On 10 May 1940 Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands and the government fled to London to escape the German occupation.

In March 1977 Gaius de Gaay Fortman announced that he would not stand for the 1977 general election but wanted tot return to the Senate.

De Gaay Fortman was selected as a Member of the European Parliament and dual served in those positions from 13 March 1978 until 15 July 1979.

De Gaay Fortman continued to comment on political affairs as a statesman until his death.

His eldest son Bas de Gaay Fortman was also a politician, professor and author, he like his father had served in the Senate.

[3] Wilhelm Friedrich "Gaius" de Gaay Fortman was born in Amsterdam on 8 May 1911 to an orthodox Reformed Protestant family.

As Minister of Home Affairs he proposed a plan to divide the Netherlands into 24 mini-provinces and he played a key role in the independence negotiations for Suriname in 1975.