Abraham Kuijper generally known as Abraham Kuyper, was a Dutch

Politics of the Netherlands

The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy and a decentralised unitary state. The Netherlands is described as a consociational state...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

, journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

, statesman

Statesman

A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...

 and theologian. He founded the Anti-Revolutionary Party and was prime minister of the Netherlands

Prime Minister of the Netherlands

The Prime Minister of the Netherlands is the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Netherlands. He is the de facto head of government of the Netherlands and coordinates the policy of the government...

 between 1901 and 1905.
Kuyper was home schooled by his father, Jan Frederik Kuyper, who was a minister for the Dutch Reformed Church

Dutch Reformed Church

The Dutch Reformed Church was a Reformed Christian denomination in the Netherlands. It existed from the 1570s to 2004, the year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the...

 in Hoogmade

Hoogmade

Hoogmade is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is located about 7 km east of Leiden, in the municipality of Kaag en Braassem.Hoogmade was a separate municipality between 1817 and 1855, when it merged with Woubrugge....

, Maassluis

Maassluis

Maassluis is a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 32,847 in 2004, and covers an area of 10.11 km² .It received city rights in 1811...

, Middelburg

Middelburg

Middelburg is a municipality and a city in the south-western Netherlands and the capital of the province of Zeeland. It is situated in the Midden-Zeeland region. It has a population of about 48,000.- History of Middelburg :...

 and Leiden. He had no formal primary education

Primary education

A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...

, but received secondary education

Secondary education

Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...

 at the Gymnasium

Education in the Netherlands

Education in the Netherlands is characterized by division: education is orientated toward the needs and background of the pupil. Education is divided over schools for different age groups, some of which are divided in streams for different educational levels...

 of Leiden.

In 1855 he graduated from the gymnasium and began to study literature

Literature

Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...

, philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

 and theology

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

 at Leiden University

Leiden University

Leiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...

.