Cornelis Lely

Cornelis Lely ([kɔrˈneːlɪs ˈleːli]; 23 September 1854 – 22 January 1929) was a Dutch politician of the Liberal Union (LU) and civil engineer. He oversaw the passage of an act of parliament authorising 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.

The Dutch parliament passed the law creating the Zuiderzee Works in 14 June 1918, using Lely's plan. He 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 realised after severe flooding along the shores of the Zuiderzee in 1916.

In 1898 as minister he implemented a law on local railroads and tramways, which played a significant role in the development of the Dutch countryside.

In 1895 Lely became member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Lely was governor of Surinam from 1902 to 1905. In Surinam he achieved the initiation and construction of the Lawarailroad (from Paramaribo to Benzdorp).

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.

In the city of Amsterdam "Cornelis Lelylaan", a major thoroughfare, is named after him and Amsterdam Lelylaan, one of the city's main railway stations, is sited on this road.

In 1905, the Surinamese village of Kofi Djompo was renamed Lelydorp in his honour; Lely having led the construction of a new railway from Paramaribo that ran through the area. Most of the railway has now gone, but Lelydorp survives and is now the capital of Wanica District. It lies on the road from Paramaribo to Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport.

A statue of Lely stands on the western point of the Afsluitdijk. It was sculpted by Mari Andriessen and dedicated on 23 September 1954, the 100th anniversary of Lely's birth. A replica of this statue stands in the center of Lelystad, on a 35-metre-high (115 ft) tower of basalt blocks, designed by Hans van Houwelingen. In Lelystad's city hall is a statue of Lely made by Piet Esser.