Marcus Bakker (20 June 1923 – 24 December 2009) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN) now merged into the GroenLinks (GL) party and journalist.
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.
Politicsedit
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 crackdown 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[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 politicsedit
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 GroenLinks 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 lifeedit
Bakker married Els Ezerman in 1946. The couple had five children. He died on December 24, 2009, at the age of 86.[2]
Referencesedit
^"Nederlandse grondwet/Hoofdstuk 1 - Wikisource". nl.wikisource.org. Retrieved Oct 19, 2022.
^. Archived from the original on Dec 27, 2009. Retrieved Oct 19, 2022.
External linksedit
Media related to Marcus Bakker at Wikimedia Commons
Official
(in Dutch) M. (Marcus) Bakker Parlement & Politiek
marcus, bakker, june, 1923, december, 2009, dutch, politician, defunct, communist, party, netherlands, merged, into, groenlinks, party, journalist, 1972leader, communist, party, netherlandsin, office, december, 1963, september, 1982preceded, bypaul, grootsucce. Marcus Bakker 20 June 1923 24 December 2009 was a Dutch politician of the defunct Communist Party of the Netherlands CPN now merged into the GroenLinks GL party and journalist Marcus BakkerMarcus Bakker in 1972Leader of the Communist Party of the NetherlandsIn office 15 December 1963 9 September 1982Preceded byPaul de GrootSucceeded byIna BrouwerChairman of the Communist Party of the NetherlandsIn office 15 December 1963 9 September 1982Preceded byPaul de GrootSucceeded byIna BrouwerParliamentary leader in the House of RepresentativesIn office 15 December 1963 9 September 1982Preceded byPaul de GrootSucceeded byIna BrouwerMember of the House of RepresentativesIn office 7 November 1956 16 September 1982Personal detailsBornMarcus Bakker 1923 06 20 June 20 1923Zaandam NetherlandsDied24 December 2009 2009 12 24 aged 86 Zaandam NetherlandsPolitical partyGroenLinks 1989 1999 Other politicalaffiliationsCommunist Party of the Netherlands 1943 1989 SpouseEls Ezerman m 1946 wbr Children5 childrenOccupationPolitician Journalist Editor Author Critic Activist Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Early life 1 2 Politics 1 3 Life after politics 1 4 Personal life 2 References 3 External linksBiography editEarly life edit 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 edit 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 crackdown on demonstrations that expressed solidarity with the protests in Poznan 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 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 edit 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 GroenLinks 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 edit Bakker married Els Ezerman in 1946 The couple had five children He died on December 24 2009 at the age of 86 2 References edit Nederlandse grondwet Hoofdstuk 1 Wikisource nl wikisource org Retrieved Oct 19 2022 CPN leider Marcus Bakker overleden Archived from the original on Dec 27 2009 Retrieved Oct 19 2022 External links edit nbsp Media related to Marcus Bakker at Wikimedia Commons Official in Dutch M Marcus Bakker Parlement amp Politiek Party political offices Preceded byPaul de Groot Lijsttrekker of the Communist Party of the Netherlands1967 1971 1972 1977 1981 Succeeded byIna Brouwer Leader of the Communist Party of the Netherlands1963 1982 Chairman of the Communist Party of the Netherlands1963 1982 Parliamentary leader of the Communist Party of the Netherlands in the House of Representatives1963 1982 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Marcus Bakker amp oldid 1162634165, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
