First Beel cabinet
The First Beel cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 3 July 1946 until 7 August 1948. The cabinet was formed by the political parties Catholic People's Party and the Labour Party after the election of 1946. It was the first democratically elected cabinet formed after the end of World War II.The grand coalition cabinet was a majority cabinet in the House of Representatives.Term
A major issue was the independence of the Dutch East Indies. This required a change in the constitution. In November 1946 the Linggadjati Agreement was signed, but different interpretations led to Dutch military intervention. Under international pressure through the UN, this ended and negotiations restarted, ultimately resulting in the new country Indonesia, but only under the next cabinet, Drees I.
An important new law was the 'Noodwet Ouderdomsvoorziening' by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs Willem Drees.
