Ien Dales

Dales was born on 18 October 1931 in Arnhem, Netherlands. Her father was Teunis Dales, who owned a business selling construction supplies and her mother was Wilhelmina Bertha Holstigen. She was the eldest of three children, with a younger brother and sister. The family were well off and she attended a public primary school. When Dales was ten, her father died of appendicitis and her mother had to go to work. Dales began her secondary studies at the public in Arnhem. She received an HBS-A diploma in 1947 and, intending to study medicine at university, an HBS-B diploma in 1950, but she was unable to afford to attend university. Having grown up in the Dutch Reformed faith, she decided to train as a youth church leader. She received a scholarship to attend the Church and World Academy in Driebergen, the largest church training programme in the country, in the 1950s. While studying, she was strongly influenced by her teacher Willem Banning, a co-founder of the Labour Party (PvdA). == Political career ==

Dales joined the PvdA in 1968. She was appointed the director of social services for the municipality of Rotterdam by one of the aldermen, Elizabeth Schmitz, following the discovery of widespread fraud in the department, with the challenge of re-organising the system. She held this position from 1 September 1977 and 11 September 1981. Following the 1981 general election, she was appointed the State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment in the Van Agt II cabinet, taking office on 11 September 1981, with special responsibility for social security. The Van Agt II cabinet dissolved just seven months into its term on 12 May 1982 and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until it was replaced by the caretaker Van Agt III cabinet on 29 May 1982. Dales was elected as a member of the House of Representatives after the 1982 general election, taking office on 16 September 1982. She was the chair of the committee on petitions and the committee on the police. She held this position until 16 May 1987, the day that she took office as the mayor of Nijmegen. She was mayor until 7 November 1989. After the 1989 general election, Dales was appointed the Minister of the Interior in the Lubbers III cabinet, taking office on 7 November 1989. She held this position until 10 January 1994. == Death and legacy ==

Dales died on 10 January 1994 in Utrecht. She was the second known LGBT government minister in the Netherlands. She was in a relationship with fellow Labour Party politician Elizabeth Schmitz. For many years this fact was an open secret in Dutch politics at that time. ==Decorations==