Kees van der Staaij
Leader of the Reformed Political Party
In office
27 March 2010 – 25 August 2023
Preceded byBas van der Vlies
Succeeded byChris Stoffer
Leader of the Reformed Political Party
in the House of Representatives
In office
10 May 2010 – 25 August 2023
Preceded byBas van der Vlies
Succeeded byChris Stoffer
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
19 May 1998 – 5 December 2023
Personal details
Born
Cornelis Gerrit van der Staaij

(1968-09-12) 12 September 1968
Vlaardingen, Netherlands
Political partyReformed Political Party
SpouseMarlies van Ree (m. 1994)
ResidenceBenthuizen
Alma materLeiden University (LLM)
OccupationPolitician
Civil servant
Website(in Dutch) Official website

Cornelis Gerrit "Kees" van der Staaij (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkeːs fɑn dər ˈstaːi];[1] born 12 September 1968) is a Dutch politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1998 to 2023 and Leader of the Reformed Political Party (Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij, SGP) between 2010 and 2023.[2] As a parliamentarian, he focused on matters of judiciary, home affairs, Kingdom relations, foreign policy, the European Union, development aid, the defense, public health, welfare, sports, immigration and political asylum. Van der Staaij had been the longest running member of the House of Representatives from 2017 until 2023.

Early life

Van der Staaij was born in Vlaardingen, a city in the province of South Holland. His father was a civil servant in the municipality Maartensdijk.

He went to two Reformed primary schools in Vlaardingen (1974–1979) and Geldermalsen (1979–1980) and to a Reformed secondary school in Amersfoort (1980–1986). He studied law at Leiden University, specialising in constitutional and administrative law.

Politics

Van der Staaij was attracted to politics and became a member of the Reformed Political Party in 1986.

After several jobs at the Council of State, he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1998. In 2010 he became party leader as well as parliamentary leader in both cases succeeding Bas van der Vlies. He led his party as lijsttrekker in the 2010, 2012 and 2017 general elections.[3]

Van der Staaij is considered one of the most conservative and right-wing political leaders in the Netherlands. He signed the anti-LGBTQI Nashville Statement and supported anti-abortion organisations, making sure such organisations were granted more subsidies. Before the 2012 Dutch general election, when asked whether he agreed with Todd Akin's comments on "legitimate rape" and pregnancy, he said "it is a fact" that women "seldom" become pregnant after being raped.[4] He and his party focus on the importance of faith and community in society and frequently advocate for theocracy.[5]

Van der Staaij again served as lijsttrekker or main candidate for the SGP in the 2021 general election.[6] The SGP won 3 out of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives. [7] Van der Staaij announced that he would not seek reelection for the 2023 Dutch election.[8]

Electoral history

Overview of Dutch elections Kees van der Staaij participated in
Election Party Candidate number Votes
1998 Dutch general election Reformed Political Party 3 2,250
2002 Dutch general election Reformed Political Party 2 7,107
2003 Dutch general election Reformed Political Party 2 8,060
2006 Dutch general election Reformed Political Party 2 5,878
2010 Dutch general election Reformed Political Party 1 152,493
2012 Dutch general election Reformed Political Party 1 182,189
2017 Dutch general election Reformed Political Party 1 196,205
2021 Dutch general election Reformed Political Party 1 193,605

References

  1. ↑ In isolation, van is pronounced [vɑn] or also [fɑn].
  2. ↑ du Pré, Raoul (2023-08-25). "De politieke generatiewissel raakt zelfs de SGP: Kees van der Staaij verlaat het toneel". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  3. ↑ (in Dutch) Van der Staaij lijsttrekker SGP, Nederland Kiest - Tweede Kamerverkiezingen 2010, 27 March 2010
  4. ↑ Cluskey, Peter (August 31, 2012). "Dutch candidate echoes Akin comments on rape and abortion". The Irish Times. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Nashvilleverklaring krijgt pastoraal nawoord (Nashville Statement gets pastoral postscript)". RD - reformatorisch Dagblad. 2019-01-04. Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  6. ↑ Kees van der Staaij opnieuw lijsttrekker, parlement.com (in Dutch)
  7. ↑ Kiesraad (2021-03-26). "Officiële uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 17 maart 2021 - Nieuwsbericht - Kiesraad.nl". www.kiesraad.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  8. ↑ "Kees van der Staaij, SGP-leider én langstzittende Kamerlid, stopt ermee". RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 2023-08-25. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
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