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Jelle Zijlstra (also spelled Zylstra; ; 27 August 1918 – 23 December 2001) was a Dutch politician of the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) and economist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 November 1966 until 5 April 1967. Jelle Zijlstra: intellectuele schatkistbewaker , Elsevier, 14 June 2011
Zijlstra studied Economics at the Rotterdam School of Economics obtaining a Master of Economics degree and worked as a researcher and lecturer at his alma mater before finishing his thesis and graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy in Public economics and worked as a professor of public economics at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam from October 1948 until September 1952. After the 1952 general election Zijlstra was appointed as Minister of Economic Affairs in the Drees II cabinet, taking office on 2 September 1952. After Party Leader Jan Schouten announced his retirement, Zijlstra was selected as his successor on 23 April 1956. For the 1956 general election, Zijlstra served as lead candidate and was elected to the House of Representatives, becoming parliamentary leader on 3 July 1956. Following a cabinet formation, Zijlstra continued as Minister of Economic Affairs in the Drees III cabinet and stepped down as party leader and parliamentary leader on 3 October 1956. The Drees III cabinet fell on 11 December 1958 and was replaced by the caretaker Beel II cabinet, with Zijlstra retaining his position and also becoming Minister of Finance taking office on 22 December 1958. For the 1959 general election, Zijlstra again served as lead candidate. Following a cabinet formation, Zijlstra continued as minister of finance in the De Quay cabinet. In September 1962 Zijlstra announced that he would not stand for the 1963 general election, and declined to serve in the new cabinet. Zijlstra returned as a distinguished professor of public economics at the Vrije Universiteit and was elected to the Senate after the 1963 Senate election, taking office on 25 June 1963 and serving as a frontbencher and spokesperson for finance. Zijlstra also served as director of the Abraham Kuyper Foundation from August 1963 until November 1966.
Zijlstra continued to be active in politics and in September 1966 was nominated as the next president of De Nederlandsche Bank, the country's central bank. However, after the Night of Schmelzer, he was persuaded to lead an interim cabinet until the next election. Zijlstra formed the caretaker Zijlstra cabinet and took office as Prime Minister of the Netherlands and minister of finance on 22 November 1966. Before the 1967 general election, Zijlstra indicated that he would not serve another term as prime minister and opted to accept the nomination as head of De Nederlandsche Bank. Zijlstra left office following the installation of the De Jong cabinet on 5 April 1967 and was confirmed as chief of De Nederlandsche Bank, serving from 1 May 1967 until 1 January 1982.
Zijlstra retired from active politics at 63 and became active in the private and public sectors as a corporate and non-profit director and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government, and continued to be active in advocating for a balanced governmental budget. Zijlstra was known for his abilities as a skilful manager and effective debater. Zijlstra was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 30 April 1983 and continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until his death from dementia-related illness at the age of 83. He holds the distinction as the shortest-serving Prime Minister after World War II and his premiership is therefore usually omitted both by scholars and the public in rankings but his legacy as a minister in the 1950s and 60s and later as president of De Nederlandsche Bank continue to this day. Jelle Zijlstra (1918–2001) Biografie, Absolutefacts.nl, 19 February 2005 Willem Drees gekozen tot ‘Dé premier na WO II’, Geschiedenis24.nl, 15 January 2006 NRC-enquête: Drees en Lubbers beste premiers sinds 1900, NRC Handelsblad, 28 September 2013 I&O Research, I&O Research, 13 March 2020
Immediately after graduating, Zijlstra became a research assistant at the Netherlands School of Economics and was promoted a year later to senior research assistant and in 1947 to lecturer. In 1948 he was awarded a doctorate as a Doctor of Philosophy with cum laude for his thesis on the rate of circulation of money and its bearing on the value of money and monetary equilibrium. In the same year he was appointed professor of economics at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Following his ministerial career, Zijlstra returned to the Vrije Universiteit as professor of public finance, though he also served as a member of the Senate between 1963 and 1966. In 1973 Zijlstra became member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. After the fall of the Cals cabinet, Zijlstra headed an interim government as Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister of Finance between 22 November 1966 until 5 April 1967.
From 1967 until the end of 1981 he was President of De Nederlandsche Bank, the central bank of the Netherlands, and in the course of that period he was also President of the Bank for International Settlements in Basel. He has sat on many boards in the public and private sectors.
| Military decorations | ||||
| War Memorial Cross | Netherlands | 5 May 1946 | ||
| Mobilisation War Cross | Netherlands | 31 August 1948 | ||
| Honours | ||||
| Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash of the Decoration of Honour for Services | Austria | 1958 | ||
| Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown | Belgium | 10 December 1966 | ||
| Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 27 April 1967 | ||
| Grand Cross of the Order of the House of Orange | Netherlands | 27 August 1978 | ||
| Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion | Netherlands | 18 November 1981 | Elevated from Commander (27 July 1963) | |
| Honorific Titles | ||||
| Minister of State | Netherlands | 30 April 1983 | Style of Excellency | |
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