Gerrit, Count Schimmelpenninck (25 February 1794 – 4 October 1863) was a Dutch businessman and politician, whose views ranged from liberal to conservative. He was the son of Grand Pensionary

Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck (31 October 1761 – 15 February 1825), Lord of Nyenhuis, Peckedam and Gellicum, was a Dutch jurist, ambassador and politician who served as Grand Pensionary of the Batavian Republic from 1805 to 1806. Education Schi ...

and a member of the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

. He was also the first holder of the modern day post

Prime Minister of the Netherlands The prime minister of the Netherlands ( nl, Minister-president van Nederland) is the head of the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands. Although the monarch is the ''de jure'' head of government, the prime minister ''de facto'' ...

, then known as the Chairman of the Council of Ministers After other functions, among which chief of the Nederlandsche Handelmaatschappij, he became head of secretary in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and later in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The primary reason of William II to get him to the Netherlands and have him be appointed as

was to keep

Thorbecke Johan Rudolph Thorbecke (14 January 1798 – 4 June 1872) was a Dutch liberal statesman, one of the most important Dutch politicians of the 19th century. Thorbecke is best known for heading the commission that drafted the revision of the Consti ...

out of the Council of Ministers. In March 1848 he became

Chairman of the Council of Ministers The President of the Council of Ministers (sometimes titled Chairman of the Council of Ministers) is the most senior member of the cabinet in the executive branch of government in some countries. Some Presidents of the Council of Ministers are t ...

, holding the ministerial offices of

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

and

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

. His proposal to design a Constitution following British model, which would imply that the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

could not be dissolved by the King, was rejected by the other ministers. He tendered his resignation on 14 May 1848 and was succeeded by

Jacob de Kempenaer Jacobus Mattheüs de Kempenaer (6 July 1793 – 12 February 1870) was a Dutch politician and lawyer who served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers from November 1848 to November 1849. He served as a member of the House of Representatives, ch ...

References

* * 1794 births 1863 deaths Politicians from Amsterdam Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Counts of the Netherlands {{Netherlands-politician-stub