10 Facts About Gerard Helders

Gerardus Philippus "Gerard" Helders was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the defunct Christian Historical Union party now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal party and jurist.

Gerard Helders worked as a paralegal for a law firm in Rotterdam from July 1929 until February 1931 Gerard Helders worked as a civil servant for the Ministry of Colonial Affairs in Batavia in the Dutch East Indies from February 1931 until April 1936 and as a senior tax collector in Bandung from April 1936 until May 1941 and as chief tax collector in Batavia from May 1941 until March 1942.

Gerard Helders served in the military reserve force of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army as a Major and was in service during the Dutch East Indies campaign.

On 8 March 1942 Gerard Helders was captured following the Battle of Borneo and detained in the Japanese internment camp Kampong Makassar and was detained until September 1945.

The Cabinet Drees III fell on 11 December 1958 and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until it was replaced by the caretaker Cabinet Beel II with Gerard Helders continuing as Minister of Colonial Affairs, taking office on 22 December 1958.

In July 1959 Gerard Helders was nominated as Member of the Council of State, serving from 1 August 1959 until 1 September 1975.

Gerard Helders became active in the private sector and public sector and occupied numerous seats as a corporate director and nonprofit director on several boards of directors and supervisory boards and served on several state commissions and as a diplomat and lobbyist for several economic delegations on behalf of the government.

Gerard Helders married in 1930 and was the father of one son and four daughters.

Gerard Helders started his career as a politician for the Christian Historical Union in the Dutch colony of the Dutch East Indies where he worked as a member of the city council in the cities Bandung and Batavia.

Gerard Helders became the oldest living man in the Netherlands after the death of 110-year-old Cornelis Geurtz on 21 August 2012.