Jean-Jacques Madeleine Willmar (6 March 1792 – 20 November 1866) was a Luxembourgian politician and

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

. An Orangist, he was the second Prime Minister of Luxembourg, serving for five years, from 6 December 1848 until 23 September 1853. Born in 1792 in the city of Luxembourg, he was the son of

Jean-Georges Willmar {{unreferenced, date=October 2013 Jean-Georges-Othon-Martin-Victorin-Zacharie Willmar (5 September 1763 - 1 January 1831) was a jurist, and governor of Luxembourg from 1817 to 1830. Born in Prüm, Willmar was a lawyer in the ''Conseil souverain'' ...

, who was governor of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg from 1817 to 1830.Thewes, Guy
"Les gouvernements du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg depuis 1848"
. Service information et presse du gouvernment. Luxembourg: Imprimerie Centrale, 2011. p. 16-19 In 1814 he received his Licence in Law in Paris, and became a lawyer at the bar of Luxembourg city. He was appointed a judge in 1824. From 1830 to 1839, after the

Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. T ...

, he supported the Dutch King William I, during a period when a large part of Luxembourg wanted to join the new Belgian state. In 1840 he was appointed ''Procureur général''. From 1841 to 1848 he was a member of the

Assembly of Estates The Assembly of Estates (french: Assemblée des États, german: Ständeversammlung) was the legislature of Luxembourg from 1841 to 1848, and again from 1856 to 1868. Background and role The Congress of Vienna awarded the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg ...

, and in 1848 was the Luxembourgish representative at the Frankfurt Parliament. From 2 December 1848 to 23 September 1853 he was prime minister and Administrator-General (Minister) for Foreign Affairs, Justice, Religion and education. Norbert Metz, who had become Finance Minister, and who was pro-Belgian and against membership of the German Confederation and the Zollverein, had a great influence on foreign policy, which led to tensions with Germany. Relations with the Netherlands also became chilled after the death of William II in 1849. His son,

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...

, who had himself represented by his brother Prince Henry, led a strictly conservative and reactionary policy, and deposed the government in 1853. Willmar's time in office saw the decision to introduce the Franc instead of the Guilder as the accounting unit of the government. In 1854, the first Luxembourgish copper coins were made. From 28 November 1857 onwards, Willmar was a member of the newly founded Council of State, and remained as such until his death on 26 November 1866 in Luxembourg city.

References

, - , - Prime Ministers of Luxembourg Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg Ministers for Justice of Luxembourg Members of the Council of State of Luxembourg Luxembourgian Orangists 19th-century Luxembourgian judges 1792 births 1866 deaths People from Luxembourg City Members of the Frankfurt Parliament {{Luxembourg-politician-stub