Gerrit Schimmelpenninck

Gerrit, Count Schimmelpenninck
1st Prime Minister of the Netherlands
In office 25 March 1848 – 17 May 1848
Monarch	William II
Preceded by	None (office established)
Succeeded by	Jacob de Kempenaer
Personal details
Born	Gerrit Schimmelpenninck (1794-02-25)25 February 1794 Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died	4 October 1863(1863-10-04) (aged 69) Arnhem, Netherlands
Political party	Moderate Liberal/Conservative (no party)
Spouse(s)	Henriëtte Stulen (m. 1815, d. 1816) Johanna Constantina(m. 1819, d. 1852) Louise van Schuylenburch (m. 1855)
Children	8
Occupation	Politician Civil servant Businessman

Gerrit, Count Schimmelpenninck (25 February 1794, in Amsterdam – 4 October 1863, in Arnhem) was a Dutch businessman and statesman, whose views ranged from liberal to conservative. He was the son of Grand Pensionary Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck and a member of the Dutch Reformed Church.

After other functions, among which chief of the Nederlandsche Handelmaatschappij, he became head of secretary in Saint-Petersburg and later in London.

The primary reason of William II to get him to the Netherlands was to keep Thorbecke out of the Council of Ministers. In March 1848 he became Chairman of the Council of Ministers, holding the ministerial offices of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance. His proposal to design a Constitution following British model, which would imply that the Senate could not be dissolved by the King, was rejected by the other ministers. He tendered his resignation on 14 May 1848.