Landdrost was the title of various officials with local jurisdiction in the Netherlands and a number of former territories in the Dutch Empire. The term is a Dutch compound, with land meaning “region” and drost, from Middle Dutchdrossāte which originally referred to a lord’s chief retainer, equivalent to:
*1852 – 1855: Andreas Theodorus Spies, who was already in office before the settlement declared itself a republic
*1855 – February 1856: J.C. Steyn
*February 1856 – 8 May 1858: Andreas Theodorus Spies
A similar gubernatorial role in other Boer polities was played by officials styled Kaptyn.
Civil Commissioners, magistrates
In the Cape Colony, an ordinance passed in 1827 abolished the old Dutch “landdrost” and courts of heemraden, instead substituting British-type resident magistrates, who would act only in English. Most of the Cape’s magistrates were also civil commissioners, in charge of civil divisions – the Cape Peninsula was a single division with three magisterial districts: Cape Town, Wynberg and Simon’s Town. In the Boer republics, each proclaimed district had a landdrost. With the annexation of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State during the Boer War, the office fell away, the landdrosts being replaced by British-style magistrates. Since 1958, “landdros” has been used as the Afrikaans term for a magistrate.
Netherlands under Napoleonic rule
Drenthe province, after Administrators, had two Landdrosts:
*1 January 1810 – 1811 Jan Adriaan, baron van Zuylen van Nijevelt ; next it had Governors
Friesland, after several Administrators, had one Landdrost: 8 May 1807 – February 1811 Regnerus Livius van Andringa de Kempenaer, next a Prefect, then Commissarissen-generaal
Gelderland, after Administrators, had Landdrosts:
*8 May 1807 – 14 November 1807: Gerrit Willem Joseph, baron van Lamswerde
*14 November 1807 – 1 January 1811 Johan Arend de Vos van Steenwijk
*1810 – February 1811 Verstolk van Soelen; next a Prefect, afterwards Governors
Groningen province, after Administrators, had one Landdrost: 8 May 1807 – 1 January 1811 Hendrik Ludolf Wichers, next two Prefects of Ems-Occidental, then Governors
Noord Brabant, after Administrators had one Landdrost, 8 May 1807 – 1810: Paul Emanuel Anthony de la Court, next a Prefect of Bouches-du-Rhin department, then Governors
Holland as such never had a Landdrost; however, while the Amstel, Delf and Texel départements were only under Commissioners, these temporary fractions did:
*Amstelland, formed in 1807 from Amsterdam and northern part of département Holland, until it was on 9 July 1810 merged with Utrecht into French département Zuyderzee, had one Landdrost, 1807 – 9 July 1810: Jan van Styrum
*Maasland, in 1807 a département formed from The Hague and southern parts of département of Holland, had a single Landdrost, May 1807 – November 1807: Jacob Abraham de Mist, then Prefects until it was in 1814 abolished
Overijssel, after Administrators had one Landdrost, 1 January 1810 – 1811: Petrus Hofstede , then two Prefects of Bouches-de-l'Yssel
Utrecht province, after Administrators had one Landdrost, 1806 – 1811: Jan Hendrik van Lynden, then Governors
Zeeland, after Administrators had two Landdrosts:
*8 May 1807 – 1809 Abraham van Doorn
*8 September 1809 – 16 March 1810 François Ermerins ; next two Prefects of Bouches-de-l'Escaut, then Governors
Meanwhile Dutch Limburg was simply annexed to France as one of the 'Belgian' provinces, département Meuse-Inférieure 'Lower Maas '
In 1823 the Kingdom of Hanover, then in personal union with the UK, adopted the term for its administrative subdivisions called Landdrostei, each presided over by a Landdrost, with those terms then translated into English as High-Bailiwick and High-Bailiff. On 1 April 1885 the terms were replaced in Hanover by the terms Regierungsbezirk and Regierungspräsident.
After World War II, the old landdrost title was re-used for two extraordinary jurisdictions within the Dutch Occupation Zone in Germany. On 22 March 1949, the Allies agreed to let the Netherlands occupy and annex some German border territories. These included the municipalities of Havert, Hillensberg, Millen, Süsterseel, Tüddern, Wehr, parts of Höngen, Gangelt, Schumm, Saeffelen as well as Elten and Hoch-Elten. The Dutch annexation effectively started on 23 April that year, with the following two jurisdictions declared:
Landdrost of Tudderen : 1949 – 1963 Hubert M.J. Dassen
two Landdrosten of Elten
*April 1949 – October 1961: Dr. Adriaan Blaauboer
*October 1961 – August 1963: Baron Hans Georg Inundat van Tuyll van Serooskerken
This situation lasted until 11 August 1963, when all territories were returned except for minor frontier adjustments, following German agreement to pay war compensation.
After the creation of the Zuidelijke IJsselmeerpolders, now part of the province of Flevoland, the newly claimed area was governed by the landdrost of the Openbaar Lichaam Zuidelijke IJsselmeerpolders until it was partitioned into municipalities.
