Obituaries : PASSINGS : Joop Den Uyl, Former Dutch Premier

Joop Den Uyl, 68, former premier of The Netherlands who led the Dutch Labor Party for almost two decades. Den Uyl served as premier from 1973-77, and was regarded as the most influential politician of that era. He won national respect by dealing with the Lockheed payoff scandal that in 1976 forced Prince Bernhard, husband of then-Queen Juliana, to resign from his official positions. Den Uyl had served as economics minister from 1965 to 1966 in the center-left coalition government of Premier Jo Cals. For the next six years of center-right governments, Den Uyl led the Labor Party in opposition in Parliament, and when Labor swept back to power in 1973, he became premier in a center-left coalition. After the collapse of his reformist government in 1977, Den Uyl led Labor to the biggest elections victory in its history, but was unable to form a new government and relinquished the premiership to Christian Democrat Andries van Agt. In Amsterdam on Thursday of cancer.