Jhr. Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff (7 August 1872 – 24 April 1957) was a

Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies ( nl, gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands Indië) represented Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949. Occupied by Japanese fo ...

and a Dutch minister for foreign affairs.

Family

Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff was a descendant of the

De Graeff De Graeff (; also: '' De Graef, Graef, Graeff, Graaff'', Graaf and ''De Graeff van Polsbroek'') is an old Dutch patrician and noble family, The Amsterdam line of the family played an important role during the Dutch Golden Age. They were at the ...

-family from the

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( nl, Gouden Eeuw ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the era from 1588 (the birth of the Dutch Republic) to 1672 (the Rampjaar, "Disaster Year"), in which Dutch trade, science, and Dutch art, ...

. He was a son of the

general consul A consul is an official representative of the government of one Sovereign state, state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship be ...

and Dutch minister in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Dirk de Graeff van Polsbroek Jhr. Dirk de Graeff van Polsbroek (born ''Dirk de Graeff''; named also ''Van Polsbroek'' or ''Polsbroek'') (Amsterdam, 28 August 1833 – 27 June 1916, The Hague) was a Dutch aristocrat, merchant and diplomat. Between 1863 and 1868 he was Dutch C ...

, and Bonne Elisabeth Royer. De Graeff married

jonkvrouw (female equivalent: ; french: Écuyer; en, Squire) is an honorific in the Low Countries denoting the lowest rank within the nobility. In the Netherlands, this in general concerns a prefix used by the untitled nobility. In Belgium, this is the ...

Caroline Angelique van der Wijck, daughter of

jonkheer (female equivalent: ; french: Écuyer; en, Squire) is an honorific in the Low Countries denoting the lowest rank within the nobility. In the Netherlands, this in general concerns a prefix used by the untitled nobility. In Belgium, this is the ...

Carel Herman Aart van der Wijck, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. They had seven children; a grandson of his is Jan Jaap de Graeff.

Career

COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Ontvangst van Gouverneur-Generaal De Graeff in de Baai van Gorontalo TMnr 60048798

De Graeff was an unorthodox man of a

Remonstrant The Remonstrants (or the Remonstrant Brotherhood) is a Protestant movement that had split from the Dutch Reformed Church in the early 17th century. The early Remonstrants supported Jacobus Arminius, and after his death, continued to maintain his ...

background, who was mistakenly assumed to be a CHU sympathizer. Between 1890 and 1895 he studied law at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

, where he met his friends for life, Johan Paul Count of Limburg Stirum and Jhr.

Frans Beelaerts van Blokland Jhr. Frans Beelaerts van Blokland (21 January 1872, The Hague – 27 March 1956, The Hague) was a Dutch politician and diplomat. Personal life After attending the private school, Van Bouscholte, and Gymnasium Haganum, Beelaerts van Blokland s ...

, and then moved to the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

. De Graeff became secretary official and general secretary of the governor-general

Alexander Willem Frederik Idenburg Alexander Willem Frederik Idenburg (23 July 1861 – 28 February 1935) was a Dutch military officer and politician of the Anti Revolutionary Party who served as Governor-General of Suriname from 1905 until 1908, and the Dutch East Indies from 1 ...

. In 1914 he became a member, and in the beginning of 1917 vice president of the Council of the Dutch East Indies. After his East Indies stint, de Graeff became envoy in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

(1919-1922) and in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

(1922-1926), and was governor-general of the Dutch East Indies from 1926–1931. There, de Graeff tried in vain to conduct an ethical regime that catered to moderate nationalists. De Graeff was also the Dutch minister for foreign affairs for an unspecified period during 1936 and 1937. During De Graeff's term as Foreign Minister, the Netherlands returned to pure neutrality. Throughout 1936, de Graeff served as a "sort of stooge" to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Foreign Secretary

Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achieving rapid promo ...

in relation to the question of weakening the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

. De Graeff wanted to modify the League until it became "purely consultative", coax Germany back into it, and abolish forever all sanctions "except the one Sanction that an aggressor would be automatically expelled from the League."

Chivalric Orders & Honors

Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff received various honors: * Officer in the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

, August 31, 1909 *

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

in the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands ( nl, De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, french: L'Ordre du Lion Néerlandais) is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on ...

, 30 August 1913 *

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

of the Order of the Netherlands Lion, 29 April 1930 * Bearer of the

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...

Order of Oranje-Nassau, 10 September 1931 * Grand Cross of the

Order of the White Lion The Order of the White Lion ( cs, Řád Bílého lva) is the highest order of the Czech Republic. It continues a Czechoslovak order of the same name created in 1922 as an award for foreigners (Czechoslovakia had no civilian decoration for its ...

, 29 April 1937

Notes

References

* ''Voor u persoonlijk''. "Brieven van minister van Buitenlandse Zaken jhr. A.C.D. de Graeff aan gezant J.P. graaf van Limburg Stirum (1933–1937)", Ned. Hist. Genootschap (1986) * C. Fasseur, ''Graeff, jhr. Andries Cornelis Dirk de (1872–1957)'', in: Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland, deel II, 190 * B. de Graaff, ''Een welwillend man met een vrij gering werkelijkheidsbegrip'', in: "De Nederlandse ministers van Buitenlandse Zaken in de twintigste eeuw" (1999) * H.T. Colenbrander, ''Bij het aftreden van gouverneur-generaal De Graeff'', in De Gids 95 (1931) III, 373–404; * J.E. Stokvis, ''Een landvoogdij'', in De Socialistische Gids 16 (1931) 824–831; * Rn. Ms. Noto Soeroto, ''Een groote Nederlander. Bij het afscheid van jhr.mr. A.C.D. de Graeff van Indonesië'', in Oedaya 8 (1931) 124–125; * Herman Smit: ''Landvoogd tussen twee vuren. jonkheer mr. A.C.D. de Graeff, gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands-Indie 1926-1931''. , (2011)

External links

Portraits of the Governor-Generals of the Dutch East Indies on KITLV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graeff, Andries Cornelies Dirk De 1872 births 1957 deaths Governors-General of the Dutch East Indies Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Ambassadors of the Netherlands to Japan Dutch nobility Andries Cornelis Dirk, Graeff de Politicians from The Hague Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Independent politicians in the Netherlands 20th-century Dutch East Indies people