Serving with Michael Calmeyer
Prime Minister	Jan de Quay
Preceded by	Harry Moorman
Succeeded by	Adri van Es
Personal details
Born	Petrus Jozef Sietze de Jong (1915-04-03)April 3, 1915 Apeldoorn, Netherlands
Died	July 27, 2016(2016-07-27) (aged 101) The Hague, Netherlands
Nationality	Dutch
Political party	Christian Democratic Appeal (from 1980)
Other political affiliations	Catholic People's Party (1959-1980)
Spouse(s)	Anneke Bartels (m. 1947-2010; her death)
Children	Maria (born 1948) Jos (born 1949) Gijs (born 1952)
Residence	The Hague, Netherlands
Alma mater	Royal Netherlands Naval College
Occupation	Politician Naval officer
Awards	Order of Orange-Nassau (Knight Grand Cross) Bronze Cross (2) Distinguished Service Cross Medal for Order and Peace War Memorial Cross
Military service
Nickname(s)	Little Piet Her Majesty's own garden gnome
Allegiance	The Netherlands
Branch/service	Royal Netherlands Navy (Royal Netherlands Navy Submarine Service)
Years of service	1934-1959 (Reserve from 1959-1963)
Rank	Captain
Commands	HNLMS O 24 HNLMS De Zeeuw HNLMS Gelderland
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of the Netherlands Battle of France Battle of the Atlantic Pacific War Cold War
Aide-de-camp	Queen Juliana (1955-1958)
Chief of staff	Inspector General of the Navy Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld (1955-1958)

Petrus Josef Sietse de Jong was born on April 3, 1915 in Apeldoorn in the Netherlands Province of Gelderland. He studied at the Royal Netherlands Navy as a midshipman in 1931 and soon attended the Royal Netherlands Naval College in Den Helder.

He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from April 5, 1967 until July 6, 1971.

De Jong is known for his dry wit and quick remarks. His abilities as a team leader were greatly admired. The Cabinet De Jong was the first cabinet after World War II that completed a full term without any internal conflicts.

de Jong was married to Anneke Bartels from 1947 until her death in 2010. They had three children. He lived at The Hague. de Jong died at his The Hague home from natural causes on July 27, 2016, aged 101.

Longevity

Until his death in July 2016, he was the oldest and earliest serving former Prime Minister of the Netherlands and the oldest living state leader at the age of 101. Over forty years after he left office, De Jong was comment on political affairs as an elder statesman.