Jan Gerard Kemmerling (February 4, 1776 in

Gulpen Gulpen (; ) is a village in the Netherlands, Dutch province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. It is approximately midway between the Dutch city of Maastricht and the German city of Aachen. Gulpen was a separate municipality until 1999, when it ...

– January 15, 1818 in

Heerlen Heerlen (; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeast of the Netherlands. It is the third largest settlement proper in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Measured as municipality, it is the f ...

) was

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Heerlen and

Nieuwenhagen Nieuwenhagen is a former village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is now a part of the municipality of Landgraaf Landgraaf (; ) is a municipality in southeastern Limburg, Netherlands, forming part of the Parkstad Limburg agglomeration. ' ...

. When the French arrived in Heerlen in 1795, Kemmerling sympathized with their ideas of

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

and

revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

. He became

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

at age 23 for the newly established

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

of Heerlen. In 1801, he also started to work as a

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is distin ...

, and in the same year became a member of the municipality. In 1805, he was made ''maire'' (French name for

al) of

, he was also the ''maire'' of Nieuwenhagen (till his death). When the Prussians occupied Heerlen on July 13, 1814, he was successful in befriending them. After Heerlen became a part of the new

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 ...

(May 12, 1815) he remained as mayor. King Williem I rather had

civil servants The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

who were trained in modern administratorial duties under

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

then once not used to this.

Sources

www.heerlen.nl
1776 births 1818 deaths Mayors of Heerlen Mayors in Limburg (Netherlands) People from Gulpen-Wittem {{Netherlands-mayor-stub