Jonkheer Petrus Andreas van Meeuwen ('s-Hertogenbosch, January 27, 1772 – Maastricht

Maastricht

Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...

, August 19, 1848) was a Dutch politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

, lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

, a member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, and a member of the council of state of the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

.

Career

Van Meeuwen grew up in 's-Hertogenbosch in the Catholic family van Meeuwen

Van Meeuwen

Van Meeuwen is a Dutch noble family. Many members were bankers, politician, civil servants, lawyers, chief executive officers and diplomats. Some were officers of the Dutch army, members of the House of Representatives and Senate of the Netherlands...

. His father, Johannes Petrus van Meeuwen, was a hereditary secretary of the council of the North Brabant

North Brabant

North Brabant , sometimes called Brabant, is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium in the south, the Meuse River in the north, Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west.- History :...

 villages Oss, Lithoyen, Berghem, Heeswijk and Nistelrode.

The younger Van Meeuwen studied law in Leiden. In 1803 he was created attorney-general of North Brabant. King Louis Napoleon

Louis Bonaparte

Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, Prince Français, Comte de Saint-Leu , King of Holland , was the fifth surviving child and the fourth surviving son of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino...

 made him a member of the Council of State

Council of State

The Council of State is a unique governmental body in a country or subdivision thereoff, though its nature may range from the formal name for the cabinet to a non-executive advisory body surrounding a head of state. It is sometimes regarded as the equivalent of a privy council.-Modern:*Belgian...

 in the Netherlands. From 1809-1811 he was general director of the Dutch customs. After the liberation from the French Van Meeuwen held the position of director of the real properties

Real property

In English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...

 of the State in North Brabant. From 1817-1842 he was a member of the States-Provincial

States-Provincial

The States'-Provincial is the provincial parliament and legislative assembly in each of the Provinces of the Netherlands. It is elected for each province simultaneously once every four years and has the responsibility for matters of sub-national or regional importance...

, and a year later he was chosen as a member of the House of Representatives for the province of North Brabant. For his services, in 1834 King William admitted Van Meeuwen as a member of the Brabant nobility with the honorific

Honorific

An honorific is a word or expression with connotations conveying esteem or respect when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term is used not quite correctly to refer to an honorary title...

 of jonkheer

Jonkheer

Jonkheer is a Dutch honorific of nobility.-Honorific of nobility:"Jonkheer" or "Jonkvrouw" is literally translated as "young lord" or "young lady". In medieval times such a person was a young and unmarried son or daughter of a high ranking knight or nobleman...

.

Private life

Van Meeuwen married with Rosa Cornelia Solvyns (1777-1805) in Antwerp in 1800. They had two children, one daughter and one son, both born in Wassenaar

Wassenaar

Wassenaar is a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. A fairly affluent suburb of The Hague, Wassenaar lies 10 km north of that city on the N44 highway near the North Sea coast. It is part of the Haaglanden region...

. The son was Eduardus Johannes Petrus van Meeuwen

Eduardus Johannes Petrus van Meeuwen

Eduardus Johannes Petrus van Meeuwen was a Dutch politician from a Catholic family...

.

Delegated commissions

• Civil servant at the Ministry of General Affairs (15 November 1800 to 30 June 1808)
• Civil servant of the Ministry of Finance (30 June 1808 to 1 January 1812)

Orders of Knighthood

• Order of the Netherlands Lion
• Order of Orange-Nassau
  Order of Orange-Nassau
  The Order of Orange-Nassau is a military and civil order of the Netherlands which was created on 4 April 1892 by the Queen regent Emma of the Netherlands, acting on behalf of her under-age daughter Queen Wilhelmina. The Order is a chivalry order open to "everyone who have earned special merits for...
  
  
• Order of the Union
  Order of the Union
  The Order of the Union was a chivalric order established in 1806 by Louis Napoleon, younger brother of Napoleon I, for the Kingdom of Holland. The order was abolished in 1811 when the French Empire absorbed the Kingdom of Holland...
  
  (given by Louis Bonaparte)

Sources

• P.J. Molhuysen & P.J. Blok, Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek (NNBW), vol. VIII, p. 1142-1143