List of rulers of the Netherlands
Since the fall of Spain in the 16th century, the rulers of the Netherlands have been the governors from the House of Orange . In the Republic of the Seven United Provinces they shared power with the states , the estates. A descendant of these governors became the first king of the Netherlands in 1815 .
Republic of the Seven United Provinces
Governor
image | Name (life data) | Reign | title | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|
William I of Orange, "the silent one" (de Zwijger) (April 24, 1533 - July 10, 1584) |
1559-1584 | Governor | From 1568 Wilhelm I was the leader of the Dutch War of Independence against Spain, also known as the Eighty Years War ; In 1584 he was shot by an assassin | |
Moritz of Orange (November 13, 1567 - April 23, 1625) |
1584-1625 | Governor | Son of Wilhelm I; he was able to drive the Spaniards out of the seven provinces within four years | |
Friedrich Heinrich of Orange (January 29, 1584 - March 14, 1647) |
1625-1647 | Governor | Son of Wilhelm I; he conquered several fortified cities held by the Spaniards, including Herzogenbusch and Maastricht | |
William II of Orange (May 27, 1626 - November 6, 1650) |
1647-1650 | Governor | Son of Friedrich Heinrichs; the Peace of Westphalia sealed the independence of the Netherlands |
States General
From 1650 to 1672 the stadtholder was suspended.
image | Name (life data) | Reign | title | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|
Johan de Witt (September 24, 1625 - August 20, 1672) |
1650-1672 | Council pensioner | During his tenure there were two wars with England ; After both, de Witt was in charge of the peace agreements; In 1667 he abolished the office of governor; In 1672 war broke out again against England, France , Cologne and Munster ; de Witt resigned and was shortly afterwards murdered by supporters of the Orange |
Governor
image | Name (life data) | Reign | title | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|
William III. of Orange-Nassau (November 14, 1650 - March 19, 1702) |
1672-1702 | Governor | Son of Wilhelm II, also King of England since 1689; after the overthrow of Johan de Witt, he was elected governor of the Netherlands; he was able to push back the invading forces of France and thus preserve the country's independence |
Inheritance holder
From 1702 to 1747 the governorship was suspended. Under Wilhelm IV, who was appointed in 1747, the office became hereditary.
image | Name (life data) | Reign | title | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|
William IV of Orange-Diez (September 1, 1711 - October 22, 1751) |
1747-1751 | Inheritance holder | Son of the Frisian governor Johann Wilhelm Friso von Nassau-Diez; after France invaded Flanders in 1747, the office of governor general of the Netherlands was reinstated | |
Wilhelm V of Oranien-Diez (March 8, 1748 - April 9, 1806) |
1751-1795 | Inheritance holder | Son of Wilhelm IV .; 1751–1759 under the tutelage of his mother and 1759–1768 by Duke Ludwig Ernst von Braunschweig ; In 1795 the French invaded the Netherlands and Wilhelm fled to England |
Batavian Republic
The Batavian Republic, created in 1795, was entirely dependent on France. State power lay with a legislative assembly and a five-member board of directors. In 1805 Napoleon Bonaparte reintroduced the office of council pensioner.
image | Name (life data) | Reign | title | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|
Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck (October 31, 1761 - February 15, 1825) |
1805-1806 | Council pensioner | As a council pensioner he had almost unlimited power; after only one year he was deposed and the Netherlands converted into a monarchy |
Kingdom of Holland
image | Name (life data) | Reign | title | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ludwig Napoleon (September 2, 1778 - July 25, 1846) |
1806-1810 | king | Brother of Napoleon Bonaparte ; he reformed the law and implemented a new constitution, which u. a. made the Netherlands a centralized state; but since he did not succeed in repelling an English invasion, he had to cede all of the Dutch areas south of the Rhine to France; on July 2, 1810 he abdicated and went into exile in Austria | |
Ludwig II (October 11, 1804 - March 17, 1831) |
1810 | king | Son of Louis Napoleon; the still underage Ludwig followed his father to the throne for only a few days; on July 13th he too abdicated, and Holland was completely annexed by France |
French occupation
From 1810 to 1813 the Netherlands was part of the French Empire. Charles-François Lebrun was the governor general of the new departments .
interregnum
image | Name (life data) | Reign | title | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|
William VI. of Orange-Nassau (August 24, 1772 - December 12, 1843) |
1813-1815 | Sovereign Prince | Son of Wilhelm V .; after the French were expelled from the Netherlands in 1813, Wilhelm was elected sovereign and formed a provisional government |
Kingdom of the Netherlands
image | Name (life data) | Reign | title | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|
Wilhelm I (August 24, 1772 - December 12, 1843) |
1815-1840 | king | on March 16, 1815, Wilhelm was elected King of the Netherlands; the new state initially included Belgium , which became independent in 1830; his insistence on retaking Belgium, the rejection of reforms and the relationship with a Catholic countess led to his abdication on October 7, 1840 | |
Wilhelm II (December 6, 1792 - March 17, 1849) |
1840-1849 | king | Son of Wilhelm I .; a constitutional amendment later enabled the implementation of the parliamentary system | |
William III. (February 19, 1817 - November 23, 1890) |
1849-1890 | king | Son of Wilhelm II; rarely got involved in politics | |
Wilhelmina (August 31, 1880 - November 28, 1962) |
Nov 23, 1890 - Sep 6 1948 (coronation Sep 6, 1898) |
queen | Daughter of Wilhelm III .; in her first eight years of reign until she came of age, she was under the reign of her mother Emma zu Waldeck and Pyrmont ; she was in exile in London during World War II ; In 1948 she abdicated in favor of her daughter Juliana | |
Juliana (April 30, 1909 - March 20, 2004) |
6 Sep 1948 - April 30, 1980 | queen | Daughter of Wilhelmina; In 1949 she gave Indonesia independence; Since the beginning of her reign, Juliana tried to bring the royal house closer to the people; on April 30, 1980 she abdicated in favor of her daughter Beatrix | |
Beatrix (born January 31, 1938) |
April 30, 1980 - April 30, 2013 | queen | Daughter of Julianas; abdicated on April 30, 2013 in favor of her son Willem-Alexander | |
Willem-Alexander (born April 27, 1967) |
April 30, 2013 - Acting | king | Son of Beatrix '; Enthronement on April 30, 2013 |