Jozef Franciscus Bernard "Jos" van Rey (; born 15 April 1945) is a Dutch businessman and politician from

Roermond Roermond (; li, Remunj or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received town rights in 1231. Roer ...

. He has been a member of the

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

of Roermond for the Liberal People's Party Roermond since 2014 and a member of the States of Limburg for the People's Party Limburg since 2015. For the

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party in ...

, Van Rey was a member of the municipal council of Roermond (1974–1986; 1991–2002), an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

of Roermond (1979–1982; 1998–2012), a member of the States of Limburg (1982; 1995–2011), a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

(1982–1989; 1991–1998), and member of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

(2011–2012). In 2013, he was expelled from the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy after co-founding the Liberal People's Party Roermond. Between 2012 and 2016, he was investigated for political corruption. In 2016 and 2017, he was convicted for bribery, disclosure of

confidential information Confidentiality involves a set of rules or a promise usually executed through confidentiality agreements that limits the access or places restrictions on certain types of information. Legal confidentiality By law, lawyers are often required ...

electoral fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

, and

money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...

. He received a suspended prison sentence of one year and was disqualified to hold public office for two years. Since then, his Liberal People's Party Roermond has become the largest party in Roermond in every municipal election, and Van Rey is always elected to the council with preferential votes as the list pusher. This was also the case in the elections of March 18, 2022.

Early life

Jozef Franciscus Bernard van Rey was born on 15 April 1945 in

in the Netherlands.J.F.B. (Jos) van Rey
(in Dutch), ''Parlement & Politiek''. Retrieved 22 December 2017.

Business

Van Rey has worked in insurance since 1965. He founded an insurance company named after himself, Jos van Rey, and was director between 1975 and October 1982. He is the owner of a real estate company named after himself, Jos van Rey Vastgoed BV.

Politics

Van Rey became a member of the

in 1965. Between 1974 and 2012, he had several and sometimes concurrent positions in the municipality of Roermond, the province of Limburg, and the Netherlands for the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy. He was a member of the

of Roermond (1974–1986; 1991–2002), an

of Roermond (1979–1982; 1998–2012), a member of the States of Limburg (1982; 1995–2011), a member of the

(1982–1989; 1991–1998), and member of the

(2011–2012). Following the start of the investigation into political corruption in 2012, Van Rey resigned as alderman and senator. In 2013, he co-founded the Liberal People's Party Roermond (LVR), after which he was expelled from the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) due to a conflict of interest. In 2014, Van Rey was installed as a member of the Municipal Council in Roermond for the LVR. In 2015, he was installed as a member of the States of Limburg for the People's Party Limburg.

Corruption investigation and conviction

Between 2012 and 2016, Van Rey was investigated for political corruption and prosecuted for bribery, disclosure of

, and

. The criminal trial started in the court of Rotterdam on 4 April 2016. Van Rey was convicted for two counts of bribery, one count of disclosure of confidential information, and one count of electoral fraud and he received a

community sentence Community sentence or alternative sentencing or non-custodial sentence is a collective name in criminal justice for all the different ways in which courts can punish a defendant who has been convicted of committing an offence, other than through a c ...

of 240 hours on 12 July 2016. On 20 December 2017, the Court of Appeal of The Hague gave Van Rey a twelve months' suspended prison sentence and disqualified him from holding public office for the duration of two years, for bribery, disclosure of confidential information, electoral fraud and

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rey, Jos Van 1945 births Aldermen of Roermond Dutch businesspeople Dutch politicians convicted of crimes Living people Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Members of the Provincial Council of Limburg Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Municipal councillors in Limburg (Netherlands) People from Roermond People convicted of bribery People convicted of money laundering People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians Politicians convicted of corruption Politicians convicted of fraud Dutch fraudsters