Herman Witte

Herman Bernard Jan Witte (18 August 1909 – 30 May 1973) was a Dutch politician and civil engineer. He was part of the now-defunct Catholic People’s Party (KVP), which later merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). Witte enrolled at the Delft Institute of Technology in 1927, majoring in civil engineering. He earned his bachelor’s in 1933 and then a master’s degree. From July 1933, he worked as a civil engineer at Rijkswaterstaat until August 1939. Then, he became the Director of Public Works in Bergen op Zoom until June 1940. Witte served in the military reserve and was mobilized in April 1940. He was captured during the Battle of Zeeland and held until August 1940. During the German occupation, he was active in the Dutch resistance. After World War II, he became acting mayor of Bergen op Zoom on 1 May 1945, then permanent mayor on 1 May 1946. Following the 1952 elections, he became the Minister of Reconstruction and Housing on 2 September 1952. After the 1956 elections, he continued as Minister of Housing and Construction, starting on 13 October 1956. He briefly acted as Minister of Transport and Water Management in late 1958 after Jacob Algera resigned. After the fall of Cabinet Drees III on 11 December 1958, Witte remained in a caretaker role. He continued as Minister of Housing and Construction starting 22 December 1958. Elected to the House of Representatives in 1959, he took office on 20 March. He left the cabinet after the 1959 formation but remained a frontbencher. Witte became Mayor of Eindhoven on 16 October 1959, resigning from the House that day. After the fall of Cabinet Cals on 14 October 1966, Witte took a leave from being mayor. He then resumed as Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning on November 22, 1966, a role he had limited to the caretaker Cabinet Zijlstra. He did not run in the 1967 elections. After the Zijlstra cabinet ended on 5 April 1967, he returned to Eindhoven as mayor, serving until his death on 30 May 1973.