Frits Niessen

Dutch politician (1936–2020)

Frits Niessen

Niessen in 1985

Member of the House of Representatives
In office
6 October 1977 – 6 January 1978
In office
27 August 1980 – 17 May 1994
Personal details
Born|

Godefridus Adrianus Quirinus Niessen

(1936-09-16)16 September 1936
Raamsdonk, Netherlands
Died| 23 October 2020(2020-10-23) (aged 84)
Raamsdonksveer, Netherlands
Political party| Labour Party

Godefridus Adrianus Quirinus "Frits" Niessen (16 September 1936 – 23 October 2020) was a Dutch politician. He served in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party between 1977 and 1978 and once more from 1980 to 1994.

## Life

[edit]

Niessen was born in Raamsdonk on 16 September 1936.[1] He was a primary school teacher in Raamsdonksveer from 1958 to 1963 and subsequently was a Dutch teacher at the HAVO in Dongen from 1963 to 1980.[1]

Niessen became a member of the House of Representatives for the Labour Party on 6 October 1977 and served until 6 January 1978.[1] He left the House after the formation of the First Van Agt cabinet, which saw Labour Party members from the Den Uyl cabinet return to seats in parliament.[2] Niessen returned to the House on 27 August 1980 after Jan Pronk left.[1][3] During his time in parliament he was the party spokesperson for interior and cultural affairs, but was also occupied with education issues.[1] In 1985 he interpellated Minister Elco Brinkman about his refusal to have Hugo Brandt Corstius be given the P. C. Hooft Award.[1] In 1989 he was influential in preventing the closure of the Institut Néerlandais in Paris.[4] Niessen remained a member of the House until 17 May 1994.[1]

Niessen was a long-time editor of Ons Erfdeel [nl], he started contributing shortly after its foundation in 1957 and ultimately became deputy editor-in-chief in 1977, which he remained until 2016.[4] In the 1990s he was recipient of the ANV-Visser Neerlandiaprijs [nl] for individual merit for four decades of work for Dutch language and culture. Niessen was co-chair of the Commission Cultural Convention Flanders-The Netherlands (Dutch:Commissie Cultureel Verdrag Vlaanderen-Nederland) together with Hugo Weckx. Upon his departure from the commission in 2006 he was made a Commander in the Order of the Crown.[4] In 2009 he became an honorary citizen of Geertruidenberg.[5] He died on 23 October 2020 in Raamsdonksveer.[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g "G.A.Q. (Frits) Niessen" (in Dutch). Parlement.com. 17 June 2014. Archived from the original on 17 June 2014.
2. ^ "Tweede Kamer wordt top-zwaar". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 7 January 1978. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
3. ^ Marja Klein Obbink (27 October 2020). "Frits Niessen (1936-2020): erudiet Kamerlid met liefde voor de taal" (in Dutch). BN DeStem. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020.
4. ^ a b c "Farewell to the Quintessential Editor: Frits Niessen (1936-2020)". The Low Countries. 27 October 2020. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020.
5. ^ "In memoriam: Frits Niessen" (in Dutch). Geertruidenberg.nl. 28 October 2020. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020.
6. ^ "Oud-PvdA-Tweede Kamerlid Frits Niessen overleden" (in Dutch). Parlement.com. 28 October 2020. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020.

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* United States
* Poland