Uitvoerend Bewind Explained

The Uitvoerend Bewind (Dutch for Executive Council/Authority) was the name of the government of the Batavian Republic between 1798 and 1801. The president of the Uitvoerend Bewind was head of state of the Batavian Republic.

Unitarian Democrats

The political group of unitarian democrats was dissatisfied with the slowness of the progress of the Dutch parliament, the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic. They were in favour of a central authority, opposed federalism, and wanted general elections. Conservatives and moderates stood against such demands, and the country had become un-governable, without prospects of drafting a constitution.

Under the leadership of Pieter Vreede, the unitarian democrats engineered a coup d'état on January 22, 1798, with the help of general Herman Willem Daendels, and began to rule as the Uitvoerend Bewind, which soon became highly unpopular among their own supporters in the country.

Second Uitvoerend Bewind

A second coup followed on June 12, 1798, with the goal of removing the impopular rule. An interim government was installed, which would reign until new elections would bring a new Representative Assembly, still under universal suffrage (This was replaced by census suffrage after the coup d'état of 1801).

Between 1798 and 1801, the president of the Uitvoerend Bewind was the head of state of the Batavian Republic, and not as previously, the president of the Assembly. On 6 October 1801, a constitutional referendum was held.^[1]

Dutch heads of state between 1798 and 1801

From	To
25 January 1798	24 February 1798	Pieter Vreede	Uitvoerend Bewind
25 February 1798	24 March 1798	Wijbo Fijnje
25 March 1798	24 April 1798	Stefanus Jacobus van Langen
25 April 1798	24 May 1798	Berend Wildrik
25 May 1798	12 June 1798	Johan Pieter Fokker
14 June 1798	17 August 1798	Jacobus Spoors	Intermediair Bestuur (Interim Government)
Gerrit Jan Pijman
Alexander Gogel
Reinier Willem Tadama
Abraham Jacques la Pierre
17 August 1798	16 September 1798	Albert Willem Hoeth	Uitvoerend Bewind
17 September 1798	16 October 1798	Johannes Willem van Hasselt
17 October 1798	16 November 1798	François Ermerins
17 November 1798	16 December 1798	Anthonie Frederik Robbert Evert van Haersolte, Lord van Staverden
17 December 1798	16 January 1799	Joannes Franciscus Rudolphus van Hooff
17 January 1799	16 February 1799	Albert Willem Hoeth
17 February 1799	16 March 1799	Johannes Willem van Hasselt
17 March 1799	16 April 1799	François Ermerins
17 April 1799	16 May 1799	Anthonie Frederik Robbert Evert van Haersolte, Lord van Staverden
17 May 1799	16 June 1799	Joannes Franciscus Rudolphus van Hooff
17 June 1799	16 July 1799	Albert Willem Hoeth
17 July 1799	16 August 1799	Augustijn Gerhard Besier
17 August 1799	16 September 1799	François Ermerins
17 September 1799	16 October 1799	Anthonie Frederik Robbert Evert van Haersolte, Lord van Staverden
17 October 1799	16 November 1799	Joannes Franciscus Rudolphus van Hooff
17 November 1799	16 December 1799	Albert Willem Hoeth
17 December 1799	16 January 1800	Augustijn Gerhard Besier
17 January 1800	16 February 1800	François Ermerins
17 February 1800	16 March 1800	Anthonie Frederik Robbert Evert van Haersolte, Lord van Staverden
17 March 1800	16 April 1800	Joannes Franciscus Rudolphus van Hooff
17 April 1800	16 May 1800	Albert Willem Hoeth
17 May 1800	16 June 1800	Augustijn Gerhard Besier
17 June 1800	16 July 1800	François Ermerins
17 July 1800	16 August 1800	Anthonie Frederik Robbert Evert van Haersolte, Lord van Staverden
17 August 1800	16 September 1800	Jan Hendrik van Swinden
17 September 1800	16 October 1800	Albert Willem Hoeth
17 October 1800	16 November 1800	Augustijn Gerhard Besier
17 November 1800	16 December 1800	François Ermerins
17 December 1800	16 January 1801	Anthonie Frederik Robbert Evert van Haersolte, Lord van Staverden
17 January 1801	16 February 1801	Jan Hendrik van Swinden
17 February 1801	16 March 1801	Albert Willem Hoeth
17 March 1801	16 April 1801	Augustijn Gerhard Besier
17 April 1801	16 May 1801	François Ermerins
17 May 1801	16 June 1801	Anthonie Frederik Robbert Evert van Haersolte, Lord van Staverden
17 June 1801	16 July 1801	Jan Hendrik van Swinden
17 July 1801	16 August 1801	Gerrit Jan Pijman
17 August 1801	16 September 1801	Augustijn Gerhard Besier
17 September 1801	16 October 1801	François Ermerins
17 October 1801		Anthonie Frederik Robbert Evert van Haersolte, Lord van Staverden

Notes and References

1. http://www.sudd.ch/event.php?lang=en&id=nl011801 Batavische Republik (Niederlande), 6. Oktober 1801 : Verfassung