VVD figurehead Hans Wiegel has passed away at the age of 83. His family announced this to De Telegraaf.
“We are proud of who he was and what he meant to many. For us, he is the dearest father we could have wished for,” they told the newspaper.
Wiegel was known, among other things, as chairman of the VVD parliamentary group in the 1970s. In the Van Agt I cabinet, he was Minister of the Interior and Deputy Prime Minister. After leaving the House of Representatives, Wiegel was, among other things, Queen’s Commissioner in Friesland and a member of the Senate.
In the latter capacity, he was also responsible for what later became known as ‘the night of Wiegel’. After a sixteen-hour debate on a corrective referendum, he was the only member of his group to vote against that corrective referendum, which ultimately caused the bill to fail.
Wiegel was also the man behind the now famous statement “Sinterklaas exists. There he is”. With this, Wiegel pointed to the plans of the Den Uyl cabinet, which, according to him, was throwing too much money out the window.
In later life, Wiegel, now an honorary member of the VVD, remained politically involved. He also wrote columns for De Telegraaf for many years.
Dilan Yesilgöz calls Wiegel on X “a great statesman who was at the basis of our people’s party”. According to the current VVD leader, Wiegel knew “how to make politics understandable like no other and to make the translation to what political decisions meant for the people at home.” A man of stature, she continues, “an example for us all. We will miss him.”