Alexander de Savornin Lohman

Jkr. Alexander Frederik de Savornin Lohman (Groningen, May 29 1837 - The Hague, June 11 1924) was a Dutch politician and leader of the Christian Historical Union during the first quarter of the 20th century.

He was a member of the lower Dutch nobility and held the title of "jonkheer". He was born in a family of Walloon Reformed extraction. During his studies he became a supporter of the anti-revolutionary cause of Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer and he was elected to the Tweede Kamer of Dutch parliament as a member of the Anti Revolutionary Party (ARP) in 1879. He remained a member of parliament until 1921. Throughout his career he would hold the position of member of the Tweede Kamer, member of the Eerste Kamer and, for a short while, minister. He was noted for his vehement attacks against his opponents, but was generally considered to be receptive of the arguments of his peers.

De Savornin Lohman got involved in politics whilst serving as a judge at the court of 's-Hertogenbosch. There he became party to a conflict over Christian schools. He soon met Abraham Kuyper, another anti-revolutionary politician who would dominate Dutch politics in the years to come. When Kuyper was suffering from a burn-out in 1876 and 1877 de Savornin Lohman replaced him as chief editor of the "Standaard", the anti-revolutionary newspaper. De Savornin Lohman went on, at times reluctantly, to become the most important collaborator of Kuyper in his many projects (School Struggle, the foundation of the Anti Revolutionary Party in 1879, the Doleantie in 1886 and the creation of the Free University of Amsterdam in 1879).

De Savornin Lohman's entry in politics coincided with the introduction of party discipline into Dutch politics. As an aristocrat de Savornin Lohman was torn between the opinion of his fellow aristocrats, who considered politics to be a personal thing, and the opinion of his leader and friend Kuyper, who found party discipline and the democratic process of the utmost importance. Further conflict ensued when de Savornin Lohman became minister of Internal Affairs as a replacement of Æneas Mackay, who in turn replaced Keuchenius as minister of Colonial Affairs. Dutch parliament had refused supply to Keuchenius's budget and Mackay wanted to save the government. Kuyper wanted to have a general election called and sought the fall of the government. De Savornin Lohman and his most of the Anti Revolutionary Party supported the government. Two factions in the ARP now emerged, one led by Kuyper the other by De Savornin Lohman. When the liberal minister Tak van Poortvliet introduced a proposal to introduce universal suffrage in 1893, this proved to be an especially divisive issue. The aristocrat De Savornin Lohman was against extension, while Kuyper saw an electoral advantage for the ARP. Universal suffrage would allow orthodox Protestant farmers and small enterpreneurs (collectively referred to in Dutch political science as "kleine luyden"), hitherto uneligible to vote because of the requirement to pay a minimal amount of taxes, to vote. When Kuyper managed to convince ARP members to support his position De Savornin Lohman's faction, the "Free Anti Revolutionaries (VAR)", became directly opposed to Kuyper's Anti Revolutionaries. The conflict led to a split in the ARP with De Savornin Lohman and his largely aristocratic colleagues forming the smaller splinter group. In 1908, after a series of mergers with like-minded political groups, De Savornin Lohman and his VAR founded the Christian Historical Union (CHU).

Religiously De Savornin Lohman, who was Reformed, was personally involved in the schism called the Doleantie, which was led by Kuyper. The schism was a reaction to the progressive practices of the Dutch Reformed Church and after the schism De Savornin Lohman became a member of the newly-founded Reformed Churches in the Netherlands. While Kuyper favoured cooperation with Roman Catholics in Dutch parliament de Savornin Lohman and his fellow Anti Revolutionaries were skeptical towards Roman Catholicism.

Professionally De Savornin Lohman was employed by the Free University of Amsterdam to teach law and a Reformed outlook on science. In 1895 the conflict with Kuyper forced him to resign his post. Only twenty years later both gentlemen would be on speaking terms again.

Alexander de Savornin Lohman died in The Hague aged 87. He was an important adviser to Queen Wilhelmina.

External links

* [http://www.inghist.nl/Onderzoek/Projecten/BWN/lemmata/bwn1/savorninaf/ Biography of Alexander Frederik de Savornin Lohman at the Institute for Dutch History] nl icon
* [http://www.parlement.com/9291000/biof/02207/ File on Alexander Frederik de Savornin Lohman at parlement.com] nl icon