Gerardus (Gerard) van der Leeuw (18 March 1890 – 18 November 1950) was a Dutch historian and philosopher of religion, ordained minister and politician.

Gerard van der Leeuw studied theology and egyptology at Leiden University, in Göttingen and Berlin.

[1] After graduation he was called as ordained minister in the Dutch Reformed Church (Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk): in The Hague as candidate and subsequently in 's-Heerenberg with a full appointment.

It was first published in 1933 under the German title Phänomenologie der Religion, translated into English in 1938 and into French in a revised and updated edition in 1948.

From 1945–1946 Van der Leeuw was Minister of Education of the Netherlands for the Labour Party (appointed immediately after the end of the war).