Portrait of Inspector-General A.F. Goudriaan

Adriaan François Goudriaan, by Izaak Schouman, 1829. After 1800 the water authority administration was radically centralised. In 1808 it was decided to divide the country into two water-authority districts. Adriaan François Goudriaan (1768-1829) was appointed inspector general of the northeast district. It was his initiative to introduce the 'Amsterdamsch Peil': a standard water level for the whole country. Goudriaan is portrayed in his official uniform. He is wearing two insignias. One was received from the French emperor Napoleon, the other from King William I. Goudriaan served both rulers as a civil servant: the various changes of regime in the years after 1800 did not damage his career.