Frits Martinus de los Santos Goedgedrag (born 1 November 1951 in

Aruba Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...

) is a Dutch Antillean

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 ...

who was the first

governor of Curaçao The governor of Curaçao (; ) is the representative on Curaçao of the Dutch head of state (King Willem-Alexander). The governor's duties are twofold: representing and guarding the general interests of the Kingdom and heading the government of ...

following the

dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was dissolved on 10 October 2010. After dissolution, the "BES islands" of the Dutch Caribbean— Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba—became ...

. During his tenure, he oversaw the dissolution of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Antilles and Curaçao becoming a constituent country within the

Kingdom of the Netherlands The Kingdom of the Netherlands (, ;, , ), commonly known simply as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state. The re ...

Career

From 1992 to 1998, Goedgedrag was lieutenant governor of Bonaire. He succeeded Jaime Saleh in 2010 to become the

governor of the Netherlands Antilles The governor of the Netherlands Antilles was the representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Netherlands Antilles and the head of the government of the Netherlands Antilles. Duties With the introduction of the Charter for the Kingdom ...

and remained in this post until the dissolution of the Antilles in 2003. He refused to name the 2003 Curaçao general election party leader as

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 ...

, citing a criminal investigation. Goedgedrag instead appointed Mirna Louisa-Godett as formateur. In September 2012, Goedgedrag resigned his commission citing health reasons. At his farewell ceremony he was knighted as a Commander in the Order of Orange-Nassau. In May 2013, Goedgedrag was appointed to the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

for extraordinary service to the special municipalities of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. In June 2013,he was appointed to the Council of Advice of Aruba.
- In 2014, he was appointed chairman of the Council of Advice. His term ended in July 2020.

References

1951 births Aruban politicians Living people Governors of Curaçao Lieutenant governors of Bonaire Governors of the Netherlands Antilles {{NetherlandsAntilles-stub