Ter Laan was born on 8 July 1871 in
Slochteren as the son of Remco ter Laan and his wife Metje Buurman.
Jan ter Laan was his younger brother. His father used to be a day laborer, but had managed to get his own farm. Their income was just high enough to pay for his education at the
Hogere burgerschool in
Sappemeer. After additional lessons, he was able to become teacher at a school in
Noordbroek. At a young age, Ter Laan became interested in
socialism. He joined the
Social Democratic League, but left when the league chose an anti-parliamentary way. He joined the
Social Democratic Workers' Party. In 1901, he was elected member of the
House of Representatives of the Netherlands by the district of
Hoogezand. He would stay member of the House of Representatives until 1937. From 1905 to 1918, he was also a
councillor in
The Hague and was the first
socialist of The Hague's
city council. He was appointed the first social democrat mayor of
Zaandam in 1914 by the Cabinet Cort van der Linden. he would remain mayor until 1937. He married Ida Groen on 27 April 1895. They had two sons and a daughter together. Ter Laan died on 6 March 1963 in
Utrecht. ==Bibliography==