Aarnoud van Heemstra

Aarnoud Jan Anne Aleid Baron van Heemstra (22 July 1871 in Vreeland – 30 December 1957 in Arnhem) was a Dutch nobleman, jurist and politician. He served as mayor of Arnhem between 1910 and 1920, and Governor-General of Suriname from 1921 until 1928. Van Heemstra was the grandfather of Audrey Hepburn.

Life and career

He was a member of the Van Heemstra family and was born in Vreeland, the son of Wilhelmina Cornelia (née de Beaufort, 1843–1927) and Willem Hendrik Johan Baron van Heemstra (1841–1909), the mayor of Loenen. He studied at Utrecht University where he obtained his doctorate in law in 1896.

In 1921, van Heemstra was appointed governor of Suriname by Queen Wilhelmina. but did not return until 23 January 1925. He was reinstalled on 21 February 1925. There were several conflicts with the Estates of Suriname who called for his resignation. In 1928, he resigned as governor after a conflict with the States General.

Van Heemstra returned to the Arnhem region, and became editor-in-chief of Politiek Economisch Weekblad, a political economic magazine published until 1940. He was originally pro-German and pro-Japan, however during the late 1930s, he started to change his mind. After this, his widowed daughter Miesje (1897–1987) and his divorced daughter Ella (1900–1984) lived with him in Velp, along with Ella's youngest child, the future actress Audrey Hepburn (1929–1993). Geraldine Caroline Baroness van Heemstra (1898–1965) Ella Baroness van Heemstra (1900–1984), mother of actress Audrey Hepburn lady-in-waiting to Princess and later Queen Juliana of the Netherlands Willem Hendrik Johan Baron van Heemstra (1907–1978) Arnoudina Johanna Baroness van Heemstra (1911–1975)

In 1947, eight years after the death of his first wife, Van Heemstra married a second time, to Anna Eliza Roosenburg (1901–1988). They remained married until his death in 1957. Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau Grand Officer of the Order of the House of Orange