Johannes Coenraad Kielstra (13 November 1878 – 1 April 1951) was a Dutch professor and Governor of Suriname from 1933 until 1944. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he increased his authority and imprisoned political opponents causing the resignation of all elected members of the

Estates of Suriname The National Assembly (''De Nationale Assemblée'', ''The Assembly'', commonly abbreviated "DNA") is the Parliament, representing the legislative branch of government in Suriname. It is a unicameral legislature. The assembly has been situated in ...

. On 28 December 1943, he was given an honourable discharge by the

Dutch government-in-exile The Dutch government-in-exile ( nl, Nederlandse regering in ballingschap), also known as the London Cabinet ( nl, Londens kabinet), was the government in exile of the Netherlands, supervised by Queen Wilhelmina, that fled to London after the Germ ...

. He served as Ambassador of the Netherlands to Mexico from 1944 until 1948.

Biography

Kielstra was born on 13 November 1878 in

Zwartsluis Zwartsluis is a small city in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is located in the municipality of Zwartewaterland, at the mouth of the Zwarte Water river and the . History Zwartsluis's history started in the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648): ...

, son of a

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

minister. In 1896, he studied law at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

, and received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in 1901. In 1903, he moved to Indonesia, and worked at the Justice Department in

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

(present-day Jakarta). In 1918, Kielstra was appointed professor of colonial political science and economics at

Wageningen University Wageningen University & Research (also known as Wageningen UR; abbreviation: WUR) is a public university in Wageningen, Netherlands, specializing in life sciences with a focus on agriculture, technical and engineering subjects. It is a globally ...

, and would remain professor until 1936. From 1922 until 1923, he was ''

rector magnificus A rector (Latin for 'ruler') is a senior official in an educational institution, and can refer to an official in either a university or a secondary school. Outside the English-speaking world the rector is often the most senior official in a un ...

'' (president) of the university. In 1925, he travelled to the

Dutch West Indies The Dutch Caribbean (historically known as the Dutch West Indies) are the territories, colonies, and countries, former and current, of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean Sea. They are in the north and south-wes ...

and visited

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

which would become the main focus of his writings. In 1925, he was a co-founder of the National Union, a short-lived fascist party. On 16 August 1933, Kielstra was appointed Governor-General of Suriname. He attempted to create autonomous village communities, and rejected assimilation of the different ethnic groups. In 1937, he proposed separate marriage laws for

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

. The

Afro-Surinamese Afro-Surinamese are the inhabitants of Suriname of Sub-Saharan African ancestry. They are descended from enslaved Africans brought to work on sugar plantations. Many of them escaped the plantations and formed independent settlements together, bec ...

were opposed to the proposal, and it was rejected twice by the

. The

German invasion of the Netherlands The German invasion of the Netherlands ( nl, Duitse aanval op Nederland), otherwise known as the Battle of the Netherlands ( nl, Slag om Nederland), was a military campaign part of Case Yellow (german: Fall Gelb), the Nazi German invasion of t ...

resulted in a declaration of a

State of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

in Suriname. Kielstra used the state of emergency to increase his power and circumvent the Estates. The marriage law was put in effect by

decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

in 1940. It was repealed in 1973. Back in 1938, Kielstra had involuntarily committed

Louis Doedel Louis Alfred Gerardus Doedel (26 July 1905 – 10 January 1980) was a Surinamese trade unionist. On 29 May 1937, he was involuntarily committed at the psychiatric hospital by Governor Johannes Kielstra. Doedel was forgotten by the public and oft ...

, a trade unionist, in a psychiatric hospital. He would use his increased authority against political opponents.

Eddy Bruma Eduard Johan "Eddy" Bruma (May 30, 1925 – November 6, 2000) was a Surinamese politician, lawyer and writer. Biography Bruma was imprisoned during World War II, because of his nationalistic activities. After the war, he studied law at the Free U ...

and

Otto Huiswoud Otto Eduard Gerardus Majella Huiswoud (October 28, 1893 – February 20, 1961) was a Surinamese political activist who was a charter member of the Communist Party of America. Huiswoud is regarded as the first black member of the American co ...

were arrested and imprisoned without trial. On 23 July 1943,

Wim Bos Verschuur Wim Bos Verschuur, born Bernard Willem Hendrik Verschuur (23 May 1904 – 4 January 1985) was a Surinamese politician, activist, artist, and writer. On 30 July 1943, he was arrested and interned for opposing governor Johannes Kielstra; this caused ...

, a member of the Estates, petitioned

Queen Wilhelmina Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands The monarchy of the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. As such, the role and position of the monarch are governed by the ...

to remove Kielstra from office. On 30 July 1943, he was arrested and interned without trial. Subsequently, all elected members of the Estates handed in their resignation. On 28 December 1943, he was given an honourable discharge by the

. In 1944, Kielstra was appointed Ambassador of the Netherlands to Mexico with an accreditation for Guatemala, and served until his retirement in 1948. He moved to

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

, and died on 1 April 1951 at the age of 72.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kielstra, Johannes 1878 births 1951 deaths Governors of Suriname Dutch fascists People from Zwartewaterland Ambassadors of the Netherlands to Mexico Leiden University alumni Academic staff of Wageningen University and Research Rectors of universities in the Netherlands Dutch Mennonites