Jan Geersing (30 July 1940 – 17 February 2021) was a Dutch politician of the

Reformed Political League The Reformed Political LeagueTranslation used by Andeweg and Irwin in ''Governance and Politics of the Netherlands'' (2002: 45) ( nl, Gereformeerd Politiek Verbond, GPV) was an orthodox Protestant political party in the Netherlands. The GPV is o ...

and later Christian Union, who served as a member of the Friesland Parliament and as Mayor of

Ferwerderadeel Ferwerderadiel () is a former municipality of Friesland in the northern Netherlands. Its official name is West Frisian, the Dutch name is Ferwerderadeel (). In 2019 it merged with the municipalities of Dongeradeel and Kollumerland en Nieuwkruislan ...

Early life and career in education

Jan Geersing was born in the village of

Leutingewolde Leutingewolde is a hamlet in the Netherlands and it is part of the Noordenveld municipality in Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Fr ...

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Nov ...

to a mother from

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

and a father from Drenthe. He spoke West Frisian and Dutch from early childhood and studied Latin and Ancient Greek at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen in ...

. In the early 1960s, he was a teacher of classical languages at Grotius College Heerlen, the only Protestant high school in Limburg, Netherlands. In 1966, he became a teacher of classical languages at of the Leeuwarden Christian Gymnasium, . In 1981, he became its vice principal.

Political career

Counselor and Friesland Parliament Member

Geersing became politically active, initially alongside his career in education. He was chairman of the council in Ferwerderadeel. He also became chairman of the

(GPV) Friesland Provincial Contact Council, the body that connected local and provincial politics. In 1978 and 1982, he was ranked 5th and 6th respectively on the provincial state elections list of the GPV in Friesland. In the 1978 elections, Gerrit Gerritsma, until then the only GPV Provincial Council Member in Friesland, was not re-elected. In 1982 the GPV member Pieter Cnossen became a one-man faction in the States. After Cnossen stepped down prematurely in 1984, the GPV candidates who had been above Geersing on the list renounced becoming parliament members, paving the way for Geersing to become a Member of the

Provincial Council of Friesland The Provincial Council of Friesland ( nl, Provinciale Staten van Friesland) is the provincial council for the Dutch province of Friesland, first introduced under the Constitution of the Netherlands in 1814. It forms the legislative body of the prov ...

Mayor of Ferwerderadeel

On August 1, 1988, Geersing became the Mayor of Ferwerderadeel. At that time there was only one additional GPV mayor in the Netherlands (

Bert Groen Lubertus Cornelis "Bert" Groen (born 28 March 1945 in Haarlem) is a Dutch corporate director and former civil servant and politician of the Reformed Political League (GPV) and his successor the ChristianUnion (ChristenUnie). From 2002 to 2003 he ...

, who was the mayor of Bunschoten). In Ferwerderadeel, Geersing became the first GPV mayor after 80 years of mayors of the Christian Democratic Appeal and its predecessors. While being mayor of Ferwerderadeel, Geersing was also a longtime chairman of the

Fryske Akademy The Fryske Akademy ( Frisian for ''Frisian Academy''), founded in 1938, is the scientific centre for research and education concerning Friesland (''Fryslân'' in West Frisian) and its people, language and culture, this in its broadest sense. Th ...

member of the Elfstedentocht Commission, and chairman of the regional garbage processing plant. In 1998, the

chain of office A livery collar or chain of office is a collar or heavy chain, usually of gold, worn as insignia of office or a mark of fealty or other association in Europe from the Middle Ages onwards. One of the oldest and best-known livery collars is the Col ...

and hammer of the mayor were stolen were by an angry houseboat owner. In 2000, Geersing and his peers in

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

and Friesland prepared for brothels leaving the cities and entering rural space. In August 2001 he retired as mayor of Ferwerderadeel.

Later life, recognition and death

Geersing was awarded a and a pin of merit of the municipality of Ferwerderadiel. In his retirement, Geesink edited ''Code: HC1'', a book by Sijbren van der Velde on Dutch World War II resistance. Geersing died in

Zuidhorn Zuidhorn () is a town and former municipality in the northeastern Netherlands. The town largely depends on the city of Groningen. A railway line, operated by Arriva, connects the town with Leeuwarden in Friesland and Groningen. Due to a municipal ...

on 17 February 2021, aged 80.

References

External links

Jan Geersing
at

Delpher Delpher is a website providing full-text Dutch-language digitized historical newspapers, books, journals and copy sheets for radio news broadcasts. The material is provided by libraries, museums and other heritage institutions and is developed and ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geersing, Jan 20th-century Dutch politicians Mayors of places in the Netherlands 1940 births 2021 deaths People from Noordenveld 20th-century Dutch educators People from Westerkwartier (municipality) Members of the Provincial Council of Friesland Reformed Political League politicians Christian Union (Netherlands) politicians University of Groningen alumni People from Ferwerderadiel