The De Geer family (also: De Geer van Jutphaas and De Geer van Oudegein) is a prominent industrial family of Walloon origin that belongs to the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

and

Dutch nobility The Dutch nobility is a small elite social class constisting of individuals or families recognized as noble, and with or without a title of nobility in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The existence of nobility was established in the Constitution ...

History

The name derives from the town of

Geer Geer (; wa, Djer) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Geer had a total population of 2,854. The total area is 23.62 km² which gives a population density of 121 inhabitants per km� ...

near

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

(in present-day Belgium). The oldest known ancestor, Lambier de Geer, lord of Gaillarmont, died in 1399 in Liège, then part of the

Prince-Bishopric of Liège The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial State, Imperial Estate, so the List of ...

. His descendant Louys de Geer (1535–1602) moved from Liège to

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

and later to

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

in the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

for religious reasons. Subsequent generations became notable in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

from the early 17th century, mainly centered on the iron-foundry company town

Finspång Finspång () is a locality and the seat of Finspång Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 12,440 inhabitants in 2010. Overview Finspång is a traditional industrial town. The first industries were established in 1580 when a Royal fact ...

, but often extending to science, art and national politics. The larger, Swedish branch of the family retained its contacts with the Netherlands. Some of them hold the title of

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

. Both branches are still in existence.

Notable members

* Louis De Geer (1587–1652), Dutch financier and industrialist, founder of the Swedish branch. * , industrial entrepreneur. *

Charles De Geer Baron Charles de Geer (the family is usually known as De Geer with a capitalized "De" and is pronounced "de yer"); Finspång in Risinge 30 January 1720 – Stockholm 7 March 1778) was a Swedish industrialist and entomologist. Life De Geer, w ...

(1720–1778), Swedish entomologist. * , Swedish politician * (1748–1803), Swedish

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

member * (1750–1820), Finnish

lantmarskalk Lantmarskalk, ( en, Lord Marshal) was the title of one of the speakers of the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates, from 1627 to 1866 and of the Diet of Grand Duchy of Finland from 1809 to 1906. The Lantmarskalk was appointed by the Estate of the Nobl ...

of the Noble estate at the

Diet of Porvoo The Diet of Porvoo ( fi, Porvoon maapäivät, or unhistorically ; sv, Borgå lantdag; russian: Боргоский сейм), was the summoned legislative assembly to establish the Grand Duchy of Finland in 1809 and the heir of the powers of the ...

. *

Charlotta Aurora De Geer Charlotta Aurora De Geer later ''Gyldenstolpe'' and ''Wetterstedt'' (1779–1834), was a politically influential Swedish people, Swedish countess, salon (gathering), salonist and courtier. Life Courtier Born to the royal court chamberlain baron Jo ...

(1779–1834), Swedish salonist. * (1781–1861), Swedish

of the

Riksdag of the Estates Riksdag of the Estates ( sv, Riksens ständer; informally sv, Ståndsriksdagen) was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to t ...

* (1784–1857), Dutch politician. *

Ulla De Geer Ulrika "Ulla" Sofia De Geer, Birth name, née ''Sprengtporten'' (20 August 1793 – 22 September 1869 in Stockholm), was a politically influential Swedish countess and salon holder. She was married to the politician count Carl De Geer (1781–1861 ...

(1793-1869), Swedish salonist. * (1816–1903), Dutch jurist and historian *

Louis Gerhard De Geer Baron Louis Gerard De Geer af Finspång (18 July 181824 September 1896) was a Swedish statesman and writer. He was born at Finspång Castle in Risinge parish. He was a lawyer, and in 1855 became president of the Göta hovrätt, or lord justice ...

(1818–1896), Swedish statesman and writer, Prime Minister of Sweden 1876–80 *

Karl Vilhelm Konstantin De Geer Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austrian ...

(1839–1904), Finnish general in the Imperial Russian arm

*

Gerhard Louis De Geer Baron Gerhard Louis De Geer of Finspång (usually known as Louis De Geer; 27 November 185425 February 1935) was a Swedish politician, who served in the first chamber of the ''Riksdag'' 1901–14, was governor of Kristianstad County 1905–23, an ...

(1854–1935), baron, Prime Minister of Sweden 1920–21 *

Gerard De Geer af Finspång Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this ca ...

(1858–1943), Swedish geologist. *

Sten De Geer Sten De Geer was a Swedish professor of geography and ethnography. As son of geologist Gerard De Geer Sten was born into the Swedish nobility holding the title of baron. 1886 births 1933 deaths Swedish geographers Swedish ethnographers U ...

(1886–1933), Swedish geographer and ethnographer *

Dirk Jan de Geer Dirk Jan de Geer (14 December 1870 – 28 November 1960) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Christian Historical Union (CHU) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 8 March 1 ...

(1870–1960), prime minister of the Netherlands. * (1927–1984), Swedish artist and portrait painter. Great-grandson of Louis Gerard De Geer. *

Carl Johan De Geer Baron Carl Johan Louis De Geer af Finspång (born 13 July 1938) is a Swedish artist, writer, musician and ''friherre'' (baron) of the De Geer noble family. De Geer was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He grew up in a castle in Skåne, in southe ...

(born 1938), Swedish artist. * (1946–2020), Dutch actor, director and television producer. *

Boudewijn de Geer Boudewijn Ernst de Geer (born 24 June 1955) is a Dutch retired professional football player and coach who played for ADO Den Haag, HFC Haarlem, Molde, Lillestrøm, Hércules CF, De Graafschap and Brisbane Lions. He is the grandson of Dirk ...

(born 1955), Dutch

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player, grandson of

. * (born 1971), Swedish nationalist and

traditionalist Catholic Traditionalist Catholicism is the set of beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, Christian liturgy, liturgical forms, Catholic devotions, devotions, and presentations of Catholic Church, Catholic teaching that existed in the Catholic Church befo ...

writer. *

Mike de Geer Mike de Geer (born 28 December 1989 in The Hague) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays for HBS Craeyenhout in the Dutch Topklasse. He formerly played for ADO Den Haag. His father is former football player Boudewijn de Geer, and his gre ...

(born 1989), Dutch

player, son of

References

Literature

*Nederland's Adelsboek 83 (1993), pp. 42–86. {{Authority control