List of governors of the Habsburg Netherlands
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The governor (Dutch: landvoogd) or governor-general (gouverneur-generaal) of the Habsburg Netherlands was a representative appointed by the Holy Roman emperor (1504-1556), the king of Spain (1556-1598, 1621-1706), and the archduke of Austria (1716-1794), to administer the Burgundian inheritance of the House of Habsburg in the Low Countries when the monarch was absent from the territory. The role of the governors-general significantly changed over time: initially tutors and advisors of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, who lived at the Palace of Coudenberg, they served as generals during the Eighty Years' War between the Kingdom of Spain and the Dutch Republic. Frequently, the governor-general was a close relative of the Austrian or Spanish monarchs, though at other times Spanish or German noblemen filled the role. The governor-general was usually based in Brussels.
List of governors
edit| Picture | Name | Took office | Left office | Relationship to monarch | Appointed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Engelbert II of Nassau (1451–1504) |
1501 | 1504 | / | |
.jpg) |
William de Croÿ (1458–1521) |
1504 | 1507 | / | _Rijksmuseum_SK-A-3293.jpeg) .png){kind=spacer} Maximilian I for Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor |
 |
Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy (1480–1530) |
1507 | 1 December 1530 (death) |
Aunt of Charles V | |
| Charles became Duke of Burgundy in 1506 (emancipated in 1515), King of Spain and the Two Sicilies in 1516, Archduke of Austria and Holy Roman Emperor as Charles V in 1519 at the death of Maximilian. | |||||
,_Queen_of_Hungary.jpg) |
Mary of Hungary (1505–1558) |
January 1531 | October 1555 | Sister | Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor |
.jpg) |
Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy (1528–1580) |
1555 | 1559 | Cousin of Philip |  Charles V for his son Philip II of Spain. |
| In 1556, Philip V, Duke of Burgundy, became king of Spain as Philip II, thereby bringing the Habsburg Netherlands under Spanish control. | |||||
 |
Margaret of Parma (1522–1586) |
1559 | 1567 | Half-sister | |
 |
Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba (1507–1582) |
1567 | 1573 | / | |
.jpg) |
Luis de Requesens y Zúñiga (1528–1576) |
1573 | 5 March 1576 (death) |
/ | |
 |
John of Austria (1547–1578) |
1576 | 1 October 1578 (death) |
Half-brother | |
 |
Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma (1545–1592) |
1578 | 3 December 1592 (death) |
Half-nephew | |
 |
Peter Ernst I von Mansfeld-Vorderort (1517–1604) |
1592 | 1594 | / | |
 |
Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595) |
1594 | 20 February 1595 (death) |
Nephew | |
 |
Pedro Henriquez de Acevedo, Count of Fuentes (1525–1610) |
1595 | 1596 | / | |
 |
Albert VII, Archduke of Austria (1559–1621) |
1596 | 1598 | Nephew | |
| In 1598, Philip II of Spain ceded the Netherlands to his daughter Isabella Clara Eugenia and nephew Albert VII, Archduke of Austria, who married the next year. They reigned together until his death, when the Netherlands passed to their nephew, Philip IV of Spain, in whose name Isabella Clara Eugenia governed the countries until her death. | |||||
 |
Isabella Clara Eugenia (1566–1633) |
1621 | 1 December 1633 (death) |
Aunt |  Philip IV of Spain |
 |
Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria (1609/1610–1641) |
1633 | 9 November 1641 (death) |
Brother | |
 |
Francisco de Melo (1597–1651) |
1641 | 1644 | / | |
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Manuel de Moura Corte Real, 2nd Marquis of Castelo Rodrigo (1590–1651) |
1644 | 1647 | / | |
 |
Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria (1614–1662) |
1647 | 1656 | Cousin | |
 |
John Joseph of Austria (1629–1679) |
1656 | 1659 | Son | |
 |
Luis de Benavides Carrillo, Marquis of Caracena (1608–1668) |
1659 | 1664 | / | |
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Francisco de Moura Corte Real, 3rd Marquis of Castelo Rodrigo (1610–1675) |
1664 | 1668 | / | |
.jpg)
| |||||
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Íñigo Melchor de Velasco, 7th Duke of Frías (1608–1668) |
1668 | 1670 | / | |
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Juan Domingo de Zuñiga y Fonseca (1640–1716) |
1670 | 1675 | / | |
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Carlos de Aragón de Gurrea, 9th Duke of Villahermosa (1634–1692) |
1675 | 1677 | / | |
 |
Alexander Farnese, Prince of Parma (1635–1689) |
1678 | 1682 | Second Cousin | |
| Ottone Enrico del Caretto, Marquis of Savona (1629–1685) |
1682 | 1685 | / | ||
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Francisco Antonio de Agurto, 1st Marquess of Gastañaga (1640–1702) |
1685 | 1692 | / | |
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Maximilian II Emanuel (1662–1726) |
1692 | 1706 | Nephew-in-law | |
| Uncle |  Philip V of Spain | ||||
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Isidoro de la Cueva y Benavides (acting) (1652–1723) |
1701 | 1704 | During the absence of Maximilian of Bavaria | |
| Following the War of the Spanish Succession, Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor became ruler of the Austrian Netherlands. | |||||
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Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736) |
1716 | 1724 | Third cousin |  Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor |
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Wirich Philipp von Daun (1669–1741) |
February 1725 | October 1725 | / | |
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Archduchess Maria Elisabeth of Austria (1680–1741) |
1725 | 26 August 1741 (death) |
Sister | |
| Aunt |  Maria Theresa | ||||
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Friedrich August von Harrach-Rohrau (1696–1749) |
1741 | 1744 | / | |
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Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1718–1744) |
1744 | 16 December 1744 (death) |
Sister | |
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Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine (1712–1780) |
4 July 1780 (death) |
Brother-in-law | ||
 |
Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen (1742–1798) with Albert Casimir, Duke of Teschen (1738–1822) |
1781 | 1793 | Sister and brother-in-law |  Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor |
.png) Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor | |||||
| Aunt and uncle |  Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor | ||||
 |
Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen (1771–1847) |
1793 | 1794 | Brother | |
Thereafter, the French revolutionaries occupied the Low Countries until 1815. The Emperor formally recognised the loss of these territories by the Treaty of Lunéville of 1801. At the Congress of Vienna, in 1815, the Low Countries were re-united in a personal union under the House of Orange-Nassau. In 1830, Belgium declared its independence.