Ton Maarten Christofoor Elias (born 14 March 1955) is a Dutch businessman, retired politician and former journalist who served as 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 ...

from 2008 to 2017. As a parliamentarian 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 ...

(''Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie'' – VVD), he focused on matters of economic affairs, education and transport. 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 of ...

, Elias graduated from the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

in 1983. He worked for the TV show ''Den Haag Vandaag'' as a political journalist until 1989 and later became communications director of

Aegon N.V. Aegon N.V. is a Dutch multinational life insurance, pensions and asset management company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands. As of July 21, 2020, the company had 26,000 employees. Aegon is listed on the Euronext Amsterdam and is a consti ...

before founding two businesses: Elias Advies and Elias Communicatie. He was number 23 on the VVD list during the general election of 2006 and thus not elected; he entered the

States General The word States-General, or Estates-General, may refer to: Currently in use * Estates-General on the Situation and Future of the French Language in Quebec, the name of a commission set up by the government of Quebec on June 29, 2000 * States Gener ...

in 2008 after having sold his companies, as

Henk Kamp Henricus Gregorius Jozeph "Henk" Kamp (; born 23 July 1952) is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) who served as List of Ministers of Defence of the Netherlands, Minister of Defence in the Third Rutte cabinet ...

left the House of Representatives after being appointed to be ''Rijksvertegenwoordiger voor de openbare lichamen Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba'', starting 2009. He was fully elected in the 2010 general election (number 20) and reelected in the general election of 2012. He was the VVD's spokesman on Economic Affairs and later Education, Public Transportation and Traffic. During the Speaker of the House of Representatives election, 2016 he received 51 votes. He came second to the Labour Party candidate

Khadija Arib Khadija Arib (; ar, خديجة عريب; born 10 October 1960) is a Moroccan-Dutch politician of the Labour Party, who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands from 12 December 2015 to 7 April 2021. In the 2016 Sp ...

, who received 83 votes and was elected. For the 2017 general election Elias was not part of the candidacy list of the VVD, which Elias stated he would appeal to the party board. His appeal was supported by Senate President

Ankie Broekers-Knol Anneke "Ankie" Broekers-Knol (born 23 November 1946) is a Dutch politician and jurist who served as State Secretary for Justice and Security in the Third Rutte cabinet from 11 June 2019 until 10 January 2022. She is a member of the People's Part ...

but rejected. He was the House's First Deputy Speaker from 2016 to 2017; he currently works as a consultant. Elias received the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

from French Foreign Affairs Minister

Jean-Marc Ayrault Jean-Marc Ayrault (; born 25 January 1950) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 15 May 2012 to 31 March 2014. He later was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2017. He previously was Mayor of Nantes from 1989 t ...

in November 2016.

References

*
Parlement.com biography

External links

*
Ton Elias
personal website *
House of Representatives biography
*
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy biography
1955 births Living people Dutch campaign managers Dutch columnists Dutch political consultants Dutch political commentators Dutch political journalists Dutch television personalities Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Politicians from The Hague People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians University of Amsterdam alumni 21st-century Dutch politicians {{Netherlands-VVD-politician-stub