Willem Baron Michiels van Kessenich
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Willem Baron Michiels van Kessenich (born October 16, 1902 in Langebrück , † January 9, 1992 in De Bilt ) was a Dutch politician , long-time mayor of Maastricht and an honorary citizen of the city of Aachen .
Live and act
Baron van Kessenich, descended from an old Flemish-Dutch family from the village of Kessenich in the municipality of Kinrooi / Belgium , who was ennobled in the 18th century, as well as the master of Hattem Castle near Roermond , was first mayor of the small municipality of Beek from 1933 , before becoming mayor from 1937 became mayor of Maastricht .
After Adolf Hitler appointed the Austrian National Socialist Arthur Seyß-Inquart as Reich Commissioner for the Netherlands on May 29, 1940, during the German occupation in World War II , the tasks of Mayor Michiels van Kessenich and his city administration were drastically restricted. Elections could no longer be held and the mayor had to take over most of the duties of his MPs himself. When he was finally to be forced to reveal the names of Jews and other persecuted groups, some of whom were already held hostage or in German forced labor camps, he refused and resigned from his post on October 15, 1941.
After the liberation from the Germans by the Allies , Michiels van Kessenich took over the office of mayor again in 1944, although he had also been proposed for the position of Minister for Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Willem Schermerhorn . He held this office over several electoral terms until 1967, making him one of the longest serving mayors in the Netherlands.
After the war, Michiels van Kessenich not only tried to have the war damage in his city repaired quickly, but also advocated intensive economic, social and cultural cooperation with the new German authorities across the nearby German-Dutch border in the city at an early stage and the state of Aachen . In doing so, he laid the foundation for the later “MAHHL” city association, which was later joined by the cities of Heerlen / NL as well as Hasselt and Liège in Belgium.
In Maastricht itself, the restoration of the carillon in Maastricht City Hall in 1962 and the Pottenberg shopping center in 1963 as well as many other urban renewals were the result of his efforts, as well as the organization and deployment of "traffic brigades" in 1949, comparable to German traffic cadets . Michiels van Kessenich was also a member of the Dutch Committee of the Atlantic Union ( NATO ) for several years and was one of 242 co-signers of the second NATO Declaration of November 12, 1962, which among other things regulated the reorientation of NATO after the partial departure of France.
Honors
- For his services to the city administration and his support for the development of churches and church organizations after the war, he was received by Pope Paul VI. appointed "Secret Kamerheer met Kap en Degen van zijne Heiligheid" (Secret Chamberlain of His Holiness with Cap and Sword), an honorary title for lay people who are committed to the Church and abolished in 1968.
- On January 6, 1968, he was honored with honorary citizenship of the city of Aachen for his great services to the early opening of the borders between the Netherlands and Germany after the Second World War .
- Because of his pronounced sense of humor and carnival customs, van Kessenich received the order against the seriousness of the Aachen Carnival Association in 1956 .
- In 1975 the Michiels van Kessenich fountain in the Herculeshof district of Maastricht was erected and inaugurated in his honor .
Individual evidence
- ↑ secret Kamer army met Cape en Degen van Zijne Heilgheid - Erefuncties voor Leken , access on 31 January 2016th
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kessenich, Willem Baron Michiels van |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Dutch politician, Mayor of Maastricht |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 16, 1902 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Langebrück |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 9, 1992 |
| Place of death | De Bilt |