Geertruida Catharina Theresia Maria "Truus" Smulders-Beliën ( Beliën; 20 November 1902 – 11 June 1966) was a Dutch politician and teacher who was the mayor of
Oost-, West- en Middelbeers Oost-, West- en Middelbeers was a municipality in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It included the villages Oostelbeers, Middelbeers, and Westelbeers.
The municipality existed until 1997, when it became part of Oirschot.
References
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in
North Brabant from 1946 to 1966. The first female mayor in the Netherlands, she succeeded her husband after he was executed by
Nazi soldiers.
Biography
Geertruida Catharina Theresia Maria Beliën was born on 20 November 1902 in
Oirschot, Netherlands, the eldest of nine children of Johannes Josephus Beliën and Geertruida Wilhelmina van Rhijn.
After studying with the Franciscan Sisters of Oirschot, she became a teacher in Oirschot and
Eindhoven
Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,[Oost-, West- en Middelbeers Oost-, West- en Middelbeers was a municipality in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It included the villages Oostelbeers, Middelbeers, and Westelbeers.
The municipality existed until 1997, when it became part of Oirschot.
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the following year. They were engaged in 1931 and married on 28 August 1932, and had four children: Geertruida Maria Catharina Wilhelmina (born 1933), Antonius Josephus Maria Petrus (born 1934), Joanna Maria Louise (born 1937), and Johannes Josephus Wilhelmus (born 1940).
Nazi forces
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
in July 1944 for refusing to provide the names of potential conscripts. He was sent to the Herzogenbusch concentration camp with other mayors, leaving Truus and their four children in Middelbeers. He was executed in April 1945.[ After she learned of Jan's death, Truus applied for the position of mayor, writing letters of interest to Minister of the Interior Louis Beel, Queen's Commissioner , and Queen Wilhelmina.][ She was the first female mayor in the Netherlands, and would be the only female mayor in the country until 1964. She was re-appointed as mayor in 1952, 1958, and 1964, and was a Catholic People's Party member of the Provincial Council of North Brabant beginning in 1950.][
in her new DAF 600
In 1959 the first DAF 600 cars were manufactured and she and the chair of the Dutch automobile club were given the first two cars off the production line. She had been chosen because she was known and she appeared to have ordered one. She agreed after it was realised that it was her staff who had ordered it and the mayor did not have a driving license.]'s-Hertogenbosch
s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...
due to surgical complications from a cervical cancer
Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal ...
operation. She died on 11 June 1966, at the age of 63.[ Her funeral was held on 15 June 1966 at in Middelbeers. A statue of Smulders-Beliën, commissioned in part by the municipality of Oirschot, was erected in 2002, the 100th anniversary of her birth.][
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See also
* Widow's succession
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smulders-Beliën, Truus
1902 births
1966 deaths
20th-century Dutch educators
20th-century Dutch politicians
20th-century Dutch women politicians
20th-century women educators
Catholic People's Party politicians
Mayors in North Brabant
Members of the Provincial Council of North Brabant
People from Oirschot
Women mayors of places in the Netherlands
