Paul Meijer (25 October 1967) is a Dutch politician who was the leader and chairman of the regional
''Forza!'' Netherlands party. Since 2021 he has been a member of ''
Belang van Nederland''.
In November 2022, the court of North Holland ordered Paul Meijer to repay more than €32,691.95 to his former party ''Forza!''. The judge considered it proven that Meijer had systematically
embezzled
Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...
party funds between 2017 and 2020 and spent it on private matters.
Political career
Pim Fortuyn List
Meijer began his political in the
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). He was elected as a councilor in the municipality of
Haarlemmermeer
Haarlemmermeer () is a municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Haarlemmermeer is a polder, consisting of land reclaimed from water. The name Haarlemmermeer means 'Haarlem's lake', referring to the body of wate ...
for the LPF and represented the local government sector on the party's national council.
''Forza!'' Netherlands
Meijer left the LPF after its loss in the
2003 general election and founded
''Forza!'' Netherlands with fellow former LPF politician
Fleur Agema
Marie-Fleur "Fleur" Agema (born 16 September 1976) is a Dutch politician and former spatial designer. As a member of the Party for Freedom (Partij voor de Vrijheid) she has been an MP since 30 November 2006. She focuses on matters of caregivin ...
, who was elected to the
North Holland provincial council. ''Forza!'' claims to be based on the core principles of the LPF. Agema subsequently joined the newly formed
Party for Freedom in 2006. Meijer remained party chairman and a councilor for ''Forza!'' Netherlands in Haarlemmermeer. He spoke at the official commemoration for the murdered
Theo van Gogh in 2004.
In 2017, Meijer filed a police report over
homophobic
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...
expressions. In 2018, he filed a police report after the wheels of his car had been loosened. In 2021, Meijer was expelled from the ''Forza!'' Haarlemmermeer faction over disputes with its new chairman Erik Vermeulen.
Party for the Netherlands
In 2006, Meijer was on the Tweede Kamer elections list of
Party for the Netherlands, led by
Hilbrand Nawijn
Hilbrand Pier Anne Nawijn (born 8 August 1948) is a Dutch lawyer and politician of the local political party Lijst Hilbrand Nawijn (LHN) in Zoetermeer.
From 2002 to 2004, he served as a Member of the House of Representatives for the Pim Fortuyn ...
. The party, another spinoff of the LPF, was not elected into the national parliament.
''Belang van Nederland''
In 2021, Meijer joined the ''
Belang van Nederland'' party founded by
Wybren van Haga
Wybren Ridley van Haga (born 31 January 1967) is a Dutch politician and engineer who has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2017. He was initially elected as a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), but wa ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meijer, Paul
1967 births
Belang van Nederland politicians
Dutch critics of Islam
Dutch political party founders
Dutch politicians convicted of crimes
Leaders of political parties in the Netherlands
Living people
Pim Fortuyn List politicians
Politicians convicted of embezzlement