Engelbert Maes

Engelbert Maes
president of the Brussels Privy Council
In office 1614–1630
Monarch	Archdukes Albert and Isabella (1598–1621) Philip IV of Spain (1621–1665)
Governor General	Isabel Clara Eugenia (1621–1633)
Preceded by	Jean Richardot
Succeeded by	Pierre Roose
Personal details
Born	1545 Antwerp
Died	9 October 1630 Brussels
Resting place	Church of St Gudula, Brussels
Parents	Jacob Maes and Aleide de Tassis
Education	civil law
Alma mater	Leuven University

Engelbert Maes (1545–1630), was chief-president of the Brussels Privy Council and Council of State from 1614 to 1632, making him a central figure in the government of the Habsburg Netherlands for almost twenty years.^[1]

Career

Engelbert was the son of Jacob Maes, a member of the Council of Brabant, and Aleide de Tassis. He was born in Antwerp and studied civil law at Leuven University, where he matriculated on 17 October 1560.^[2] After graduation he served as pensionary of the city of Antwerp. Under Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma he became auditor general of the Army of Flanders and a member of the Great Council of Mechelen. In 1603 the Archdukes Albert and Isabella appointed him to their Privy Council, and in 1614 as president of the Privy Council and the Council of State.

He married Pauline Schoyte and together they had three children: Jean-Baptiste, later a member of the Council of Finance, and two daughters, Adrienne and Hélène, who married the brothers Jean and Charles della Faille. His wife died in 1618, he himself on 9 October 1630. He was buried in the Magdalen chapel of the Church of St Gudula (now Brussels cathedral).

References

1. Joseph Lefèvre, "Maes (Engelbert)", Biographie Nationale de Belgique, vol. 37 (Brussels, 1971), 566-569.
2. Björn Volckaert, De leden van de Geheime Raad der Zuidelijke Nederlanden onder het bewind van de aartshertogen en Filips IV, 1609-1653. Een prosopografische studie. Deel 2, thesis for the degree of licentiate of History, Ghent University, 2004.