Floris Adriaan van Hall, Baron of Hall (15 May 1791 – 29 March 1866) was a prominent Dutch

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

and statesman in the 19th century. He played an important role as representative of the Amsterdam trade and banking sector, and later as politician. He served as

Prime Minister of the Netherlands The prime minister of the Netherlands ( nl, Minister-president van Nederland) is the head of the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands. Although the monarch is the ''de jure'' head of government, the prime minister ''de facto'' ...

from 1853 to 1856, and again from 1860 to 1861.

Family

Van Hall was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, on 15 May 1791. After the death of his mother, his father had ten more children with her niece Christina Maria. His father was Maurits Cornelis van Hall, who seated in the First Chamber of the States General and the Representative Body of the Batavian Republic from 1798 to 1801. He later seated in the

States of Holland The States of Holland and West Frisia ( nl, Staten van Holland en West-Friesland) were the representation of the two Estates (''standen'') to the court of the Count of Holland. After the United Provinces were formed — and there no longer was a c ...

and in the First Chamber of the States General. Van Hall was the oldest of six children. He married Alida Paulina (Pauline) Bondt in Amsterdam on 7 July 1815, but she died in 1845. On 30 July 1853, at the age of 62, Van Hall entered a second marriage with Henriëtte Marie Jeanne, Baroness Schimmelpenninck van der Oye. Both marriages remained childless.

Career

Van Hall received primary education from a Walloon preacher in

Voorburg Voorburg is a town and former municipality in the west part of the province of South Holland, Netherlands. Together with Leidschendam and Stompwijk, it makes up the municipality Leidschendam-Voorburg. It has a population of about 39,000 peo ...

, after which he attended a Latin school in Amsterdam. From 1808 to 1811, Van Hall attended the Athenaeum Illustre, and, like his father, studied Roman and Contemporary Law at the Leiden University from 7 November 1811 to 22 January 1812. After he had graduated, he became a lawyer in his father's firm in Amsterdam, where he was primarily concerned with protecting the interests of trading houses and shipping companies. On 3 July 1832, he succeeded his father in the

for

Meerkerk Meerkerk is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Vijfheerenlanden, and lies about 9 km north of Gorinchem. In 2001, the village of Meerkerk had 2281 inhabitants. The built-up area of the village was ...

. After the province's split in 1840, he seated the

States of North Holland The Provincial Council of North Holland ( nl, Provinciale Staten van Noord-Holland, ), also known as the States of North Holland, is the provincial council of North Holland, Netherlands. It forms the legislative body of the province. Its 55 seats ...

for Amsterdam. On 1 April 1842, King William II appointed him as the successor to Cornelis Felix van Maanen as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, and on 22 September 1843 as

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

. From 13 February 1849, he seated in the Second Chamber of the States General for the district of Amsterdam, until he succeeded

Johan Rudolf Thorbecke Johan Rudolph Thorbecke (14 January 1798 – 4 June 1872) was a Dutch liberal statesman, one of the most important Dutch politicians of the 19th century. Thorbecke is best known for heading the commission that drafted the revision of the Const ...

as chairman of Council of Ministers in 1853. On 1 April 1856, King William II gave him the title of Baron, as a token of appreciation for his actions as minister of Foreign Affairs in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

, where he managed to uphold Dutch neutrality. In 1860 he became chairman of the Council of Ministers once again. He rejected an offer for the appointment to Governor-General of the Dutch East-Indies. He died 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 ...

, on 29 March 1866.

Honours

* Knight Grand Cross 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 ...

.Staatsblad van Nederlandsch Indië, Volumes 1845-1847 * Grand Cordon in the Order of Leopold. * Grand Cross in the

Order of the White Falcon Order of the White Falcon (german: Hausorden vom Weißen Falken) is a grand-ducal order of Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, founded by Duke Ernest Augustus on 2 August 1732, and renewed in 1815 by Charles Augustus. Description In the early 2 ...

References

* * ;Specific

Family

Career

Honours

References

Further reading