Jacob de Kempenaer

Jacob de Kempenaer
Chairman of the Council of Ministers
In office
21 November 1848 – 1 November 1849
MonarchsWilliam II
William III
Preceded byGerrit Schimmelpenninck
Succeeded byJohan Rudolph Thorbecke
Personal details
Born
Jacobus Mattheüs de Kempenaer

(1793-07-06)6 July 1793
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died12 February 1870(1870-02-12) (aged 76)
Arnhem, Netherlands
SpouseArnoldina Jacoba Gerlings
Children6

Jacobus Mattheüs de Kempenaer (6 July 1793 – 12 February 1870) was a Dutch politician and lawyer who served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers from November 1848 to November 1849. He served as a member of the House of Representatives, chairman of the board of Commerce for Arnhem, a member of the city board, and a member of the Provincial States of Gelderland.

Initially in the House of Representatives, de Kempenaer was considered a liberal. In 1844, he was among nine men to propose amending the Constitution of the Netherlands. De Kempenaer was appointed to the Constitution Commission headed by Johan Rudolph Thorbecke in 1848, and as Minister of the Interior. He soon became de facto Prime Minister, playing an important role in the revision of the national Constitution. He resigned his offices in 1849 and subsequently became a conservative, opposing Thorbecke.