Joan Röell (21 July 1844 – 13 July 1914) was a Dutch nobleman, lawyer and statesman. He was a member of a prominent Dutch noble family which produced many public administrators, and politicians. From 1894 to 1897 Röell headed the Dutch government as Prime Minister, (formally: ''chairman of the Council of Ministers'') and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Early life and education

Röell was born in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

, to (1806–1883), member (1842) and registrar (1843–1858) of the

States of North Holland The Provincial Council of North Holland ( nl, Provinciale Staten van Noord-Holland, ), also known as the States of North Holland, is the provincial council of North Holland, Netherlands. It forms the legislative body of the province. Its 55 seats ...

, King's Commissioner of

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

(1858–1860) and of

North Holland North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...

(1860–1879), curator of the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

(1859–1883), and his wife Elisabeth van de Poll (1808–1862). He attended a boarding school in

Sassenheim Sassenheim () is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The former municipality covered an area of 6.62 km² (of which 0.23 km² water) and had a population of 14,906 in 2005. Sinc ...

, and later a gymnasium in Utrecht. From 1861 to 23 November 1866, he studied Roman and Contemporary Law at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

, after which he briefly worked as a lawyer.

Political career

As a former registrar of the States of South Holland, Röell was familiar with the intricacies of local and regional government and water management. In 1877, he was elected into the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

for the district of

. He was re-elected in 1881 and 1884, but lost his seat to Æneas, Baron Mackay in 1886. He became a member of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

until he won back his seat in the House from Mackay in 1888. He was re-elected again in 1891. In the House, he was concerned with various policy areas, including education, water management, health, constitutional amendment, suffrage, home affairs,

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

affairs and taxes. After the 1894 general election, Röell became

formateur A formateur (French for "someone who forms, who constitutes") is a politician who is appointed to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur ...

, and formed a liberal cabinet in which he served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

. He also became the chairman of the Council of Ministers, a position that would later be dubbed

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. In 1886, his cabinet greatly expanded suffrage, doubling the electorate. In 1897, after finishing his term, he stood for election to the House of Representatives again, but was not elected, and returned to the Senate one year later. In 1901, Röell returned to House of Representatives for the district of Utrecht II. After his re-election in 1905, he served as President of the House of Representatives, until he lost his seat in 1909. After another stint in the Senate for North Holland, from 1910 to 1912, Röell was appointed

Vice-President of the Council of State The vice-president of the Council of State ( nl, Vice-President van de Raad van State) is the ''de facto'' presiding officer of the Council of State. The monarch serves as the ''ex officio'' president of the Council of State but in reality seldo ...

. Röell died on 13 July 1914 in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, eight days before his 70th birthday, and was buried in the family vault in

Leusden Leusden () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It is located about 3 kilometres southeast of Amersfoort. The western part of the municipality lies on the slopes of the Utrecht Hill Ridge and is largely co ...

three days later.

Private life

Röell married

Jonkvrouw (female equivalent: ; french: Écuyer; en, Squire) is an honorific in the Low Countries denoting the lowest rank within the nobility. In the Netherlands, this in general concerns a prefix used by the untitled nobility. In Belgium, this is the ...

Eritia Ena Romelia de Beaufort (1843 – 1910) in Utrecht on 10 September 1868. The couple remained childless.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roell, Joan 1844 births 1914 deaths Prime Ministers of the Netherlands Vice-presidents of the Council of State (Netherlands) Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Speakers of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the Council of State (Netherlands) Aide-de-camp to the Monarch of the Netherlands Independent politicians in the Netherlands Jonkheers of the Netherlands Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church People from Haarlem Dutch people of German descent