Biography:Jan Terlouw

"Terlouw" redirects here. For the Dutch footballer, see Rinus Terlouw.

Short description: Dutch politician, physicist and author (1931–2025)

Jan Terlouw
Terlouw in 1981
Member of the Senate
In office 8 June 1999 – 10 June 2003
Queen's Commissioner of Gelderland
In office 1 November 1991 – 1 December 1996
Monarch	Beatrix
Preceded by	Ad Oele (ad interim)
Succeeded by	Jan Kamminga
Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
In office 11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982 Serving with Joop den Uyl (1982)
Prime Minister	Dries van Agt
Preceded by	Hans Wiegel
Succeeded by	Gijs van Aardenne
Minister of Economic Affairs
In office 11 September 1981 – 4 November 1982
Prime Minister	Dries van Agt
Preceded by	Gijs van Aardenne
Succeeded by	Gijs van Aardenne
Leader of the Democrats 66
In office 1 September 1973 – 8 September 1982
Preceded by	Hans van Mierlo
Succeeded by	Laurens Jan Brinkhorst
Leader of the Democrats 66 in the House of Representatives
In office 1 September 1973 – 11 September 1981
Preceded by	Hans van Mierlo
Succeeded by	Laurens Jan Brinkhorst
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 11 May 1971 – 11 September 1981
Personal details
Born	Jan Cornelis Terlouw (1931-11-15)15 November 1931 Kamperveen, Netherlands
Died	16 May 2025(2025-05-16) (aged 93) Twello, Netherlands
Political party	Democrats 66 (from 1967)
Spouse(s)	Alexandra van Hulst (m. 1956; her death 2017)
Children	4
Education	Utrecht University
Occupation	Politician Nuclear physicist Mathematician Professor Nonprofit director Author Researcher Political pundit
Military service
Allegiance	Netherlands
Branch	Royal Netherlands Army
Years of service	1956–1958 (Conscription) 1958–1961 (Reserve)
Rank	15px Private first class

Jan Cornelis Terlouw (15 November 1931 – 16 May 2025) was a Dutch politician, physicist and author. A member of the Democrats 66 (D66) party, he served as Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1981 to 1982 under Prime Minister Dries van Agt.

Terlouw studied physics at the Utrecht University where he obtained his master's degree and then worked as a researcher at the FOM before finishing his thesis and obtaining his PhD in mathematics and physics. Terlouw worked as a nuclear physics researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from February 1960 until April 1962, and for the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) from August 1965 until December 1966. After the 1971 general election Terlouw was elected to the House of Representatives on 11 May 1971 and served as a frontbencher and spokesperson for economic affairs and science. After Party Leader and Parliamentary leader Hans van Mierlo announced he was stepping down, Terlouw was unanimously selected as his successor on 1 September 1973.

For the 1977 and 1981 general elections, Terlouw served as lead candidate, and following a cabinet formation with Christian democratic Leader Dries van Agt and Labour Leader Joop den Uyl formed the second Van Agt cabinet, with Terlouw appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs, taking office on 11 September 1981. The cabinet fell just seven months into its term and was replaced by the caretaker third Van Agt cabinet, with Terlouw continuing his offices. For the 1982 general election, Terlouw again served as lead candidate but shortly thereafter announced he was stepping down as Leader on 8 September 1982.

Terlouw continued to be active in politics and in December 1982 he was nominated as the next Secretary-General of the European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT - evolved in 2006 into the International Transport Forum, ITF) serving from 30 January 1983 until 15 October 1991. In October 1991 Terlouw was nominated as the next Queen's Commissioner of Gelderland serving from 1 November 1991 until 1 December 1996. Terlouw also became active in the public sector, and worked as a professor of Urbanization at the University of Amsterdam from January 1997 until January 2000. After the Senate election of 1999 Terlouw was elected as a Member of the Senate serving from 8 June 1999 until 10 June 2003 and served as a frontbencher and spokesperson for the interior, economic affairs and defence.

