John William Merryweather (25 May 1932 – 24 September 2019) was an Aruban

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manageme ...

and politician. He served as the first

Minister Plenipotentiary of Aruba The Minister Plenipotentiary of Aruba ( nl, Gevolmachtigde Minister van Aruba) represents the constituent country of Aruba in the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The current Minister Plenipotentiary of Aruba is Guillfred ...

from 1986 until 1989.

Biography

Merryweather was born on 25 May 1932 in Aruba, as the son of British father and an Aruban mother. He went to high school in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

and the United States. He studied at the

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...

in England, and specialised in

landscape architecture Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for constructio ...

in the United States. In 1952, Merryweather started to work in the oil industry. In 1961, he became head of the park service in Aruba. In 1962, he became the Aruban representative of the newly formed National Park Agency (then STINAPA, nowadays CARMABI). In 1969, he became head of the Curaçaoan park service. In 1978, he became head of the Aruban tourism agency. In 1983, Merryweather became a member of the

Aruban Patriotic Party The Aruban Patriotic Party ( Papiamento: ''Partido Patriotico Arubano'', PPA) is a political party in Aruba. It was founded in 1949. Prior to Aruba's independence, it was a supporter of a unified, independent Netherlands Antilles. In the 2001 ...

(PPA), and was elected to the island council of Aruba. In April 1984, he resigned from the island council, and was appointed to the cabinet of the Minister Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands Antilles in The Hague, Netherlands. On 1 January 1986, the ''

Status aparte ''Status aparte'' refers to the special status of Aruba between 1986 and 2010 as a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, separate from the Netherlands Antilles to which it belonged until 1986. With the dissolution of the Net ...

'' of

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

came into effect, which made Aruba a constituent country within the

Kingdom of the Netherlands , national_anthem = ) , image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg , map_width = 250px , image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png , map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale , capital = ...

. The country was to be represented by a Minister Plenipotentiary in the

Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands The Council of Ministers of the Kingdom ( nl, Ministerraad van het Koninkrijk or ''Rijksministerraad'') is the executive council of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which is a state consisting of four constituent countries: Aruba, Curaçao, the Ne ...

. On 10 January, Merryweather was appointed first

, and served until 11 February 1989. After his tenure as minister, Merryweather served as head of the European tourism agency for Aruba. In 1990, Merryweather became president of Nationaal Fonds Sports Gehandicapten (NFSG), a charitable fund for handicapped sports in the Netherlands. During his lifetime, Merryweather had been active in several sport organisations, and served as football manager of

SV Racing Club Aruba Sport Vereniging Racing Club Aruba, known as SV Racing Club Aruba or RCA, is an Aruban football club based in Solito, Oranjestad, which currently play in Aruban Division di Honor, the nation's top level league. , they had won 16 titles since the ...

on multiple occasions. On 24 September 2019, Merryweather died in Aruba, at the age of 87.

Honours and legacy

* Knight of the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands ( nl, De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, french: L'Ordre du Lion Néerlandais) is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on ...

* Knight of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

* On ''

Koningsdag ''Koningsdag'' () or King's Day is a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Celebrated on 27 April (26 April if the 27th is a Sunday), the date marks the birth of King Willem-Alexander. When the Dutch monarch is female, the holi ...

'', the "Merryweatherbeker" is awarded to the winner of the Aruban youth football tournament.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merryweather, John 1932 births 2019 deaths Ministers plenipotentiary (Aruba) Aruban politicians Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Dutch landscape architects Dutch people of British descent Alumni of Loughborough University Aruban football managers Aruban Patriotic Party politicians