engineering

Gerrit Braks

Gerrit Braks is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gerrit Braks rather than just read about it. In short: Gerardus Johannes Maria "Gerrit" Braks (23 May 1933 – 12 July 2017) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) and later the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and agronomist. Braks applied at the Wageningen Agricultural College in June 1959 majoring in Agronomy and obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree in July 1961 before graduating with a Master of Science in Engineeri…

Key takeaways

Gerrit Braks belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gerrit Braks to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gerrit Braks from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Gerardus Johannes Maria "Gerrit" Braks (23 May 1933 – 12 July 2017) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) and later the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and agronomist. Braks applied at the Wageningen Agricultural College in June 1959 majoring in Agronomy and obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree in July 1961 before graduating with a Master of Science in Engineering degree in July 1965. Braks worked as a agronomist and agricultural engineer in Eindhoven from January 1966 until April 1970 and as a civil servant for the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission from April 1970 until June 1977. Braks was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the election of 1977, taking office on 8 June 1977. Braks was appointed as Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries in the Cabinet Van Agt–Wiegel following the appointed of Fons van der Stee as Minister of Finance, taking office on 5 March 1980. After the election of 1981 Braks returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, serving from 10 June 1981 until 9 September 1981. Following the cabinet formation of 1981 Braks was not giving a cabinet post in the new cabinet, the Cabinet Van Agt–Wiegel was replaced by the Cabinet Van Agt II on 11 September 1981 and he subsequently returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 15 September 1981. After the election of 1982 Braks was appointed again as Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries in the Cabinet Lubbers I, taking office on 4 November 1982. After the election of 1986 Braks again returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 3 June 1986. Following the cabinet formation of 1986 Braks continued as Minister of Education and Sciences in the Cabinet Lubbers II, taking office on 14 July 1986. The Cabinet Lubbers II fell on 3 May 1989 and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity. After the election of 1989 Braks once again returned as a Member of the House of Representatives, taking office on 14 September 1989. Braks served as acting Minister of Education and Sciences from 14 September 1989 until 7 November 1989 following the election of Wim Deetman as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Following the cabinet formation of 1989 Braks remained as the recently renamed Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Fisheries in the Cabinet Lubbers III, taking office on 7 November 1989. On 18 September 1990 Braks resigned after the Labour Party the coalition partner in the cabinet had lost confidence in the functioning of Braks. Braks remained active in national politics, and became active in the public sector and occupied numerous seats as a nonprofit director on several boards of directors and supervisory boards (Institute of Environmental Sciences, Royal Geographical Society and the LEI Wageningen UR) and worked as media administrator for the public broadcaster Catholic Radio Broadcasting (KRO) serving as Chairman of the Supervisory board from 1 May 1991 until 10 July 1996. Braks was elected as a Member of the Senate after the Senate election of 1991, taking office on 11 June 1991. After the Senate election of 1999 Braks was selected as Parliamentary leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal in the Senate, taking office on 8 June 1999. Braks was nominated as President of the Senate following the retirement of Frits Korthals Altes, taking office on 2 October 2001. In February 2003 Braks announced his retirement from national politics and that he wouldn't stand for the Senate election of 2003 and continued to serve until the end of the parliamentary term on 10 June 2003. Braks retired after spending 26 years in national politics but remained active in the private sector and public sector and continued to occupy numerous seats as a corporate director and nonprofit director on several boards of directors and supervisory boards (Rabobank, Campina, UTZ Certified, Enza Zaden, Vereniging Natuurmonumenten and the European Centre for Nature Conservation) and served on several state commissions and councils on behalf of the government (Institute for Multiparty Democracy and Staatsbosbeheer). In August 2007 Braks was appointed as Ad interim Mayor of Eindhoven following a proposed referendum for the introduction of elected Mayors, serving from 1 September 2007 until 7 April 2008. Braks was known for his abilities as a debater and policy wonk. Braks continued to comment on political affairs until his death at the age of 84.

Other functions From 11 March 1991 until 1 April 1996 he was chairman of the Katholieke Radio Omroep. On 1 September 2007 he was named acting mayor of Eindhoven until after a referendum the next mayor was named by the crown on 7 April 2008.

Honours He was invested as a Commander in the Order of the Netherlands Lion and as a Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau. He also received the Jacoba van Beierenprijs in 1990, an honorary badge from the Wageningen University and Research Centre in 1993 and was an honorary citizen of the Dutch province of North Brabant. The Spanish king made him Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Isabella the Catholic.

Decorations

National Commander of the Order of the Netherlands Lion (1 May 1991) Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau (10 June 2003) Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion (26 October 1981) Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau (30 April 1996)

Foreign Belgium: Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II (15 June 1992) France: Grand Officer of the Order of Legion of Honour (20 November 1988) Commander of the Order of Agricultural Merit (10 December 1986) Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (17 September 1987)

References

External links

(in Dutch) Ir. G.J.M. (Gerrit) Braks Parlement & Politiek (in Dutch) Ir. G.J.M. Braks (CDA) Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gerrit Braks

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gerrit Braks claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gerrit Braks before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gerrit Braks ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gerrit Braks

In research: Gerrit Braks appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gerrit Braks in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gerrit Braks is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1933 births, 2017 deaths, 20th-century Dutch agronomists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gerrit Braks outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gerrit Braks in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gerrit Braks means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gerrit Braks out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gerrit Braks in simple terms?

Why does Gerrit Braks matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gerrit Braks?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gerrit Braks.