Alexander Willem Frederik Idenburg (23 July 1861 – 28 February 1935) was a Dutch military officer and politician of the

Anti Revolutionary Party The Anti-Revolutionary Party ( nl, Anti-Revolutionaire Partij, ARP) was a Protestant conservative and Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1879 by Abraham Kuyper, a neo-Calvinist theologian and mi ...

who served as Governor-General of Suriname from 1905 until 1908, and the Dutch East Indies from 1909 until 1916. He also served as Minister of Colonies on three occasions between 1902 and 1919. Idenburg served on the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

from 1925 until his death in 1935.A.W.F. Idenburg
''Parlement & Politiek''. Retrieved on 17 January 2015.

Biography

Idenburg was born on 23 July 1861 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 ...

, Netherlands. At the age of 16, he was send to

Koninklijke Militaire Academie The Royal Military Academy ( nl, Koninklijke Militaire Academie or ''KMA'') is the service academy for the Dutch Army, the Dutch Air Force and the Royal Marechaussee. Located in Breda, Southern Netherlands, the KMA has trained future office ...

. In 1881, he was commissioned second lieutenant at the military engineers of the

Royal Netherlands East Indies Army The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army ( nl, Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger; KNIL, ) was the military force maintained by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its colony of the Dutch East Indies, in areas that are now part of Indonesia. Th ...

(KNIL). In 1889–1890, he was sent to the

Aceh War The Aceh War ( id, Perang Aceh), also known as the Dutch War or the Infidel War (1873–1913), was an armed military conflict between the Sultanate of Aceh and the Kingdom of the Netherlands which was triggered by discussions between represen ...

, but did not participate in the fighting. Between 1896 and 1901, he was the president of the cabinet of General Major J.A. Vetter. During a 1894–1895 leave, Idenburg met Abraham Kuyper who became his political friend. In 1901, he ran for 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 ...

and was elected. Idenburg returned to the Netherlands, and served in parliament until 25 September 1902. Subsequently he was appointed Minister of Colonies. In 1903, he passed the Decentralisation Law which allowed the East Indies to established independently financed regional councils. He served until 16 August 1905.

Suriname

On 14 September 1905, Idenburg was appointed Governor-General of Suriname. He arrived on 18 November 1905. During his tenure, he developed the "Idenburg Plan" in order to achieve financial independence for the colony, however it did not pass. As an orthodox protestant, he had refused attend parties and receptions which were held on Sunday. He passed the Sunday Law enforcing a mandatory free day on Sunday, and forced closure of all shops. Four Muslim shopkeepers who closed their shops on Friday, but reopened on Sunday, were sentenced to a ƒ5,- fine. In February 1908, he applied for sick leave. On 28 February, he resigned as governor.

Dutch East Indies

From 18 May 1908 until 16 August 1909, Idenburg returned as Minister of Colonies. During his tenure, the atrocities of Gotfried van Daalen were revealed. Van Daalen had lost twelve men during the Aceh Wars, but – as is now known – to have caused at least 2,922 native deaths including at least 1,149 women and children. Idenburg defended van Daalen, but could not prevent an investigation into the massacre. Van Daalen decided to turn in his resignation. He was later controversially absolved of all crimes, and re-enlisted. On 21 August 1909, Idenburg was appointed Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies where arrived on 18 December 1909. During his tenure, he was confronted by the nationalist movement. In 1912,

Sarekat Islam Sarekat Islam or Syarikat Islam ( 'Islamic Association' or 'Islamic Union'; SI) was an Indonesian socio-political organization founded at the beginning of the 20th Century during the Dutch colonial era. Initially, SI served as a cooperative of ...

was founded. Idenburg refused to take action against Sarekat Islam, but did not recognize the political party until 1916. In 1913, Idenburg interned the journalist

Ernest Douwes Dekker Ernest François Eugène Douwes Dekker also known as '' Setyabudi'' or ''Setiabudi'' (8 October 1879 – 28 August 1950) was an Indonesian-Dutch nationalist and politician of Indo descent. He was related to the famous Dutch anti-colonialism wri ...

(a relative of

Multatuli Eduard Douwes Dekker (2 March 182019 February 1887), better known by his pen name Multatuli (from Latin ''multa tulī'', "I have suffered much"), was a Dutch writer best known for his satirical novel '' Max Havelaar'' (1860), which denounced the ...

) for founding the

Indische Party The Indische Partij (IP) or Indies Party was a short-lived but influential political organisation founded in 1912 by the Indo-European (Eurasian) journalist E.F.E. Douwes Dekker and the Javanese physicians Tjipto Mangoenkoesoemo and Soewardi So ...

. In September 1913, Douwes Dekker was exiled from the Dutch East Indies and not allowed to travel to the Netherlands either. In 1914, Douwes Dekker's writings were banned. Idenburg tried to pass a Sunday Law in the Dutch East Indies, but only managed a watered down version. He served until 21 March 1916.

Later life

On 9 September 1918, Idenburg was reappointed as Minister of Colonies, but resigned on 13 November 1919 due to health problems. In 1923, he received the honorary title of

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

. On 17 February 1925, he was appointed to the

, an advisory council to the government. Idenburg died on 28 February 1935 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 o ...

, at the age of 73.

Honours

* Commander in 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 ...

. * Grand Cross in the

Order of Henry the Lion The House Order of Henry the Lion In German: ''Hausorden Heinrichs des Löwen,'' was the House Order of the Duchy of Brunswick. It was instituted by William VIII, Duke of Brunswick on 25 April 1834. The ribbon of the Order was red with yellow edge ...

. * Grand Cross in the Order of the Sacred Treasure.

Gallery

File:Alexander_Willem_Frederik_Idenburg_(1861-1935)._Gouverneur-generaal_(1909-16)_Rijksmuseum_SK-A-3815.jpeg, Idenburg (1910s) File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Gouverneur-Generaal A.W.F. Idenburg brengt een bezoek aan de Koloniale Tentoonstelling in Semarang TMnr 60026650.jpg, Visit to the

Colonial Exhibition of Semarang The Colonial Exhibition, Dutch: ''Koloniale Tentoonstelling'', took place in Semarang, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) in from 20 August through 22 November 1914. Colonial exhibitions were trade expositions. It was designed to "give a compreh ...

(1914)

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Idenburg, Alexander Willem Frederik 1861 births 1935 deaths Anti-Revolutionary Party politicians Governors of Suriname Governors-General of the Dutch East Indies Ministers of Colonial Affairs of the Netherlands Ministers of State (Netherlands) Politicians from Rotterdam Royal Netherlands East Indies Army generals Royal Netherlands East Indies Army officers Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion 20th-century Dutch East Indies people Graduates of the Koninklijke Militaire Academie