On 1 January 1999 these municipalities fused into the new municipality of Gulpen-Wittem, of which he was mayor until the end of 2000.
Beyond the German border, the district borders the Belgian town of Kelmis, in the Province of Liège, as well as the Dutch communities of Vaals, Wittem and Simpelveld, all contained with the Dutch Province of Limburg.
Wittem | Gulpen-Wittem |
He studied at the College of Our Lady of the Assumption, Roermond, Limburg, the Netherlands, and at St. Alphonsus Seminary in Wittem, Limburg.