Nicolas-Jean Rouppe (in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

also: ''Nikolaus Joannes Rouppe'') (baptised 17 April 1768 – 3 August 1838) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

liberal politician. He was the first

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 chie ...

of Brussels after the Belgian independence in 1830. Nicolas-Jean Rouppe was born in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

, and became a sub-

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

of the order of the Carmelites, but he broke radically with his faith in 1792, the day after Battle of Jemappes between the French revolutionary and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n armies on 6 November 1792. That year, he also provoked a riot by destroying the cross in the town hall of Leuven. Under the French occupation he became commissioner of the Dyle department. On 21 July 1803 he received

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

at the Castle of Laeken ( Laeken). After the Belgian revolution in 1830, he was a member of the national congress, later he became a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives. From 1830 up to 1838 he was burgomaster of Brussels. As the burgomaster of Brussels he receives the new king

Leopold I of Belgium * nl, Leopold Joris Christiaan Frederik * en, Leopold George Christian Frederick , image = NICAISE Leopold ANV.jpg , caption = Portrait by Nicaise de Keyser, 1856 , reign = 21 July 1831 – , predecessor = Erasme Lou ...

also at the Castle of Laeken on 21 July 1831, the day when Leopold swore allegiance to the Belgian

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

. Together with Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen, Nicolas-Jean Rouppe is also one of the initiators of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). Rouppe died in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, and is buried in the

Laeken Cemetery Laeken Cemetery (french: Cimetière de Laeken, nl, Begraafplaats van Laken) in Brussels, Belgium, is the city's oldest cemetery still in function and the resting place of the Belgian Royal Family. It is known as the ''Belgian Père Lachaise' ...

. A square in Brussels, the Place Rouppe/Rouppeplein, is named after him.

Sources

* Du Bois, A., Les bourgmestres de Bruxelles, in : Revue de Belgique, April 1896, p. 365-396. * Spreutels, J.-P., Une bonne action de Nicolas Rouppe sous l'occupation française, in : Cahiers Bruxellois, XIX, 1974, p. 84-85.

External links

1769 births 1838 deaths 19th-century Belgian politicians Mayors of the City of Brussels Members of the National Congress of Belgium Burials at Laeken Cemetery Politicians of the Austrian Netherlands Clergy from Rotterdam {{Brussels-politician-stub

See also

Sources

External links