A grietman (from Old Frisian ''greta'' to accuse, to summon) is partly a forerunner of the current rural
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
in the province of
Friesland
Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...
, and partly the forerunner of a
judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
. The area of jurisdiction was the municipality or
gemeente
As of 24 March 2022, there are 344 municipalities ( nl, gemeenten) and three Caribbean Netherlands, special municipalities () in the Netherlands. The latter is the status of three of the six island territories that make up the Dutch Caribbean. ...
. In the judge function, the concept was also found in the Western side of the province of
Groningen
Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
.
The grietman and judges were responsible for the administration and justice in the Frisian
grietenij A ''grietenij'' was a forerunner to the ''gemeente'' or municipality in Frisia, particularly in
Friesland, and also in Groningen which are now a part of the Netherlands. From the end of the
16th century until 1851, there were a total of 30 ''grie ...
. The grietmannen were in turn elected or appointed, with the cooperation of the
stadholder
In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...
and the Executive Council. The grietman was often kept in the same family.
The eleven Frisian cities have mayors. All 30 grietmen and the 11 mayors had a voting right in the Provincial States, thus giving the rural population a proportional representation in the province.
The Municipalities of Thorbecke law (promulgated in 1851) designated the Frisian grietman as mayors.
References
History of Friesland
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