leading Dutch political figure of the mid-19th century who, as prime minister (1849–53, 1862–66, 1871–72), consolidated the parliamentary system created by the constitution of 1848.

Thorbecke began his career as a lecturer at universities in Germany and the Low Countries, and he published treatises on history and law. His liberal ideas, influenced by the historical-juridical school of the German scholar Friedrich Karl von Savigny, were expressed in his Aanteekening op de grondwet (1839; “A Note on the Constitution”). He was the chief author of the constitution of 1848, which transformed The Netherlands; instead of a constitutional monarchy in which an authoritarian king ruled with a parliament of limited powers, the nation was given a constitutional monarchy in which Parliament controlled both legislation and executive powers. Thorbecke himself became prime minister in 1849 , heading a liberal coalition. He soon strengthened the constitution by sponsoring measures extending the franchise and providing for the direct election of provincial and municipal governments.

Thorbecke, especially in his first and second ministries, promoted free trade through navigation acts and abolition of excise duties and sponsored the construction of new canals and waterways.

After Thorbecke's death in 1872, the split between the progressive and conservative factions of the Liberal Party deepened, enabling the religious parties eventually to take power.