Editing Ruud Lubbers (section)

===Politics===
[[File:V.l.n.r. premiers Lubbers, Pierre Werner (Luxemburg) en Wilfried Martens (België, Bestanddeelnr 932-3952.jpg|thumb|left|Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers, [[List of prime ministers of Luxembourg|Prime Minister of Luxembourg]] [[Pierre Werner]] and [[Prime Minister of Belgium]] [[Wilfried Martens]] at the [[Binnenhof]] on 10 November 1982.]]

From 11 May 1973 to 19 December 1977, Ruud Lubbers was Minister of Economic Affairs in the [[Den Uyl cabinet]] and a member of the Catholic People's Party (KVP). He was an effective if sometimes somewhat bad-tempered minister. He chose to return to Parliament on the formation of the Van Agt government in 1977, becoming senior deputy parliamentary leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the alliance between the KVP and the other two main Christian parties. His career got an unexpected boost when the leader of the parliamentary faction of the CDA, [[Willem Aantjes]], had to resign in 1978 because of accusations that he had served in the [[Germanic-SS]] during the [[Second World War]]. Lubbers succeeded him and suddenly found himself in a powerful political position.

[[File:Premier Thatcher (l) en premier Lubbers tijdens een persconferentie, Bestanddeelnr 932-7047.jpg|thumb|[[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] [[Margaret Thatcher]] and Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers at a press conference in [[The Hague]] on 19 September 1983.]]
In 1982, after the general election won by Prime Minister [[Dries van Agt]], a similar thing happened when Van Agt suddenly announced he would not serve for a third term. Lubbers took over the post. He was the youngest prime minister in Dutch history; he had turned 43 only six months earlier. Major aspects of his time in office included extensive cutbacks in public spending, the launch of far-reaching [[deregulation]] and [[privatization|privatisation]] programs, and a massive demonstration in [[The Hague]] (1983) against the planned installation in the Netherlands of nuclear-armed U.S. [[cruise missile]]s (which was cancelled after all due to arms reduction talks between the US and the Soviet Union).

[[File:Premier Lubbers (l) begroet premier Trudeau van Canada op vliegveld Valkenburg, Bestanddeelnr 932-7640.jpg|thumb|left|220px|Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers and [[Prime Minister of Canada]] [[Pierre Trudeau]] at [[Valkenburg Naval Air Base]] on 8 November 1983.]]
After leaving office in 1994, Lubbers was put forward as a candidate for the head of [[NATO]], but the U.S. vetoed his appointment. He was on the advisory board of the [[David Marsh (financial specialist)|Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum]] (OMFIF), where he was regularly involved in meetings regarding the financial and monetary system.

Lubbers was regarded by many during his time in office as an ideological heir to [[Margaret Thatcher]]. One of his campaign slogans was: "Meer markt, minder overheid" (more market, less government).