The cabinet was a centre-right coalition and had a substantial majority in the House of Representatives with prominent Catholic politician Jan de Quay the former Queen's Commissioner of North Brabant serving as Prime Minister.

The cabinet served in the early years of the tumultuous 1960s; domestically it had to deal with the beginning of the counterculture and the discovery of the Groningen gas field and it was able to implement several major social reforms to the education system and the public sector and social security, internationally the West New Guinea dispute resulted in the disbandment of the Netherlands New Guinea territory following the Battle of Arafura Sea.

Shortly after the installation of the new government, minister of defence Ven den Bergh resigned for personal reasons (family affairs with his United States wife and children).

In 1962, the new minister of defence Visser also had to resign after protests against his dismissal of a critical civil servant.

In 1961 minister Van Rooy of social affairs resigned after criticism of how he dealt with the new child benefit law.