Willem Daniël Cramer

Willem Daniël Cramer was Amsterdam born and a lawyer to the core. He was born on 10 September 1788, the son of regent Barent Cramer, studied law at the Athenaeum Illustre and took his doctorate in Leiden in 1808. A long career at the court in his home city followed: lawyer, deputy prosecutor, examining judge and finally public prosecutor. From 1829 he also sat on the city council.

From courtroom to city hall

In March 1836 he swapped the courtroom for city hall, succeeding Van de Poll, who had just resigned after a row with The Hague. Cramer stayed in office until 1 January 1842, almost six years. These were the final years of King William I, who abdicated in 1840. Cramer was seen as loyal to the government. In 1840 he became an extraordinary member of the Council of State and spent a month in the Double House of Representatives, the enlarged chamber that dealt with that year's constitutional revision.

His contemporaries were full of praise. A biography from the period says he served Amsterdam's interests with dignity and skill, and that everyone recognised his loyalty, precision and tireless effort. He was known as gentle and modest. He left no writings, yet was regarded as an excellent jurist.

Churchwarden and father-in-law

Alongside his work, Cramer was churchwarden of the Eilandskerk and the Zuiderkerk, a curator of the city's schools for the poor and a member of the Doctrina and Leesmuseum societies. After his time as mayor he returned to the judiciary, becoming vice-president and in 1852 president of the Provincial Court of North Holland.

Cramer married twice. His daughter Wilhelmina married Cornelis Boot, who would himself be mayor of Amsterdam from 1855 to 1858. According to his biographers, the family tie helped Boot's career. Cramer died in Amsterdam on 21 December 1856.