Joan Röell (21 July 1844 – 13 July 1914) was a Dutch nobleman, lawyer and statesman. He was a member of a prominent Dutch noble family which produced many public administrators, and politicians. From 1894 to 1897 Röell headed the Dutch government as Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Early life and education

Röell was born in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

, to (1806–1883), member (1842) and registrar (1843–1858) of the

Provincial Council of North Holland The Provincial Council of North 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 are distributed every four years in pro ...

, King's Commissioner of

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

(1858–1860) and of

North Holland North Holland (, ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht (province), Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevola ...

(1860–1879), curator of the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of 39,769 students, a ...

(1859–1883), and his wife Elisabeth van de Poll (1808–1862). He attended a boarding school in

Sassenheim Sassenheim () is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The former municipality covered an area of 6.62 km2 (of which 0.23 km2 water) and had a population of 14,906 in 2005. Since ...

, and later a gymnasium in Utrecht. From 1861 to 23 November 1866, he studied Roman and Contemporary Law at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public university, public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of ...

, after which he briefly worked as a lawyer.

Political career

As a former registrar of the

Provincial Council of South Holland The Provincial Council of South Holland (), also known as the States of South Holland, is the provincial council of South Holland, Netherlands. It forms the legislative body of the province. Its 55 seats are distributed every four years in provi ...

, Röell was familiar with the intricacies of local and regional government and water management. In 1877, he was elected into the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

for the district of

. He was re-elected in 1881 and 1884, but lost his seat to Æneas, Baron Mackay in 1886. He became a member of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

until he won back his seat in the House from Mackay in 1888. He was re-elected again in 1891. In the House, he was concerned with various policy areas, including education, water management, health, constitutional amendment, suffrage, home affairs, Indian affairs and taxes. After the 1894 general election, Röell became

formateur A formateur (French for "someone who forms, who constitutes") is a politician who is appointed to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur i ...

, and formed a liberal cabinet in which he served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

. He also became the chairman of the Council of Ministers, a position that would later be dubbed

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. In 1886, his cabinet greatly expanded suffrage, doubling the electorate. In 1897, after finishing his term, he stood for election to the House of Representatives again, but was not elected, and returned to the Senate one year later. In 1901, Röell returned to House of Representatives for the district of Utrecht II. After his re-election in 1905, he served as Speaker of the House of Representatives, until he lost his seat in 1909. After another stint in the Senate for North Holland, from 1910 to 1912, Röell was appointed Vice-President of the Council of State. Röell died on 13 July 1914 in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, eight days before his 70th birthday, and was buried in the family vault in

Leusden Leusden () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. It is located about 3 kilometres southeast of Amersfoort. The western part of the municipality lies on the slopes of the Utrecht Hill Rid ...

three days later.

Private life

Röell married

Jonkvrouw (female equivalent: ; in the masculine only; ''jonkvrouw'' is used in the feminine, even in French; ) is an honorific in the Low Countries denoting the lowest rank within the nobility. In the Netherlands, this in general concerns a prefix used ...

Eritia Ena Romelia de Beaufort (1843–1910) in Utrecht on 10 September 1868. The couple remained childless.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roell, Joan 1844 births 1914 deaths Prime ministers of the Netherlands Vice-presidents of the Council of State (Netherlands) Ministers of foreign affairs of the Netherlands Speakers of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the Council of State (Netherlands) Aide-de-camp to the monarch of the Netherlands Independent politicians in the Netherlands Jonkheers of the Netherlands Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church People from Haarlem Dutch people of German descent