Mathieu "Mat" Herben (born 15 July 1952) is a Dutch journalist, civil servant and retired politician of the dissolved

Pim Fortuyn List The Pim Fortuyn List ( nl, Lijst Pim Fortuyn, LPF) was a political party in the Netherlands named after its eponymous founder Pim Fortuyn, a former university professor and political columnist. The party was considered populist, right-wing popu ...

(LPF) party and served as leader of the LPF 2003 to 2006. In May 2002, the party of the slain populist

Pim Fortuyn Wilhelmus Simon Petrus Fortuijn, known as Pim Fortuyn (; 19 February 1948 – 6 May 2002), was a Dutch politician, author, civil servant, businessman, sociologist and academic who founded the party Pim Fortuyn List (Lijst Pim Fortuyn or LPF) ...

elected him as its new leader, after the party turned out in force in the parliamentary elections. As of 23 May 2002 he has been a member of LPF's parliamentary party in 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 ...

of the Staten-Generaal. In 2004 Herben served as the fraction leader as well as the chairman of the party. In the elections held on 22 January 2003 he was the so-called

lijsttrekker In politics, a lead candidate (; , ) is the leader of a political party in an election to a legislative body. In parliamentary systems, it is often the party's nominee for the position of head of government. In open list electoral systems, it is ...

. Mat Herben was born in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

. From 1977 to 1987 he worked as a journalist and at the Dutch Ministry of Defence. From 1987 to 1990 he was the editor of the Catholic family magazine ''Manna'', and in the 1990s he was also the editor of ''Sta-Vast'', the magazine published by the right-wing organization

Oud-Strijders Legioen The Oud-Strijders Legioen (OSL; "Former Warriors' Legion") was a Dutch right-wing veterans' organization that was active after 1958 and which still maintains a web presence. Though never a big organization or a political party, the OSL exerted cons ...

. In 1993 he founded the local political party ''Leefbaar Linschoten''. From 1990 to 1995 he wrote reviews on classical music and publications about popular medical and social topics. From 1990 tot 2002 he was public relations official, chief editor of diverse magazines and worked again at the Dutch Ministry of Defence. Between March and May 2002 he was spokesman of the

Lijst Pim Fortuyn The Pim Fortuyn List ( nl, Lijst Pim Fortuyn, LPF) was a political party in the Netherlands named after its eponymous founder Pim Fortuyn, a former university professor and political columnist. The party was considered populist, right-wing popul ...

and from May 2002 until October 2004 chairman of this party. In November 2006, he retired as a member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands. In parliament, Herben campaigned against female genital mutilation, and in accordance to Fortuyn's policy, called for the practice to be banned. In November 2003 Prime Minister Balkenende and Minister of Justice

Piet Hein Donner Jan Pieter Hendrik "Piet Hein" Donner (born 20 October 1948) is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist. He was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 21 December 2018. Early life and care ...

called for a limit on the number of satires about the

Dutch royal family The monarchy of the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. As such, the role and position of the monarch are governed by the Constitution of the Netherlands. Consequently, a large portion of it is devoted to the monarch. Roughly a third of ...

. During the debate on the matter, Herben put on a red clown nose before speaking at the interruption microphone in parliament to ask whether this would violate the proposed rules. Balkenende then complimented him on his nose. One of his last activities in parliament involved campaigning to limit the influence of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

on Dutch regulations. In November 2006 Herben submitted a private member's bill to end all EU influence together on Dutch domestic regulation with Reformed Political Party politician Kees van der Staaij, but when the LPF lost all representation in parliament during the

2006 Dutch general election General elections were held in the Netherlands on 22 November 2006 following the fall of the Second Balkenende cabinet. The elections proved relatively successful for the governing Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) which remained the largest par ...

, Van der Staaij took on this defense. In June 2009 the vote in the House of Representatives was postponed, but in September 2015 the House of Representatives approved this. The treatment in the Senate was then halted for two years. On 9 April 2019, the Senate rejected this proposal, after thirteen years. Between 2005 and 2009, Herben was an author for STA-VAST, the magazine of the Dutch right wing conservative organization

. Herben now lives in Linschoten. He is interested in

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indus ...

, international security and

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot a ...

. In 2018, Herben made a small return to politics in which he was elected as a councilor for the ''Lokaal Montfoort'' party. Herben has been married since 1975 and has one daughter. He is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and also a Freemason.

Publications

* "De Luchtstrijdkrachten van het Warschaupact en neutraal Europa" (1982) * "Vijftig jaar vrijmetselarij" * "Vrij Denken – over religie, politiek en vrijmetselarij" (2005)

References

*
Parlement.com biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herben, Mat 1952 births Living people Dutch civil servants Dutch journalists Dutch Roman Catholics Leaders of political parties in the Netherlands Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Politicians from The Hague Pim Fortuyn List politicians 21st-century Dutch politicians