Jonkheer Pieter Godfried Maria van Meeuwen (11 March 1899 in

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

– 9 February 1982 in

Ulestraten Ulestraten ( li, Ulesjtraote) is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located in the municipality of Meerssen. It is surrounded by several forests. History The village was first mentioned in 1335 as Hulenstroten, and is combination ...

) was a Dutch judge and a politician. Van Meeuwen studied law at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

and obtained his degree in 1924. After working as a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

in 's-Hertogenbosch until 1927 he was a court clerk at the local arrondissement court until 1930. Van Meeuwen subsequently judge at the same court, which he remained until 1936. He then took up a similar position at The Hague court, which he kept until 1949. He then acquired a seat in the court of justice (''Dutch'':Gerechtshof) in the same city. He stayed on until 1951, and then took up a similar position at the court of justice of 's-Hertogenbosch. In 1955 he transferred to the canton court of Heerlen, where he served until April 1969. After World War II Van Meeuwen was Vice-President of the Bijzonder Gerechtshof of The Hague until 1 December 1946, and continued as President until 1 February 1949. During this period he sentenced Hanns Albin Rauter to death. Van Meeuwen was active in politics as well. He was a member of the Roman Catholic State Party and its successor party the Catholic People's Party. He was a member of the

States of North Brabant The Provincial Council of North Brabant ( nl, Provinciale Staten van Noord-Brabant), also known as the States of North Brabant, is the provincial council of North Brabant, Netherlands. It forms the legislative body of the province. Its 55 seats a ...

(15 April 1931–January 1936) and the

States of Limburg The Provincial Council of Limburg ( nl, Provinciale Staten van Limburg), also called Limburgs Parlement, are the provincial council for the Dutch province of Limburg. It forms the legislative body of the province. Its 47 seats are distributed eve ...

(6 July 1954 – 1 December 1956). Van Meeuwen was a member of the Senate of the Netherlands from 6 November 1956 to 16 September 1969.

Private life

Van Meeuwen married Louisa Augusta Johanna Maria van Lanschot; they had five children.

Distinction

* Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion (1964)

References

1899 births 1982 deaths Catholic People's Party politicians 20th-century Dutch politicians 20th-century Dutch judges Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Leiden University alumni Members of the Provincial Council of Limburg Members of the Provincial Council of North Brabant Members of the Senate (Netherlands) People from 's-Hertogenbosch Roman Catholic State Party politicians {{Netherlands-politician-stub