Kielstra was born on 13 November 1878 in
Zwartsluis, son of a
Mennonite minister. In 1918, Kielstra was appointed professor of colonial political science and economics at
Wageningen University, and would remain professor until 1936. In 1925, he travelled to the
Dutch West Indies and visited
Suriname which would become the main focus of his writings. On 16 August 1933, Kielstra was appointed
Governor-General of Suriname. He attempted to create autonomous village communities, and rejected assimilation of the different ethnic groups. The marriage law was put in effect by
decree in 1940. Back in 1938, Kielstra had
involuntarily committed Louis Doedel, a trade unionist, in a psychiatric hospital. He would use his increased authority against political opponents.
Eddy Bruma and
Otto Huiswoud were arrested and imprisoned without trial. On 23 July 1943,
Wim Bos Verschuur, a member of the Estates, petitioned
Queen Wilhelmina to remove Kielstra from office. On 30 July 1943, he was arrested and interned without trial. Subsequently, all elected members of the Estates handed in their resignation. On 28 December 1943, he was given an honourable discharge by the
Dutch government-in-exile. In 1944, Kielstra was appointed Ambassador of the Netherlands to Mexico with an accreditation for Guatemala, and served until his retirement in 1948. He moved to
Monaco, and died on 1 April 1951 at the age of 72. == References ==