Marcus Bakker
Marcus Bakker | |
---|---|
Parliamentary leader - Communist Party of the Netherlands House of Representatives | |
In office December 15, 1963 – September 7, 1982 | |
Preceded by | Paul de Groot |
Succeeded by | Ina Brouwer |
Member of the House of Representatives | |
In office November 7, 1956 – September 16, 1982 | |
Personal details | |
Born |
Marcus Bakker June 20, 1923 Zaandam, Netherlands |
Died |
December 24, 2009 86) Zaandam, Netherlands | (aged
Nationality | Dutch |
Political party |
Communist Party of the Netherlands (1943–1991) GreenLeft (1991–1999) |
Spouse(s) | Els Ezerman |
Occupation |
Politician Journalist |
Marcus Bakker (June 20, 1923 – December 24, 2009) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN) now merged into GreenLeft (GL). He was the Parliamentary leader in the House of Representatives from December 15, 1963 until September 7, 1982.
Biography
Early life
Bakker was the son of an accountant who worked for the slaughterhouse in Zaandam. He joined the then illegal Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN) in 1943, during World War II. After the war he became an editor of the communist daily newspaper De Waarheid and an official of the CPN.
Politics
In 1953, Bakker became editor-in-chief of De Waarheid, and in 1956 a Member of the House of Representatives. He was a confidant of the then party leader Paul de Groot, who took firm action against dissident movements within the party. Bakker wrote a book called De CPN in de oorlog (The CPN during the war, 1958), in which he accused prominent party members such as Gerben Wagenaar, Henk Gortzak, Frits Reuter and Bertus Brandsen of being spies. They were eventually expelled from the party.
In 1956, Bakker openly supported the crack down on demonstrations that expressed solidarity with the protests in Poznań in Communist-led Poland. Bakker did not accept criticism of the Soviet Union.
When the Netherlands were in the process of adopting a new constitution, the draft of Article 1 banned discrimination "on the grounds of religion, conviction, political orientation, race or gender". Bakker proposed to add "or any other ground" to this, which was accepted.
Life after politics
Bakker was succeeded as CPN leader by Ina Brouwer in 1982. He was not involved in the talks that led the party to merge with three other parties to form GreenLeft in 1991. He became a member of the new party, but cancelled his membership in 1999, when the party supported the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.
Bakker published his memoirs, entitled Wissels - Bespiegelingen zonder berouw (Reflections without Contrition). He criticized his own role in the Cold War, but did not apologize for it. He also expressed regrets about labelling dissident party members spies. Bakker never distanced himself from communism as an ideology, although he stated that he felt 'used' by the communist practice in the Eastern Bloc. Particularly the revelation that the Soviet Union was behind the Katyn massacre was a disillusionment to Bakker.
The Marcus Bakkerzaal, a room in the current building of the Dutch House of Representatives, was named after Bakker in 1991.
Personal life
Bakker married Els Ezerman in 1946. The couple had five children. He died on December 24, 2009, at the age of 86.[1]
References
- (Dutch) Parlement.com biography
- ↑ (Dutch) CPN-leider Marcus Bakker overleden
Party political offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Paul de Groot |
Party leader Communist Party of the Netherlands 1963–1982 |
Succeeded by Ina Brouwer |
Preceded by Paul de Groot |
Parliamentary leader - Communist Party of the Netherlands House of Representatives 1963–1982 |
Succeeded by Ina Brouwer |
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