The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee ( nl, Koninklijke Marechaussee, abbreviated to KMar) is the national
gendarmerie force of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands
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, image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg
, map_width = 250px
, image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png
, map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale
, capital = ...
, performing military and civilian
police
The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...
duties. It is also one of the two national police forces in the Netherlands, alongside the National Police, and is one of the four branches of the
Netherlands Armed Forces.
History
The was created by King
William I to replace the
French Gendarmerie on October 26, 1814. The word ''
gendarmerie'' had gained a negative connotation, so William called the new force ''"marechaussée"'' (he forgot the first acute accent in the document). Maréchaussée is an alternate French word for ''gendarmerie''. In the French historical context, "
Maréchaussée" had been the force's name under the Royal
Ancien Regime, while the term "gendarmerie" had been adopted by the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
- making the Royalist term preferable for the Dutch King.
At that time, the Marechaussee was a part of the army (). The Marechaussee was tasked with maintaining public order, law enforcement, and safeguarding the main roads. Although not specifically mentioned, this included police duties for the army. As such, the Marechaussee was part of the national police ().
The Marechaussee was the only police force in many small municipalities, such as
Venlo, especially in the southern provinces of
Limburg and
North Brabant
North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to t ...
(former
Generality Lands).
In 1908, Queen
Wilhelmina assigned the Marechaussee the task of guarding the royal palaces, which had previously been done by
gardener
A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby.
Description
A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppl ...
s. To this day, guarding a palace is called " (
clog service).
After in November 1938, the Dutch government officially closed its borders to any Jewish refugees. The Dutch Marechaussee border guards searched for them and returned any found to Germany, despite the horrors of being well known. In 1939
Nicholas Winton succeeded with his
Kindertransport, thanks to the guarantees he had obtained from Britain. After the first train, the process of crossing the Netherlands went smoothly.
On 5 July 1940, the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
occupation government merged the Marechaussee with the and the . This meant that the Marechaussee lost its military status and the
predicate
Predicate or predication may refer to:
* Predicate (grammar), in linguistics
* Predication (philosophy)
* several closely related uses in mathematics and formal logic:
**Predicate (mathematical logic)
**Propositional function
**Finitary relation, o ...
Royal. These changes did not apply to the Marechaussee outside occupied Dutch territory. About 200 ''marechaussees'' guarded the Royal Family and the Dutch government-in-exile, and provided military police services to the
Princess Irene Brigade
During the Second World War, the Royal Netherlands Motorized Infantry Brigade, later known as the Princess Irene Brigade ( nl, Prinses Irene Brigade) was a Dutch military unit initially formed from approximately 1,500 troops, including a small gro ...
, a brigade formed in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
, consisting of Dutchmen.
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, the Marechaussee was split into a ''Korps Rijkspolitie'' (National Police Corps) (as a replacement of the and the ) and the , which regained its military status. The main tasks for the Marechaussee since then have been border protection, military police and guard duties.
On July 3, 1956, Princess
Beatrix became patroness of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee.
In 1994, the national and municipal police forces were merged into 25 regional police forces and the ''Korps landelijke politiediensten'' (National Police Services Agency). The National Police transferred its airport police and security tasks (primarily
Schiphol) to the Marechaussee.
In 1998, the Marechaussee became a separate Service within the armed forces.
In 2014, a team of 40 Marechausee officers went to eastern
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
to assist the investigation into the
shooting down of Malaysian airliner MH17. They provided security for the international team and assistance in collecting evidence from the crash site.
Emblem
The emblem of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee is, as with many other gendarmerie forces, a flaming
grenade. In the 17th century, a new weapon was introduced in Europe: the
hand grenade. The soldiers who handled grenades were called grenadiers. They became an
elite type of soldier in all European armies. In France, the grenade symbol was adopted by the gendarmerie, and this was imitated by similar forces throughout Europe.
The flaming grenade (but in this case within an eight-pointed star) was also the emblem of the .
Present KMar
The present marechaussee is a police organisation with a military status, under the
jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels.
J ...
of the Ministry of Defense, but mostly working for the Ministry of Security and Justice and the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. The RNLM performs the following duties:
* assistance to and replacement by the National Police
* fighting
illegal immigration
* fighting
international crime
* guarding the
national border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political border ...
s
* guarding the royal
palaces and the
house of the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
*
military police
Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear rec ...
functions for the
Dutch Armed Forces
*
riot control and protection
* security and police work at all civilian airports, notably
Schiphol Airport
* VIP close protection including the
Royal Family and high-ranking government officials
* Special Protection Assignments Brigade (
BSB),
special forces for arrests, surveillance and protection
* KMOO, the
Military Police
Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear rec ...
Service
The first four units are territorial, other two have national rather than regional responsibilities.
Future
The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee wants to define its tasks better so that tasks can be carried out in a targeted manner. The KMar also wants to be deployed more as a team, in the future and to avoid having to operate as an individual. At the same time it wants to operate better through automation and the purchase of new systems, especially with regard to ICT and tactical deployment of vehicles/boats and aircraft.
The purchase of new equipment is also part of this, including the GBB (Armed Civil Aviation Security) and the HRB (High Risk Security) are getting new Baltic vests. The
YPR-765 is also being replaced with the
Iveco Medium Tactical Vehicle
The Iveco Medium Tactical Vehicle (MTV), military designation Manticore, is an infantry mobility vehicle designed and manufactered by IVECO Defence Vehicles for the Netherlands Armed Forces. The acquisition is part of the Joint Replacement Program ...
. Dutch Defense Vehicles (DDV) is also working on a mobile command post and a mobile interrogation room, both based on the
Iveco Daily. DDV calls these vehicles AthenA.
Ranks
;Officer ranks
;Other ranks
Cadet ranks at the Royal Military Academy
Equipment
*
Colt Canada C8NLD
*
Glock 17
*
Heckler & Koch HK416
*
Heckler & Koch MP5
*
FN MAG (only on
AIFV armoured vehicles)
Spelling
In the course of time the two acute accents of the French spelling (Maréchaussée) were dropped. The lowest ranking personnel are referred to as marechaussees (without the capital M), a rank comparable to
lance corporal and
corporal.
See also
*
Marechaussee Museum
The Marechaussee Museum (Dutch - ''Marechausseemuseum'') or Royal Marechaussee Museum (''Museum der Koninklijke Marechaussee'') is a museum on the history of the Royal Marechaussee of the Netherlands from its foundation by William I of the Nethe ...
*
Constabulary
*
Dutch police
National Police Corps ( nl, Korps Nationale Politie), colloquially in English as Dutch National Police or National Police Force, is divided in ten regional units, a central unit, the police academy, police services center, and national control ...
*
Gendarmerie
References
External links
Marechaussee information on the Defence Ministry website (in English)Official Marechaussee website (in Dutch)
{{EUROGENDFOR
Netherlands Armed Forces
Military units and formations established in 1814
1814 establishments in the Netherlands
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 ...