Kees van der Staaij
Kees van der Staaij | |
|---|---|
| Leader of the Reformed Political Party | |
| In office 27 March 2010 – 25 August 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Bas van der Vlies |
| Succeeded by | Chris Stoffer |
| Leader of the Reformed Political Party in the House of Representatives | |
| In office 10 May 2010 – 25 August 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Bas van der Vlies |
| Succeeded by | Chris Stoffer |
| Member of the House of Representatives | |
| In office 19 May 1998 – 5 December 2023 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Cornelis Gerrit van der Staaij 12 September 1968 Vlaardingen, Netherlands |
| Party | Reformed Political Party (1986–present) |
| Spouse |
Marlies van Ree (m. 1994) |
| Alma mater | Leiden University (LLM) |
| Occupation | |
| Website | (in Dutch) Official website |
Cornelis Gerrit "Kees" van der Staaij (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkeːs fɑn dər ˈstaːi];[a] born 12 September 1968) is a Dutch former 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.[1] 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 was the longest-serving 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 of 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 conservative Reformed Christian SGP 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 lead candidate in the 2010, 2012, 2017 and 2021 general elections.[2][3][4]
Van der Staaij announced that he would not seek re-election in November 2023.[5] He succeeded Marja van Bijsterveldt as special envoy for the maritime industry, advising the Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, in February 2024, and he returned to the Council of State in June 2024 as a state councillor in its advisory division.[6][7]
Political positions
Van der Staaij was considered one of the most conservative and right-wing political leaders in the Netherlands. He signed the 2017 anti-LGBTQ Nashville Statement and supported anti-abortion organisations, making sure such organisations were granted more subsidies. Before the 2012 general election, when asked whether he agreed with American politician Todd Akin's comments on "legitimate rape" and pregnancy, he said "it is a fact" that women "seldom" become pregnant after being raped,[8] although he added rape is "terrible".[9] He later pointed towards a study he read on the matter, adding: "There may be conflicting studies on this, I will take note of that with respect."[10] He stated that Akin lacked compassion in his comments, but that abortion policy in the Netherlands had gone too far.[10] After his comments, Van der Staaij was briefly placed under police protection.[9] BNR published data related to Van der Staaij's comments, showing that only 7% of women in the Netherlands reported becoming pregnant after a rape.[11] During the campaign he and his party focused on the importance of faith and community in society and advocated for theocracy.[12]
Personal life
Van der Staaij is married and lives in Benthuizen, South Holland. He and his wife adopted two children born in Colombia.[13][14]
Decorations
| Honours | ||||
| Ribbon bar | Honour | Country | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau | Netherlands | 5 December 2023 | [15] | |
Electoral history
| Year | Body | Party | Pos. | Votes | Result | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party seats | Individual | |||||||
| 1998 | House of Representatives | Reformed Political Party | 3 | 2,250 | 3 | Won | ||
| 2002 | House of Representatives | 2 | 7,107 | 2 | Won | |||
| 2003 | House of Representatives | 2 | 8,060 | 2 | Won | |||
| 2006 | House of Representatives | 2 | 5,878 | 2 | Won | |||
| 2010 | House of Representatives | 1 | 152,493 | 2 | Won | |||
| 2012 | House of Representatives | 1 | 182,189 | 3 | Won | |||
| 2017 | House of Representatives | 1 | 196,205 | 3 | Won | |||
| 2021 | House of Representatives | 1 | 193,605 | 3 | Won | |||
| 2024 | European Parliament | 39[b] | 9,276 | 1 | Lost | [16] | ||
Notes
- ^ In isolation, van is pronounced [vɑn] or also [fɑn].
- ^ Van der Staaij participated as lijstduwer.
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ (in Dutch) Van der Staaij lijsttrekker SGP Archived 2011-07-24 at the Wayback Machine, Nederland Kiest - Tweede Kamerverkiezingen 2010, 27 March 2010.
- ^ Kees van der Staaij opnieuw lijsttrekker, parlement.com (in Dutch).
- ^ Kiesraad (2021-03-26). "Officiële uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 17 maart 2021 - Nieuwsbericht - Kiesraad.nl". www.kiesraad.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-04-10.
- ^ "Kees van der Staaij, SGP-leider én langstzittende Kamerlid, stopt ermee". RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 2023-08-25. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
- ^ Den Braber, Dick (26 January 2024). "Maritieme sector wijst koning op concurrentie uit China" [Maritime industry makes king aware of Chinese competition]. Reformatorisch Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 April 2024.
- ^ "Oud-SGP-voorman Van der Staaij naar Raad van State" [Former SGP leader Van der Staaij to Council of State]. NOS (in Dutch). 26 April 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
- ^ Cluskey, Peter (31 August 2012). "Dutch candidate echoes Akin comments on rape and abortion". The Irish Times. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Bewaking voor politicus na uitspraak over verkrachting". www.vrt.be (in Dutch). 2012-08-29.
- ^ a b "Geen excuses Van der Staaij". Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (in Dutch). 2012-08-28.
- ^ Van den Acker, Pieter (2012-08-28). "SGP-leider tegen abortus na verkrachting". BNR Nieuwsradio (in Dutch).
- ^ "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.
- ^ Keultjes, Hanneke (2021-02-24). "SGP-lijsttrekker Kees van der Staaij: 'Abortus is niet de mannen tegenover de vrouwen'". De Gelderlander (in Dutch).
- ^ Janssens, Marc (2003-12-19). "Van der Staaij naar Colombia 'om baby op te halen'". Nederlands Dagblad (in Dutch).
- ^ "Afscheid van de Kamer in oude samenstelling". open.overheid.nl (in Dutch).
- ^ "Proces-verbaal centraal stembureau uitslag verkiezing Europees Parlement Model P22-1" [Central electoral council report of the results of the election of the European Parliament Model P22-1] (PDF). Dutch Electoral Council (in Dutch). 19 June 2024. pp. 25–26, 44. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
External links
- House of Representatives biography (in Dutch)
- Parlement.com biography (in Dutch)