CALS, Jo (Joseph Maria Laurens Theo)

(1914–1971)

   Politician. After studying law at the Catholic University of Nijmegen (now Radboud University), Cals worked as a solicitor. In 1948, he was elected to Parliament for the Katholieke Volkspartij (KVP, Catholic People’s Party). In 1950, he became secretary of education in the government, and from 1952 until 1963, he was minister of education, arts, and sciences. Under his direction, an overall reconstruction of the system of education was prepared, including the 1961 Act on Higher Education and the 1963 Mammoth Act on Primary and Secondary Education. After a two-year term in Parliament, in 1965, he became the prime minister of a short-lived cabinet (lasting only until 1966). From 1967, he was a member of the governmental committee presided over by jurist Andreas Matthias (“Andre”) Donner (1918–1992) that prepared a lengthy report on constitutional reform in 1971.