Johan Paul, Count of Limburg-Stirum (2 February 1873 – 17 April 1948) was a Dutch diplomat, member of the

House of Limburg-Stirum The House of Limburg-Stirum (or Limburg-Styrum), which adopted its name in the 12th century from the immediate county of Limburg an der Lenne in what is now Germany, is one of the oldest families in Europe. It is the eldest and only surviving br ...

Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies ( nl, gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands Indië) represented Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949. Occupied by Japanese fo ...

(1916–1921), Dutch ambassador to Germany (1925–1936) and to the United Kingdom (1936–1939).Mr. J.P. graaf van Limburg Stirum
''Parlement & Politiek''. Retrieved on 17 January 2015.

Biography

Johan Paul van Limburg Stirum was born on 2 February 1873 in

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is o ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He made a rapid career as a diplomat of the Netherlands and was, among others, envoy in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Due to his knowledge of Asia, the government Cort van der Linden named him in 1916 Gouverneur General of the Dutch East Indies. He worked for a greater autonomy of the Dutch East Indies and for the economic development of the colony. As Governor General he adhered to the

Dutch Ethical Policy The Dutch Ethical Policy ( nl, Ethische Politiek) was the official policy of the colonial government of the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) during the four decades from 1901 until the Japanese occupation of 1942. In 1901, the Dutch Q ...

and conducted administrative reforms, such as the extension of the powers of the parliament (

Volksraad The Volksraad was a people's assembly or legislature in Dutch or Afrikaans speaking government. Assembly South Africa *Volksraad (South African Republic) (1840–1902) *Volksraad (Natalia Republic), a similar assembly that existed in the Natalia Re ...

) of the Dutch East Indies and decentralisation of the colonial administration. He worked in good terms with minister Idenburg, but had a difficult relationship with minister

Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff Jhr. Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff (7 August 1872 – 24 April 1957) was a Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies and a Dutch minister for foreign affairs. Family Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff was a descendant of the De Graeff-fami ...

, who was an old friend from their days at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

. After his departure from the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

he was sent to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. In 1925, he was sent to Berlin as Dutch ambassador for

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He was a strong opponent of the

nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

regime and refused to meet

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

or any member of the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

. From 1936 to his retirement in 1939 he was Dutch ambassador to the United Kingdom. He died on 17 April 1948 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 of ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Limburg Stirum, Johan Paul Van 1873 births 1948 deaths Governors-General of the Dutch East Indies

Johan Paul van Limburg Stirum Johan Paul, Count of Limburg-Stirum (2 February 1873 – 17 April 1948) was a Dutch diplomat, member of the House of Limburg-Stirum, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (1916–1921), Dutch ambassador to Germany (1925–1936) and to the Un ...

Dutch nobility People from Zwolle Dutch people of German descent 20th-century Dutch East Indies people Ambassadors of the Netherlands to Germany Ambassadors of the Netherlands to the United Kingdom