1977-1982 Cabinet Van Agt I - III De Koning, Van Dijk

In 1980, minister Jan de Koning presented the first policy memorandum on women in development cooperation to the House of Representatives: The memorandum introduced the term 'women and development' as a denominator for the problem that was central to this, namely the inequality of women compared to men in the development process. In 1981, the Netherlands rectified CEDAW.

The Ministers for Development Cooperation in this period were:
1977- 1981: Jan de Koning (CDA), Minister for Development Cooperation in the Cabinet Van Agt I
1981- 1982: Kees van Dijk (CDA), Minister for Development Cooperation in the Cabinets Van Agt I and II.