Gulpen (electoral district)

Gulpen was an electoral district of the House of Representatives in the Netherlands from 1888 to 1918.

The electoral district of Gulpen was created in 1888 out of part of the Maastricht district, which was reduced from two seats to one. Gulpen's boundaries remained the same throughout the electoral district's existence. It was situated in the south of the province of Limburg, including places such as Heerlen, Kerkrade and Vaals, as well as the village of Gulpen, after which it was named. Containing much of the South Limburg coal mining basin, mining was the most important economic activity in the district.^[1][2]

Over the course of its existence, the district's population increased substantially, from 43,350 in 1888 to 65,456 in 1909. Around 99% of the population was Catholic in 1888 and 1897, though this proportion dropped to 96.5% in 1909. In that same year, 1.1% of the population was Reformed, 0.3% was Gereformeerd and 2.1% belonged to the category "Others".^[3]

The district of Gulpen was abolished upon the introduction of party-list proportional representation in 1918.

Like most districts in the Catholic south of the country, Gulpen was a safe seat for the Catholics, united in the General League of Roman Catholic Electoral Associations from 1904 onward. The Catholics held the seat continuously throughout its existence. Unlike other districts in the south, however, elections in Gulpen were rarely uncontested, with multiple Catholic candidates often standing against each other. Most famous among its members was Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck, who was first elected in 1905 and continued to represent the district until his appointment as Queen's Commissioner of Limburg in 1918. This triggered a by-election just a month before the district's abolition. Ruijs de Beerenbrouck would become Chairman of the Council of Ministers later that year.