Dutch term: burgemeester

23 September 2013 by Leave a Comment
Portrait of a man with a medal

Dirk Zeper (1803-1881), mayor of Leeuwarden. Source: Beeldbank Leeuwarden (public domain)

The term burgemeester means ‘mayor’. Before 1795, when the French occupied the Netherlands and introduced new laws, most towns had more than one mayor. These were elected officials.

Since 1795, each municipality only has one mayor. Mayors are appointed by the crown. In early records of the civil registration, it is not unusual for a mayor of a small town to act as the clerk registering the births, marriages and deaths in the civil registration records.

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About Yvette Hoitink

Yvette Hoitink, MLitt, CG®, QG™ is a professional genealogist, writer, and lecturer in the Netherlands. She has a Master of Letters in Family and Local History from the University of Dundee, and holds the Certification of Genealogist and Qualified Genealogist credentials. Yvette served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Professional Genealogists and won excellence awards for her articles in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly and the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly. Yvette has been doing genealogy for over 30 years. She helps people from across the world find their ancestors from the Netherlands and its former colonies, including New Netherland. Read about Yvette's professional genealogy services.

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