Igram van Achelen (1528,

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

– 18 October 1604,

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

) was a Dutch

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

. Van Achelen studied law in

Deventer Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, bu ...

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

and

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

. In 1561 he married the niece of president

Viglius van Aytta Viglius (October 19, 1507, SwichumMay 5, 1577) was the name taken by Wigle Aytta van Zwichem, a Dutch statesman and jurist, a Frisian by birth. Biography He studied at various universities—Louvain, Dole and Bourges among others—devoting hi ...

. In 1550 he was nominated member of the Friesian Regional Council by

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 ...

. In 1570 he became president of the Friesian State Council. A memorial column from 1574 expresses the gratitude of the province for the construction of the dikes after the great floods of 1570. Later, when the Council announced a decree deseating

Don John of Austria John of Austria ( es, Juan, link=no, german: Johann; 24 February 1547 – 1 October 1578) was the natural son born to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V late in life when he was a widower. Charles V met his son only once, recognizing him in a secret ...

, he was suspected to take side for the latter. Van Achelen was incarcerated and released soon thereafter. He redeemed himself only eight years later, when he was awarded the knightly insignia. He became a member 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 ...

, then on 18 August 1598 president of 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 ...

Sources

* ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' - online version at

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1528 births 1604 deaths Dutch politicians 16th-century Dutch people People from 's-Hertogenbosch Presidents of the Great Council {{Netherlands-politician-stub