Johan Rudolph Thorbecke

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His Excellency Johan Rudolph Thorbecke
Portrait by Johan Heinrich Neuman [nl], 1852
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
In office 4 January 1871 – 4 June 1872
Monarch	William III
Preceded by	Pieter Philip van Bosse
Succeeded by	Gerrit de Vries
In office 1 February 1862 – 10 February 1866
Monarch	William III
Preceded by	Schelto van Heemstra
Succeeded by	Isaäc Dignus Fransen van de Putte
In office 1 November 1849 – 19 April 1853
Monarch	William III
Preceded by	Jacob de Kempenaer
Succeeded by	Floris Adriaan van Hall
Minister of the Interior
In office 4 January 1871 – 4 June 1872
Preceded by	Cornelis Fock [nl]
Succeeded by	Pieter Philip van Bosse
In office 1 February 1862 – 10 February 1866
Preceded by	Schelto van Heemstra
Succeeded by	Johan Herman Geertsema Carelszoon [nl]
In office 1 November 1849 – 19 April 1853
Preceded by	Jacob de Kempenaer
Succeeded by	Gerlach Cornelis Joannes van Reenen
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 25 February 1868 – 4 January 1871
In office 19 November 1866 – 3 January 1868
In office 14 March 1866 – 1 October 1866
In office 27 June 1853 – 31 January 1862
In office 17 October 1848 – 31 October 1849
In office 21 May 1844 – 19 October 1845
Personal details
Born	Johan Rudolph Thorbecke (1798-01-14)14 January 1798 Zwolle, Batavian Republic
Died	4 June 1872(1872-06-04) (aged 74) The Hague, Netherlands
Nationality	Dutch
Spouse	Adelheid Solger ​ ​ (m. 1836; died 1870)​
Children	6
Alma mater	Leiden University
Occupation	Politician civil servant jurist historian professor author
Signature

Johan Rudolph Thorbecke (14 January 1798 – 4 June 1872) was a Dutch liberal statesman, one of the most important Dutch politicians of the 19th century. Thorbecke is best known for heading the commission that drafted the revision of the Constitution of the Netherlands in 1848, amidst the liberal democratic revolutions of 1848. The new constitution transformed the country from an absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy, with the States General and the Council of Ministers becoming more powerful than the king. The amended constitution also granted individual rights to residents and citizens of the kingdom. This made the constitution one of the more progressive at the time. Thorbecke is generally considered a founding father of the modern political system of the Netherlands.