Jan Baptist De Vos (7 February 1844 – 30 March 1923) was mayor (''

burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief m ...

'') of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

from 15 March 1909 until 21 July 1921. He stayed on as mayor after the capture of Antwerp by German forces during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and remained in office after the end of

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

Career

Jan De Vos was born in

Dendermonde Dendermonde (; french: Termonde, ) is a city in the Flemish province of East Flanders in Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Dendermonde and the towns of Appels, Baasrode, Grembergen, Mespelare, Oudegem, Schoonaarde, and Sint-Gillis-b ...

. He became a successful trader and entered local politics when he was elected in the city council as councillor on 19 October 1890.

King Leopold II * german: link=no, Leopold Ludwig Philipp Maria Viktor , house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , father = Leopold I of Belgium , mother = Louise of Orléans , birth_date = , birth_place = Brussels, Belgium , death_date = ...

appointed him mayor of Antwerp on 22 February 1909, much against the wishes of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, of which Jan De Vos was also member, who would have preferred the alderman (''schepen'')

Victor Desguin Victor Desguin (; 30 January 1838 – 8 July 1919) was a Belgian liberal politician. He was a popular alderman of the city of Antwerp in charge of education and municipal schools at the end of the 19th century. He was twice acting mayor of Ant ...

. The events of October 1914 were the most intense of his tenure. The German Army besieged the city of Antwerp and the situation worsened in the city due to the German bombardment. The city council decided to negotiate the surrender of the city. De Vos negotiated terms with General

Hans Hartwig von Beseler Hans Hartwig von Beseler (27 April 1850 – 20 December 1921) was a German colonel general. Biography Beseler was born in Greifswald, Province of Pomerania (1815–1945), Pomerania. His father Georg Beseler, was a law professor at the Univers ...

of the German Army in

Kontich Kontich (, old spelling: ''Contich'') is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Kontich proper and Waarloos. In 2021, Kontich had a total population of 21,260. The total area is 23.67&nbs ...

to the south of Antwerp. De Vos signed the surrender of the city and the remaining fortresses around Antwerp on 10 October 1914. De Vos remained in office throughout the war. After German capitulation, he was not prosecuted for collaboration and stayed on as mayor until 21 July 1921. He died on 30 March 1923, aged 79.

External links

Treaty of Kontich - Surrender of Antwerp
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Vos, Jan 1844 births 1923 deaths Mayors of Antwerp, Belgium Belgian people of World War I

Career

See also

External links