List of Queens's Commissioners of Limburg
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This is a list of Queen's Commissioners of Limburg.
In the Dutch province of Limburg, the Queen's Commissioner is usually called "Gouverneur" (governor), as in Belgium. Similarly, the "Provinciehuis" (Province Hall) at Maastricht is called "Gouvernement" (Governor's Residence). This local custom arose from the particular status of the current province in the nineteenth century.
In 1830, the whole of the province of Limburg, which at the time consisted of both the present Dutch and Belgian parts, joined in the Belgian Revolution, with the notable exception of the city of Maastricht. From then until 1839 Limburg was governed as part of Belgium. As per the 1839 Treaty of London, The Netherlands recognized Belgium's independence, but special provisions were made for Limburg (and Luxemburg). The province was divided into two, roughly taking river Meuse as the border, with most of the eastern half, although now an integral part of the Dutch territory, becoming a member of the German Confederacy as the "Duchy of Limburg" to appease Prussia, which had lost access to the Meuse after the Congress of Vienna. This peculiar arrangement, which excluded Maastricht and Venlo, lasted until the Confederation's dissolution in 1866.
The folklore custom to call the local Queen's Commissioner "Governor" dates from these times, and nowadays is used to underline the Limburgers' (self-)perceived otherness from "regular" Dutchmen.
- 1850-1856 Eduard van Meeuwen.
- 1856-1874 Joseph van der Does de Willebois.
- 1874-1893 Eduard de Kuijper.
- 1893-1918 Gustave Ruijs van Beerenbroek.
- 1918 Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck.
- 1918-1935 Eduard van Hövell tot Westerflier.
- 1936-1947 Willem van Sonsbeeck.
- 1947-1964 Frans Houben.
- 1964-1977 Charles van Rooy.
- 1977-1990 Dr. Johan Kremers.
- 1990-1993 Emile Mastenbroek.
- 1993-2005 Berend-Jan van Voorst tot Voorst.
- 2005 Leon Frissen.
