Cornelis Lely, born 23 September 1854 at Amsterdam, died 14 January 1929 at The Hague, was a Dutch engineer and a member of the Second, and later of the First Chamber of the Dutch States-General, governor of Surinam 1902-1905, and three times Minister of Public Works (1891-1894, 1897-1901, 1913-1918). In 1918 a law was passed to reclaim the Zuiderzee. To this gigantic task, which has proved to be of great national importance and which was begun in 1923, Lely had given both the impulse and the plans by his Nota's over de afsluiting en droogmaking van de Zuiderzee (Leiden, 1887-1891). Lely stemmed from an old Mennonite family and was a member of the church, being for some time also a member of the church board at The Hague.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 319. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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