Otto Willem Arnold

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

van Verschuer, lord of Mariënwaerdt, Echteld and Enspijk (22 July 1927 – 4 June 2014) was a Dutch politician. He served in the

States of Gelderland The States of Gelderland (, ) are the States-Provincial for the Netherlands, Dutch Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Gelderland. It forms the legislative body of the province. Its 55 seats are distributed every four years in Provincial e ...

between 1962 and 1978, while being part of the Executive of the same province from 1965. Verschuer was member of the Dutch

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 ...

between 1978 and 1983.

Biography

Otto van Verschuer was born on 22 July 1927 in home Hooge Spijk at family estate Mariënwaerdt, in Beesd, to Wolter Frans Frederik, baron van Verschuer and Willemine Louisa Maria, baroness van Heemstra. He went to high school in Arnhem and went on to study Indisch law (law of the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

) at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public university, public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of ...

, graduating in 1953. He was rentmeester of the crown domains of Culemborg-Tiel-Grave-Arnhem between 1958 and 1971. He entered the

for the

Christian Historical Union The Christian Historical Union (, CHU) was a Protestant Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), into which it merged in September 1980. History 187 ...

on 6 June 1962. From 1 March 1965 he concurrently was member of the Provincial-Executive, tasked with spatial planning and agriculture. He left his provincial positions on 7 June 1978. Several months later, in September 1978, he became acting mayor of

Wageningen Wageningen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a historic city in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. It is famous for Wageningen University, which specialises in life sciences. The municipality had a ...

, after the previous mayor had died. Verschuer was extraordinary member of the

between 1 October 1978 and 25 April 1979. On that latter date he was made a regular member, and continued serving until 1 June 1983. In January 1979 he was offered membership of the Dutch

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

but declined. Apart from his political career Verschuer served as chair of the

Royal Dutch Touring Club The Royal Dutch Touring Club ANWB (), known simply as ANWB (), is a travelers' association in the Netherlands, supporting all modes of travel. It provides test reports, travel services and roadside assistance and is comparable to the German '' ...

between 1988 and 1995. He also spent a large part of his time of his time conserving the family estate Mariënwaerdt in Beesd. His father had already told him he was to be successor to the estate at age 10. He was made Knight of the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (, ) is a Dutch honours system, Dutch order of chivalry founded by William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. The Order of the Netherlands Lion wa ...

in 1978 and Commander of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

in 1993. Verschuer served as chamberlain to Queen

Beatrix of the Netherlands Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as List of monarchs of the Netherlands, Queen of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix was born ...

for a long time. He also received an honorary cross of the Order of the House of Orange. He died on 4 June 2014. He was buried in the family grave on the estate Mariënwaerdt in Beesd. Dignitaries at his burial included former prime minister

Jan Peter Balkenende Jan Pieter Balkenende Jr. ( ; born 7 May 1956), commonly known as Jan Peter Balkenende, is a Dutch jurist and politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 to 14 October 20 ...

and Herman Wijffels.

References

External links

Biography on Parlement.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verschuer, Otto van 1927 births 2014 deaths People from Geldermalsen Dutch barons Lords in the Netherlands Utrecht University alumni Van Heemstra (family) Chairmen of the Christian Historical Union Christian Historical Union politicians 20th-century Dutch politicians Christian Democratic Appeal politicians Mayors of Wageningen Members of the Provincial Council of Gelderland Members of the Provincial-Executive of Gelderland Members of the Council of State (Netherlands) Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau