List of leaders of New Netherland
This is a list that encompasses the heads of state and of government of New Netherland from the country's foundation in 1624 to present day.
Till 1796, the colony was ruled by a series of Director-Generals. Following the 1656 Municipal Charter, New Netherland had gained increased autonomy, allowing its citizens to have greater influence in the selection of the Director-General, who ultimately was subject to the Stadtholder of the Netherlands. The Autumn War of the 1790s gave the country its independence, replacing the position of Director-General with New Netherland's own stadtholder. These stadtholders were exclusively from and appointed by the Patroon Council, the main executive organ of the state. The Republican Revolution of 1903 established a democratically elected head of state and government, the Grand Pensionary (also known as the Raedpensionaris), named after the Dutch Republic's head of state.
Director-Generals: 1624–1796
| Nº | Portrait | Name | Term | Era | Stadtholder |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornelius Jacobsen May (fl. 1600s) |
1624–1625 | Pre-Charter | Maurice I | |
| 2 | William Verhulst (fl. 1600s) |
1625–1626 | Frederick Henry | ||
| 3 | 
|
Peter Minuit (1580–1638) |
1626–1631 | ||
| 4 | Sebastian Jansen Crol (1595–1674) |
1632–1633 | |||
| 5 |  |
Wouter van Twiller (1606–1654) |
1633–1638 | ||
| 6 |  |
William Kieft (1597–1647) |
1638–1647 | ||
| 7 | 
|
Peter Stuyvesant (c. 1610–1669) |
1647–1655 | William II | |
| First Stadholderless period | |||||
| 8 |  |
Adriaen van der Donck (c. 1618–1660) |
1656–1660 | Post-Charter | |
| 9 | Paulus Leendertz van der Grift (1613–1680) |
1660–1664 | |||
| 10 | Jacob van Couwenhoven (1612–1674) |
1664–1670 | |||
| 11 | 
|
Oloff Stevensz van Cortlandt (1615–1687) |
1670–1676 | ||
| William III | |||||
| 12 | Cornelius Steenwyck (1626–1683) |
1676–1679 | |||
| 13 | John Evertsen Bout (1603–1683) |
1679–1683 | |||
| 14 | Jochem Andriesen (1647–1710) |
1683–1692 | |||
| 15 | Nicolaes Zacutto[1] (1665–1710) |
1692–1697 | |||
| 16 | Frederick Blickhuysen (1657–1706) |
1697–1701 | |||
| 17 | Hendrick van Renssaeler (1666–1741) |
1701–1708 | |||
| 18 | William Le Moyne (1663–1729) |
1708–1709 | |||
| 19 | Theodorus Ketelhuyn (1657–1736) |
1709–1712 | Ketelhuyn era | ||
| 20 | Herman Thomassen Allerton (1673–1740) |
1712–1714 | |||
| 21 | Martin van Heemskerck (1659–1728) |
1714–1726 | |||
| 22 | Hendrick de Bisschop (1661–1731) |
1726–1728 | |||
| 23 | Matthias de la Croix (1689–1746) |
1728–1733 | |||
| 24 | Hendrick van Woggelum (1681–1740) |
1733–1737 | Sassafras era | ||
| 25 | William Valentine (1696–1773) |
1737–1741 | |||
| 26 | Egbert Muylenburg (1688–1755) |
1741–1748 | |||
| 27 | J. Pieter Swartwout (1702–1760) |
1748–1750 | |||
| 28 | Hans Theodor Adams (1707–1799) |
1750–1766 | |||
| 29 | Leonard Evertsen Bout (1710–1773) |
1766–1767 | |||
| 30 | William van Texel (1714–1789) |
1767–1769 | |||
| 31 | Raymond Koopman (1735–1804) |
1769–1773 | |||
| 32 | Arnoldus van Gelderen (1722–1790) |
1773–1779 | Titanomachy | ||
| 33 | Carolus Carmen (1747–1829) |
1779–1782 | |||
| 34 | Kiliaen van Renssaeler III (1736–1802) |
1782–1785 | |||
| 35 | Sibren van Heemskerck (1751–1800) |
1785–1792 | |||
| 36 |  |
Eleazar Henrÿcksz (1759–1797) |
1792–1796 |
Stadtholders: 1796–1903
| Nº | Portrait | Name | Term | Affiliation | Era |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Marÿn van der Beeke (1757–1811) |
1796–1811 | Foundation era | |
| 2 |  |
Isaac Kuyter (1762–1822) |
1811–1822 | ||
| 3 |  |
Hendrick I (1765–1836) |
1822–1836 | Ackerhuys regime | |
| 4 |  |
Hendrick II (1789–1867) |
1836–1855 | ||
| 5 | Lodewÿck (1812–1870) |
1855–1870 | |||
| 6 | Herman de Carpentier (1826–1894) |
1870–1874 | Second Constitution | ||
| 7 | Jan-Maryn de Boetsselaer (1831–1883) |
1874–1876 | |||
| 8 | Johan de Kleyn (1840–1913) |
1876–1880 | |||
| 9 | Albertus May (1816–1884) |
1880–1884 | |||
| 10 | Carel van Twiller (1852–1928) |
1884–1888 | |||
| 11 |  |
Quincey van Moock (1841–1925) |
1888–1900 | ||
| 12 |  |
Theodorus de Gelüs-Clérisseau (1866–1950) |
1900–1903 |
Grand Pensionaries: from 1903
| Nº | Portrait | Name | Term | Affiliation | Era |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Mees van Haerst (1867–1936) |
1903–1911 | Unity Party | Haerst era |
| 2 |  |
Magnus Bartelsz (1870–1952) |
1911–1919 | Progressive Party | Golden era |
| 3 |  |
Johannes Karsen (1869–1930) |
1919–1923 | ||
| 4 |  |
Maurits Thomas Hudson (1878–1949) |
1923–1927 | ||
| 5 |  |
Christiaen Huysman (1885–1971) |
1927–1931 | Free Destiny Party | |
| 6 |  |
Jan Kaspar Knip (1897–1981) |
1931–1939 | ||
| 7 |  |
Abraham Boot (1897–1963) |
1939–1943 | Post-war period | |
| 8 |  |
Frank Zuylen (1893–1949) |
1943–1947 | United Patriotic Front
(Unity Party, National Republican Party, etc.) | |
| 9 |  |
Edgar Güman (1902–1973) |
1947–1955 | Güman Bloc
(Free Destiny Party, Labor Party) |
Güman era |
| 10 |  |
Marieke Güman (1913–1987) |
1955–1964 | ||
| 11 |  |
S. S. de Haese (b. 1927) |
1964-1971 | Tesamenbouw van Nieuw Zeyven | Zeyven Party era |
| 12 |  |
Cornelis Holowatie |
1971-1974 | Tesamenbouw van Nieuw Zeyven | Zeyven Party era |
Notes
- ^ Nicolaes Zacutto is the first New Netherland leader to have been born in the country. He is the descendant of Portuguese Jewish immigrants from the failed Dutch colony of New Holland (1630–1654, modern Pernambuco).
