List of governors of the Habsburg Netherlands

This article is about governors-general (landvoogden) of all the Habsburg Netherlands combined. For governors (stadtholders) of individual provinces, see List of stadtholders in the Netherlands.
Coat of arms of the Habsburg Netherlands.

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 Emperor Charles V, 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

Picture Name Took office Left office Relationship to monarch Appointed by
Engelbert II of Nassau
(1451–1504) 		1501 1504 /

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor for Philip the Handsome

William de Croÿ
(1458–1521) 		1504 1507 / Maximilian I for Charles of Ghent
Margaret of Austria
(1480–1530) 		1507 1 December 1530
(death) 		Aunt of Charles
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.
Mary of Austria
(1505-1558) 		January 1531 October 1555 Sister Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy
(1528–1580) 		1555 1559 Cousin of Philip Charles V for his son Philip.
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

Philip II of Spain

Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba
(1507–1582) 		1567 1573 /
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 /
Ernest of Austria
(1553–1595) 		1594 20 February 1595
(death) 		Nephew
Pedro Henriquez de Acevedo, Count of Fuentes
(1525–1610) 		1595 1596 /
Albert 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, 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 of Austria
(1566–1633) 		1621 1 December 1633
(death) 		Aunt

Philip IV of Spain

Ferdinand of Austria
(1609/1610–1641) 		1633 9 November 1641
(death) 		Brother
Francisco de Melo
(1597–1651) 		1641 1644 /
Manuel de Moura
(1590–1651) 		1644 1647 /
Leopold William of Austria
(1614–1662) 		1647 1656 Cousin
John of Austria the Younger
(1629–1679) 		1656 1659 Son
Luis de Benavides Carrillo
(1608–1668) 		1659 1664 /
Francisco de Moura
(1610–1675) 		1664 1668 /

Charles II of Spain

Íñigo Melchor de Velasco
(1608–1668) 		1668 1670 /
Juan Domingo de Zuñiga y Fonseca
(1640–1716) 		1670 1675 /
Carlos de Aragón de Gurrea
(1634–1692) 		1675 1677 /
Alexander Farnese
(1635–1689) 		1678 1682 Second Cousin
Ottone Enrico del Caretto
(1629–1685) 		1682 1685 /
Francisco Antonio de Agurto
(1640–1702) 		1685 1692 /
Maximilian II Emanuel of Bavaria
(1662–1726) 		1692 1706 Nephew-in-law
Uncle Philip V of Spain
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, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI became ruler of the Austrian Netherlands.
Eugene of Savoy
(1663–1736) 		1716 1724 Third cousin Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Wirich Philipp von Daun
(1669–1741) 		February 1725 October 1725 /
Maria Elisabeth of Austria
(1680–1741) 		1725 26 August 1741
(death) 		Sister
Aunt Maria Theresa of Austria
Friedrich August von Harrach-Rohrau
(1696–1749) 		1741 1744 /
Maria Anna of Austria
(1718–1744) 		1744 16 December 1744
(death) 		Sister
Charles Alexander of Lorraine
(1712–1780) 		4 July 1780
(death) 		Brother-in-law
Maria Christina of Austria-Lorraine
(1742–1798)
with
Albert Casimir of Saxony
(1738–1822) 		1781 1793 Sister and brother-in-law Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
Aunt and uncle Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles of Austria-Lorraine
(1771–1847) 		1793 1794 Brother

Thereafter, the French revolutionaries occupied the Low Countries until 1815. The Emperor formally recognized 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.

See also