Willem Le Jeune

Willem Pieter Antonie Le Jeune (born 6 January 1832 – 28 March 1894), born as Willem Pieter Antonie Tenwinkel, was a Dutch colonial administrator and diplomat, who made a career in the administration on the Dutch Gold Coast and who was interim governor between 28 October 1871 and 15 November 1871. After the Netherlands sold its possessions on the Gold Coast to the United Kingdom in 1872, Le Jeune became the first Dutch consul in Elmina.

Biography Willem Pieter Antonie Le Jeune was born in The Hague to Pieter Antonie Tenwinkel and Christine Henriëtte Böttger.

Career in the colonial administration of the Dutch Gold Coast Le Jeune was appointed assistant on the Coast of Guinea by royal decree no. 97 of 27 October 1857, departed to the Gold Coast on 29 November 1857, and arrived in Elmina on 22 January 1858. He started his career in the administration of the Gold Coast as a substitute judge at the Court of Justice in Elmina and was promoted to commandant of Fort Lijdzaamheid at Apam on 3 January 1859. On 8 November 1859, Le Jeune was appointed commandant of Fort Orange at Sekondi. On 14 March 1861, he was granted European leave and left the Gold Coast. Le Jeune returned on 10 February 1862 and was again appointed commandant of Fort Orange. In August 1862, he was appointed commandant of Fort San Sebastian at Shama, and in the following years until 1866, he served as commandant of Fort Batenstein at Butre, of Fort Crèvecoeur at Accra and of Fort Saint Anthony at Axim.

Le Jeune, who by now was a well-experienced administrator, immediately took up the position of bookkeeper, officer of justice, secretary, cashier, and bailiff, making him second-in-command of the colony. The couple settled in , now part of Nijmegen, where they had two sons and a daughter, before moving to the Brussels municipality of Schaerbeek in March 1879.

Willem Pieter Antonie Le Jeune died in the Brussels municipality of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode on 28 March 1894. The year after, on 2 September 1895, his daughter died as well, prompting his widow Maria Luther to move back to her maiden family in Rotterdam in March 1896. Maria Luther died in Rotterdam on 4 February 1929.