Marcel van Grunsven (December 4, 1896 - July 24, 1969) was mayor of Heerlen from 1926 to 1961. He led Heerlen through the crisis years, the Second World War, and the booming mining years. He didn’t fear personal sacrifice, like salary cuts. Imminently after his installment he turned Heerlen politics around, also eliminating the cities debt.
Together with city planers and architects, for instance Frits Peutz, he bettered the infrastructure of Heerlen, trying to fix social-economical problems. He was also a lover of arts and culture stimulating it in the city. He was made honorary citizen of Heerlen and the culture price of Heerlen is named after him (Van Grunsvenprijs).