Johan Ringers

Johannes Aleidis (Johan) Ringers (Alkmaar, 2 January 1885 – The Hague, 6 May 1965) was a Dutch hydraulic engineer and politician. He served as the director-general of Rijkswaterstaat and later as the director of Dutch East Indies Railways. During World War II, Ringers was appointed as the government commissioner for reconstruction, but was later interned by German forces.

After World War II, he became the Minister of Public Works and Reconstruction in the Schermerhorn and Beel I cabinets. Finding himself in disagreement with the Dutch East Indies policy of the Netherlands government, he resigned in 1946. He was the brother of Hendrik Ringers who founded the Ringers chocolate company, and served on the supervisory board of that company.

Education and Early Career After completing his education at the Hogere Burgerschool in Alkmaar, Ringers studied at the Technical University of Delft, where he obtained his diploma in Civil Engineering in 1906. He initially worked for Rijkswaterstaat in the district of Goes and contributed to the construction of locks at Hansweert in the Kanaal door Zuid-Beveland. In 1911, he published an article in the journal De Ingenieur about lock gates in Germany and Belgium. In 1916, he moved to Java and took up the role of chief engineer for the Dutch East Indies Railway Company. He returned to Rijkswaterstaat in 1920 and worked on canalisation in West Friesland, publishing a technical report on the work in 1922. After completing the IJmuiden project, Ringers became involved with the Zuiderzee Works as chief director of the Maatschappij tot Uitvoering van Zuiderzeewerken on 1 January 1927.

Director-General of Rijkswaterstaat In 1930, Ringers was appointed Director-General of Rijkswaterstaat. In 1935, he also became a member of the board of directors of the Netherlands-Indian Railway Company, based in The Hague. He held various honorary positions, including vice-chairman of the Waterloopkundig Laboratorium, chairman of the Association of Delft Engineers, vice-chairman of the Royal Institute of Engineers (of which he became an honorary member in 1955), member of the National Commission for Drinking Water Supply, chairman of the Dutch Delegation to the Permanent International Association of Navigation Congresses (PIANC), and a member of the standing committee for Port Policy of the Economic Council. In September 1930, he received an honorary doctorate from Delft University of Technology, followed in June 1932 by an honorary doctorate from the Danzig University of Technology, allowing him to use the title dr. ir.

Second World War The Second World War marked a significant turning point in Ringers' career. Before the outbreak of war, the Dutch Minister of Defence had ordered measures to prevent enemy action from damaging hydraulic engineering structures. The precautions taken at that time, based on Ringers’ advice, proved effective. By 30 May 1940, all areas of the Netherlands which had been flooded during the German invasion were dry and rehabilitated. On 21 May 1940, General Winkelman appointed him Government Commissioner for Reconstruction, a position that was renamed General Authorised Representative for Reconstruction and for the Construction Industry in the Occupied Dutch Territory on 23 December 1940. In recognition of his efforts, Rotterdam honoured him in 1963 as the "father of reconstruction" with a plaque in the office of municipal public works, the .

In his work as a consulting engineer, he was asked by the British Government to provide advice for major rehabilitation works necessitated by extensive flooding in the spring of 1947, when the River Trent and the River Welland burst their banks. As a result of his efforts, Ringers was made a Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the British Empire the same year. He became involved with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, assisting in the organisation of their summer meeting in the Netherlands in 1953, and was elected an Honorary Member of the Institution in 1954.

Following the flood disaster in the Netherlands in 1953, he served as a member of the Delta Commission which designed the Delta Plan. In 1957, he advised the Institution of Civil Engineers' Maritime and Waterways Engineer Division on aspects of dredging. He also worked as an advisor for Bataafse Petroleum Maatschappij, which later became part of Shell plc. He made extensive trips to America and Asia in connection with this work.