Johannes Theodoor de Visser

Johannes Theodoor (or Theodorus) de Visser (9 February 1857 – 14 April 1932) was a Dutch preacher and politician for the Christian Historical Union (CHU). He was the Netherlands' first Minister of Education.

Early life and education De Visser was born in Utrecht on 9 February 1857. After attending grammar school, he went on to study theology in his hometown in 1874, at the age of seventeen. He received his doctorate from Josué Jean Philippe Valeton cum laude with a dissertation on De Daemonologie van het Oude Testament ('The Demonology of the Old Testament') on 27 May 1880. A year before, he had already taken his candidate exam in law.

Career De Visser was a Reformed minister in congregations in Leusden, Almelo, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam.

In 1919, De Visser brought about the Industrial Education Act, which concerned itself with apprenticeships in vocational education. With his Lower Education Act – which was approved nearly unanimously in 1920, he ended the school struggle based on the Pacification of 1917. In addition to providing equal public funding for special schools, the act provided room for religious education within regular school hours.

However, De Visser subsequently lost most of the trust he had enjoyed in the House of Representatives. From 1920 onward, he reversed some of the improvements he had implemented as part of a general budget reduction. In 1924, he temporarily suspended compulsory education in the seventh grade, increased class sizes and introduced a system of unpaid teaching assistants. With respect to higher education, a 1920 amendment of the Higher Education Act made a written thesis a requirement for obtaining a doctorate. A bust of De Visser, made by Han Wezelaar, was unveiled in 1937 on the Bezuidenhoutseweg near de Koekamp in The Hague. It is now located in the hall of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.

Personal life De Visser was the son of Justus de Visser, a merchant, and Simonia Gerarda de Ruijter, who died at a young age. He was married on 5 July 1882 to Gezina Ida van der Garde, with whom he had three sons and one daughter.