| Herman Witte | |
| Office: | Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning |
| Term Start: | 22 November 1966 |
| Term End: | 5 April 1967 |
| Primeminister: | Jelle Zijlstra |
| Predecessor: | Pieter Bogaers |
| Successor: | Wim Schut |
| Office1: | Mayor of Eindhoven |
| Term Start1: | 5 April 1967 |
| Term End1: | 30 May 1973 |
| Predecessor1: | Jan van Stuijvenberg (Ad interim) |
| Successor1: | Jaap van der Lee |
| Term Start2: | 16 October 1959 |
| Term End2: | 22 November 1966 |
| Predecessor2: | Charles van Rooy |
| Successor2: | Jan van Stuijvenberg (Ad interim) |
| Office3: | Member of the House of Representatives |
| Term Start3: | 20 March 1959 |
| Term End3: | 16 October 1959 |
| Parliamentarygroup3: | Catholic People's Party |
| Office4: | Minister of Transport and Water Management |
| Term Start4: | 10 October 1958 |
| Term End4: | 1 November 1958 Ad interim |
| Primeminister4: | Willem Drees |
| Predecessor4: | Jacob Algera |
| Successor4: | Jan van Aartsen |
| Office5: | Minister of Housing and Construction |
| Term Start5: | 13 October 1956 |
| Term End5: | 19 May 1959 |
| Primeminister5: | Willem Drees (1956–1958) Louis Beel (1958–1959) |
| Predecessor5: | Himself as Minister of Reconstruction and Housing |
| Successor5: | Jan van Aartsen |
| Office6: | Minister of Reconstruction and Housing |
| Term Start6: | 2 September 1952 |
| Term End6: | 13 October 1956 |
| Primeminister6: | Willem Drees |
| Predecessor6: | Joris in 't Veld |
| Successor6: | Himself as Minister of Housing and Construction |
| Office7: | Mayor of Bergen op Zoom |
| Term Start7: | 1 May 1945 |
| Term End7: | 2 September 1952 |
| Predecessor7: | Henk Lijnkamp |
| Successor7: | Leonard Peters |
| Birthname: | Herman Bernard Jan Witte |
| Birth Date: | 1909 8, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Harlingen, Netherlands |
| Death Place: | Eindhoven, Netherlands |
| Death Cause: | Brain tumor |
| Nationality: | Dutch |
| Party: | Catholic People's Party (from 1945) |
| Otherparty: | Roman Catholic State Party (until 1945) |
| Children: | 4 sons and 2 daughters |
| Alma Mater: | Delft Institute of Technology (Bachelor of Engineering, Master of Engineering) |
| Occupation: | Politician · Civil servant · Civil engineer · Corporate director · Nonprofit director · Academic administrator |
| Allegiance: |  Netherlands |
| Branch: | Royal Netherlands Army |
| Serviceyears: | 1933–1939 (Reserve) 1939–1940 (Active duty) |
| Rank: | Second lieutenant |
| Unit: | National Reserve Corps |
| Battles: | World War II |
Herman Bernard Jan Witte (18 August 1909 – 30 May 1973) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and civil engineer.
Witte applied at the Delft Institute of Technology in June 1927 majoring in civil engineering and obtaining a Bachelor of Engineering degree before graduating with a Master of Engineering degree in July 1933. Witte worked as a civil servant for the Ministry of Water Management as a civil engineer at Rijkswaterstaat from July 1933 until August 1939 and as a civil servant for municipality of Bergen op Zoom as director of Public Works from August 1939 until June 1940. Witte also served in the military reserve force of the Royal Netherlands Army and was mobilized on in April 1940 before Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands. Witte was captured following the Battle of Zeeland and was detained from May 1940 until August 1940. During the German occupation Witte was associated with members of the Dutch resistance. Following the end of World War II Queen Wilhelmina Witte was appointed as acting Mayor of Bergen op Zoom, taking office on 1 May 1945. One year later on 1 May 1946 he was made permanent Mayor. After the election of 1952 Witte was appointed as Minister of Reconstruction and Housing in the Cabinet Drees II, taking office on 2 September 1952. After the election of 1956 Witte continued in the post as the newly renamed Minister of Housing and Construction in the Cabinet Drees III, taking office on 13 October 1956. Witte served as acting Minister of Transport and Water Management from 10 October 1958 until 1 November 1958 following the resignation of Jacob Algera.
The Cabinet Drees III fell on 11 December 1958 and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until it was replaced by the caretaker Cabinet Beel II with Witte continuing as Minister of Housing and Construction, taking office on 22 December 1958. Witte was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives after the election of 1959, taking office on 20 March 1959. Following the cabinet formation of 1959 Witte was not giving a cabinet post in the new cabinet, the Cabinet Beel II was replaced by the Cabinet De Quay on 19 May 1959 and he continued to serve in the House of Representatives as a frontbencher. In September 1959 Witte was nominated as Mayor of Eindhoven, he resigned as a Member of the House of Representatives the day he was installed as Mayor, taking office on 16 October 1959. On 14 October 1966 the Cabinet Cals fell and continued to serve in a demissionary capacity until it was replaced by the caretaker Cabinet Zijlstra with Witte taking a leave of absence as Mayor and was again appointed as Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning, taking office on 22 November 1966. Witte who had previously announced that he was only willing to serve in the caretaker Cabinet Zijlstra didn't stand for the election of 1967, the Cabinet Zijlstra was replaced by the Cabinet De Jong on 5 April 1967 and he returned as Mayor of Eindhoven the same day, serving from 5 April 1967 until 30 May 1973.
| Honours | ||||
| Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre | Holy See | 4 October 1954 | ||
| Commander of the Order of Leopold II | Belgium | 30 September 1955 | ||
| Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 27 April 1967 | Elevated from Grand Officer (9 June 1959) | |
| Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion | Netherlands | 30 May 1973 | ||