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ePaper created 2014-09-15, 12:31:02 | version 1.32.01
Free University Medical Center Amsterdam Rick Hoekzema with contributions by Theo M. Starink, Bibi van Montfrans and Rein Willemze Introduction Abraham Kuyper In 1878, protestant preacher, journalist and prime minister of the Netherlands from 1901 to 1905, Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) founded the “Society for Higher Education on the basis of Reformed Principles” (“Vereeniging voor Hooger Onderwijs op Gereformeerden Grondslag”) in Amsterdam. He did this together with a number of fellow preachers, as well as his friend Willem Hovy, who was both a wealthy entrepreneur and a politician with a social conscience. To their minds Christian faith should embrace all aspects of life - including science - and it was for this reason they established a protestant university in Amsterdam. With a starting capital of one hundred thousand guilders, a quarter of which was donated by Hovy himself, the Vrije Universiteit, or VU University, opened it doors on the 20th of October 1880. The prefix ‘vrije’, meaning ‘free’, was introduced to underline the conviction that the institution should remain free from earthly interference by church or state, being accountable only to God. 113 Main building of the Free University (1918). 8 BWEADVSMGFINCORR:Opmaak 1 21-07-2014 17:40 Pagina 113