Terlouw retired from active politics at 71 but continued to be active in the public sector as a non-profit director and served on several state commissions (nl) and councils on behalf of the government, and worked as a professor of Literature at the Tilburg University from September 2003 until September 2004. Following his retirement Terlouw continued to be active as an advocate and activist for social norms, sustainable development, animal welfare and for more European integration. Terlouw was known for his abilities as a consensus builder and negotiator and continued to comment on political affairs in his final years.

Terlouw was active as a prolific author since the 1970s, having written more than dozen young adult fiction books: his 1972 novel Winter in Wartime was adapted and released as a feature film in 2008.

Background

Early life and education

Terlouw was born in Kamperveen, Overijssel and grew up in the Veluwe. He was the eldest son a family of five, having two younger brothers and two sisters.

After high school, Terlouw studied at Utrecht University, where he obtained an MSc degree in physics in 1956, and subsequently a PhD degree in mathematics and physics in 1964.

Deputy Prime Minister Jan Terlouw and Prime Minister Dries van Agt in the House of Representatives on 8 June 1982.

Career

After working for thirteen years, he became a politician, joining the Dutch House of Representatives (the lower house of the Dutch legislature) as a member of the Democraten 66 political party in 1970.

Personal life and death

Terlouw was married to Alexandra van Hulst until her death on 23 August 2017. He was a father of four and grandfather to 12.{{citation needed|date=November 2018} 2025, at the age of 93.

Publications

Terlouw wrote 24 children's books, most notably Winter in Wartime (Oorlogswinter, 1972) and How to Become King (Koning van Katoren, 1971), both of which won the Gouden Griffel and have been made into motion pictures directed by Martin Koolhoven.

Electoral history

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Template:Sronly

Year	Body	Party		Pos.	Votes	Result		Ref.
						Party seats	Individual
2023	House of Representatives		Democrats 66	79	1,176	9	Lost

Honours and awards

Honours

• 80px Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands, 9 December 1982)

Honorary degrees

• Doctor honoris causa from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium, 23 mei 2017)

Awards

• 1972 Gouden Griffel for the novel Koning van Katoren (How to Become King)
• 1973 Gouden Griffel for the novel Winter in Wartime
• 1990 Prize of the Netherlands Children's Jury for the novel The Figure-skater
• 2000 Prize of the Dutch Joung Jury for Eigen rechter (1988)

External links

• Jan Terlouw on IMDb

Official

• (in Dutch) Dr. J.C. (Jan) Terlouw Parlement & Politiek
• (in Dutch) Dr. J.C. Terlouw (D66) Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal

Party political offices
Preceded by Hans van Mierlo	Leader of the Democrats 66 1973–1982	Succeeded by Laurens Jan Brinkhorst
	Parliamentary leader of the Democrats 66 in the House of Representatives 1973–1981
Preceded by Hans van Mierlo 1972	Lead candidate of the Democrats 66 1977, 1981, 1982	Succeeded by Hans van Mierlo 1986
Political offices
Preceded by Hans Wiegel	Deputy Prime Minister 1981–1982 Served alongside: Joop den Uyl	Succeeded by Gijs van Aardenne
Preceded by Gijs van Aardenne	Minister of Economic Affairs 1981–1982
Preceded by Ad Oele Ad interim	Queen's Commissioner of Gelderland 1991–1996	Succeeded by Jan Kamminga
Business positions
Unknown	Chairman of the Supervisory board of the GelreDome 1996–2000	Unknown
Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by Gijs van Aardenne	Chairman of the Supervisory board of the Energy Research Centre 1995–2005	Succeeded by Ruud Lubbers
Academic offices
Preceded by Annemieke Roobeek	Distinguished Professor Wibaut Chair of the University of Amsterdam 1997–1999	Succeeded by Geert Mak
Preceded by Leo Vroman	Distinguished Professor Leonardo Chair of the Tilburg University 2003–2004	Succeeded by Ted van Lieshout