Cornelis Lely

Cornelis Lely
Cornelis Lely in 1913
Born	(1854-09-23)23 September 1854 Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died	22 January 1929(1929-01-22) (aged 74) The Hague, Netherlands
Alma mater	Delft University of Technology
Occupation	Civil engineer, Governor-General of Suriname
Notable work	Zuiderzee Works

Cornelis Lely (Dutch pronunciation: [kɔrˈneːlɪs ˈleːli]; 23 September 1854 – 22 January 1929) was a Dutch civil engineer and statesman. He oversaw the passage of an act of parliament authorizing construction of the Zuiderzee Works, a huge project – designed to his own plans – that turned the Zuiderzee into a lake and made possible the conversion of a vast area of former seabed into dry land.

Cornelis Lely was born on 23 September 1854 in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, son of an oilseed trader. Lely went to the Hogere Burgerschool (HBS). He later studied at the Polytechnic School in Delft and graduated as civil engineer in 1875.

Between 1886 and 1891, Lely led the technical research team that explored the possibility, later approved by a State Commission, of enclosing the Zuiderzee.

Lely served three times Minister of Transport and Water Management (in 1891–1894, 1897–1901, and 1913–1918) and in this role was hugely influential in advocating the implementation of his own plans. The scheme was finally approved and realized after severe flooding along the shores of the Zuiderzee in 1916.

In 1895 Lely became member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Lely was governor of Surinam from 1902 to 1905.

The city of Lelystad, situated in the Eastern Flevoland polder and capital of Flevoland province, was named after him. The flags of the province and of the city are both adorned with a white fleur-de-lys to note his contribution.