His Excellency Julius Christiaan van Oven
Julius Christiaan van Oven in 1956
Minister of the Interior
In office 7 July 1956 – 13 October 1956 Ad interim
Prime Minister	Willem Drees
Preceded by	Louis Beel
Succeeded by	Ko Suurhoff (Ad interim)
Minister of Justice
In office 15 February 1956 – 13 October 1956
Prime Minister	Willem Drees
Preceded by	Louis Beel (Ad interim)
Succeeded by	Ivo Samkalden
Personal details
Born	Julius Christiaan van Oven (1881-11-17)17 November 1881 Dordrecht, Netherlands
Died	16 March 1963(1963-03-16) (aged 81) Leiden, Netherlands
Political party	Labour Party (from 1946)
Other political affiliations	Free-thinking Democratic League (until 1946)
Spouse	Maria van Doorn ​ ​ (m. 1909; died 1957)​
Children	3 sons and 2 daughters
Alma mater	University of Amsterdam (Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws, Doctor of Philosophy)
Occupation	Politician · Jurist · Lawyer · Researcher · Historian · Author · Editor · Academic administrator · Professor

Julius Christiaan van Oven (17 November 1881 – 16 March 1963) was a Dutch jurist and politician of the Labour Party (PvdA).^[1]

For 34 years, Van Oven was professor of Roman law, from 1917 to 1925 at the University of Groningen and from 1925 to 1951 at Leiden University. In 1948 he was elected a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.^[2] At the age of 74, he was asked to succeed Leendert Antonie Donker, who died in office in February 1956, as Minister of Justice in the Third Drees cabinet. During the 8 months he was in office, he managed to establish a law he had been advocating for since 1927: this Lex-Van Oven law finally annulled the legal incapacity of married women, including the prohibition for them to hold office.^[3]

Decorations

Honours
Ribbon bar	Honour	Country	Date	Comment
	Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion	Netherlands	15 May 1952
	Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau	Netherlands	3 November 1956