Pieter Huidekoper

Most mayors of his day were lawyers, but Pieter Huidekoper came from the sea. He was born in Amsterdam on 31 March 1798 into a Mennonite family. His father Jan Huidekoper sat on the city council and was a director of the Levant Trade, the city's trade with the eastern Mediterranean. Pieter became a sea captain, worked for the firm Voûte & Co. and from 1821 to 1842 was a marine insurer, covering ships and cargo.

From the exchange to city hall

Huidekoper joined the city council in 1835. In 1838 he turned down a seat in the House of Representatives, but in 1841 he took one after all, for just four months. A royal decree of 18 January 1842 made him mayor of Amsterdam from 1 February that year.

His shipping background mattered. Amsterdam had a big problem: its port was hard to reach. Ships had to come through the Zuiderzee or the North Holland Canal, and the canal soon proved too small. As mayor, Huidekoper set in motion the plans for the North Sea Canal, a direct route from the IJ to the sea. Digging would not start until 1865 and the canal would not open until 1876, but the idea took shape under him.

Year of revolution, and farewell

Huidekoper was mayor in the turbulent year of 1848, when revolutions swept Europe and Amsterdam also saw rioting. That same year the Netherlands got a new, liberal constitution. In 1849 his health gave way: a royal decree of 2 November 1849 granted his resignation from 1 December. On 13 May 1850 a group of Amsterdammers presented him with a gold medal of honour in thanks.

He went on to serve as an extraordinary member of the Council of State. He was also on the boards of a society helping the honest and hard-working poor and of the city's general health fund. He was married to Sara van Eeghen and had two daughters. Pieter Huidekoper died in Amsterdam on 4 June 1852, aged 54.