Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff

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Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff, 1929

Jonkheer Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff (born August 7, 1872 in The Hague ; † April 24, 1957 ibid) was a Dutch diplomat and statesman from the De Graeff family . Among other things, he was Governor General ( Viceroy ) of the Dutch East Indies and Foreign Minister of the Netherlands.

De Graeff was described as an unorthodox politician of Remonstrant sentiments, and wrongly assumed a sympathy with the Christelijk-Historische Unie . He was non-party and liberal . As governor general he sought an ethical government of the country, which brought him into opposition to the nationalists. During his ministry, the Netherlands returned to its 1914 neutrality policy.

family

De Graeff's ancestors had been city ​​lords of Amsterdam during the 17th century . Andries Cornelis Dirk was the son of the diplomat Dirk de Graeff van Polsbroek , who was successful in Japan, and the Bonne Elisabeth Royer. The former was a granddaughter of Adriana Petronella Countess of Nassau-LaLecq , and thus a direct descendant of William the Silent (William I of Orange) and Moritz von Orange . De Graeff was with Jkvr. Caroline Angelique van der Wijk, a daughter of the then Governor General of the Dutch East Indies. Carel Herman Aart van der Wijck married. From this marriage there was a son and four daughters; Jkvr. Bonne Elisabeth Constance Wilhelmine de Graeff was married to the future Dutch general Murk Boerstra . At the time of the wedding, Boestra was stationed as a military attaché in Japan and China, and De Graeff was envoy in Japan. De Graeff's daughter met him here. The marriage of the carpenter's son and the nobles was based on the free-thinking, liberal ideology of Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff.

Career

Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff opens the People's Council of the Dutch East Indies (1930)

Between 1890 and 1895 he studied law at the University of Leiden , where he met his two life friends Johan Paul van Limburg Stirum and Frans Beelaerts van Blokland . The Colonial Minister Jacob Hendrik Bergsma became aware of him because of his excellent knowledge of constitutional law . After completing his studies, De Graeff went to the Dutch East Indies to take a position as Secretary of the Governor General Alexander Willem Frederik Idenburg . Through his marriage to the daughter of the Governor General Van der Wijck, he received a lobby within the Dutch-East Indian government.

Between 1900 and 1914 De Graeff worked as a commissioner and later as a secretary. In 1913 he was appointed general secretary. In 1914 De Graeff was appointed to the Council of the Dutch East Indies. In 1917 he became Vice President of the Council. The following year he returned to the Netherlands because of private difficulties. De Graeff played the mediating role between Governor General Van Limburg Stirum and Colonial Minister Idenburg, who felt that the Governor General had too much legislative power in East India. De Graeff lost his desired post of governor general through his mediation and ultimately party name for Van Limburg Stirum. At this dead end in his career, Foreign Minister Herman Adriaan van Karnebeek offered him the Dutch embassy in Tokyo (1919–1922). He then moved to Washington as ambassador (1922–1926).

Governor General

In 1926 Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff received the long-sought office of Governor General of the Dutch East Indies. De Graeff sought to develop a so-called ethical management concept. He tried to win the confidence of the moderate nationalists, but was thereby isolated from all (radical) currents. In the Netherlands, De Graeff was seen as "hyper-ethical". In the year of his accession there were riots by communist groups in Java and Sumatra . De Graeff established peace and sentenced around 4,500 activists to prison terms. A year later he expanded the advisory assembly of the Volksraad without giving up any decision-making power. In 1929 the conservative Simon de Graaff was appointed as the successor to Jacob Christiaan Koningsberger as the new Minister of the Colonies, whereby De Graeff lost the political backing for his moderate colonial policy. De Graeff came into conflict with the nationalists and ultimately failed with his policy. In 1931 Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff returned to the Netherlands due to his complete isolation from home and the poor general condition of his wife.

Foreign minister

In 1933, due to his ethical administration in East India, he was appointed Foreign Minister in the cabinet of Hendrik Colijn when the Dutch government was restructured . In this function he was in active political cooperation with his childhood friend and ambassador from Berlin, Count Johan Paul van Limburg Stirum. During his tenure as Foreign Minister, he returned the Netherlands to its previous neutrality . He also succeeded in strengthening the previously bad relationship with neighboring Belgium. In 1937, De Graeff resigned from his post as foreign minister due to the precarious political situation with the German Reich and burgeoning extremism. He had not held any other political office in the last 20 years of his life.

League of Nations

De Graeff was an active contributor and delegate to the League of Nations and Anthony Edens ; so he succeeded in persuading the Netherlands to join it. He wanted to modify the League of Nations to prevent it from reverting to a purely advisory body. He was for the resumption of Germany and for the lifting of all sanctions except those that automatically exclude one country from the League of Nations in the event of an attack on another. As an activist of the League of Nations, he also led the initiative to admit the Soviet Union. However, this company failed due to the veto of the Dutch Council of Ministers and Switzerland. In 1935, De Graeff opposed the League of Nations' financial sanctions against Italy for its occupation of the Abyssinian Empire . Due to the resulting disagreements and the German armament and the occupation of the Rhineland contrary to the Versailles Treaty, the Netherlands returned to its neutrality policy of 1914, which led to a weakening of the diplomatic position of the European democracies against the German and Italian dictatorships.

Orders and awards

publication

  • Art. 126 of Grondwet, 1894, doctorate, Leiden University

Literature (excerpt)

  • Voor u persoonlijk. Brieven van minister van Buitenlandse Zaken yr. ACD de Graeff aan gezant JP graaf van Limburg Stirum (1933-1937) . Ned. Hist. Genootschap, 1986
  • Cees Fasseur: Graeff, yr. Andries Cornelis Dirk de (1872-1957) . In: Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland, deel II, 190
  • B. de Graaff: Een 'welwillend one met een vrij low werkelijkheidsbegrip'. In: De Nederlandse ministers van Buitenlandse Zaken in de twintigste eeuw , 1999
  • HT Colenbrander: Bij het aftreden van gouverneur-generaal De Graeff . In De Gids 95 (1931) III, 373-404;
  • JE Stokvis: Een landvoogdij . In: De Socialistische Gids 16 (1931) 824-831
  • Marg. Ms. Noto Soeroto: Een groote Nederlander. Bij het afscheid van jhr.mr. ACD de Graeff van Indonesië . In Oedaya 8 (1931) 124-125
  • Herman Smit: Landvoogd tussen twee vuren. jonkheer mr. ACD de Graeff, gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands-Indie 1926-1931 . ISBN 978-90-8704-249-3 , (2011)

Web links

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personal data
SURNAME Graeff, Andries Cornelis Dirk de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch diplomat, politician
DATE OF BIRTH August 7, 1872
PLACE OF BIRTH The Hague , Netherlands
DATE OF DEATH April 24, 1957
Place of death The Hague , Netherlands