Guillaume de Pamele or Willem van Pamele (1528–1591) was a royal office-holder in the

Habsburg Netherlands Habsburg Netherlands was the Renaissance period fiefs in the Low Countries held by the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. The rule began in 1482, when the last House of Valois-Burgundy, Valois-Burgundy ruler of the Netherlands, Mary of Burgu ...

during the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) (Historiography of the Eighty Years' War#Name and periodisation, c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and t ...

. He served as president of the

Council of Flanders The Council of Flanders ( nl, Raad van Vlaanderen, french: Conseil de Flandres), primarily sitting in the Gravensteen in Ghent from 1407, was a court of law operating under the authority of the Count of Flanders and exercising jurisdiction thr ...

and of the

Privy Council of the Habsburg Netherlands The Privy Council or Secret Council ( nl, Geheime Raad, french: Conseil Privé) was one of the three "collateral councils" (along with the Council of Finance and Council of State) that together formed the highest government institutions of the Habs ...

Life

Pamele was born in Bruges on 29 November 1528, the son of Adolphe de Joigny, called de Pamele, and Madeleine Vanden Heede. His father was a councillor of state and privy councillor.

Émile de Borchgrave Baron Émile Jacques Yvon Marie de Borchgrave (1837–1917) was a Belgian historian and diplomat. Life Borchgrave was born in Ghent on 27 December 1837. He was educated at the College of St Barbara in Ghent and spent one year studying philosoph ...

, "Pamele (Guillaume de)", ''

Biographie Nationale de Belgique The ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'' ( French; "National Biography of Belgium") is a biographical dictionary of Belgium. It was published by the Royal Academy of Belgium in 44 volumes between 1866 and 1986. A continuation series, entitled the ' ...

'',
vol. 16
(Brussels, 1901), 526-528. Guillaume himself entered public service as

pensionary A pensionary was a name given to the leading functionary and legal adviser of the principal town corporations in the Low Countries because they received a salary or pension. History The office originated in Flanders. Initially, the role was refe ...

of the city of Bruges, and in this capacity was present at the abdication of

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

. By letters patent of

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

dated 14 May 1561, he was appointed

master of requests Master of Requests, from the Latin Requestarum Magister, is an office that developed in several European systems of law and government in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. Holders of the title had the responsibility of presenting pe ...

to the

Great Council of Mechelen From the 15th century onwards, the Great Council of the Netherlands at Mechelen (Dutch: ''De Grote Raad der Nederlanden te Mechelen''; French: ''le grand conseil des Pays-Bas à Malines''; German: ''der Grosse Rat der Niederlände zu Mecheln'') w ...

. The same year, he married Anne Winnocq (1532–1596). The couple remained childless. In 1575 he became president of the Council of Flanders. At the rebel coup in Ghent on 28 October 1577, he was able to evade capture. On 16 December 1579, the Prince of Parma ordered loyal Catholic members of the Council of Flanders to convene at Douai under Pamele's presidency. The loyalist councillors would continue to meet in Douai until 1585, when they were able to return to Ghent. Pamele himself was knighted by letters patent of 20 September 1581, and the same year became president of the Privy Council. He died in Brussels on 21 January 1591. His heirs were his brothers, Jean and Adolphe, who erected a monumental tomb in

Brussels minster nl, Kathedraal van Sint-Michiel en Sint-Goedele , native_name_lang = , image = Saints-Michel-et-Gudule Luc Viatour.jpg , imagesize = 200px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape ...

recording his achievements. After his death his wife founded a Capuchin house in Bruges. After her own death she was buried with him in Brussels.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pamele, Willem van 1528 births 1591 deaths Politicians from Bruges Presidents of the Privy Council of the Habsburg Netherlands Politicians of the Habsburg Netherlands