Anthony Ewoud Jan Modderman (27 September 1838 – 7 August 1885) was a Dutch liberal

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. Modderman was born in

Winschoten Winschoten (; ) is a city with a population of 18,518 in the municipality of Oldambt (municipality), Oldambt in the northeast of the Netherlands. It is the largest city in the region of Oldambt (region), Oldambt in the province of Groningen (prov ...

, to Hendrik Jacob Herman Modderman and Adriana Sibylla Catharina Emmen. He studied Roman and Contemporary Law in

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

, graduating in 1863, after which he settled 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 ...

to become a lawyer. Modderman was appointed as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

on 20 August 1879. As minister, he successfully opposed the reintroduction of the death penalty in 1881. He left office on 23 April 1883 and was given the honorary title of

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

six days later. Modderman died in

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* 1838 births 1885 deaths 19th-century Dutch jurists Ministers of justice of the Netherlands Ministers of state of the Netherlands People from Winschoten Leiden University alumni Academic staff of the University of Amsterdam Academic staff of Leiden University Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion {{Netherlands-politician-stub