Jesse Feras Klaver (born 1 May 1986) is a Dutch politician serving 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 ...

since 2010 and Leader of GroenLinks since 2015. Prior to this, he chaired the youth union of the

Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond The Christian National Trade Union Federation ( nl, Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond, CNV) is a federation of trade unions of the Netherlands. History The CNV was founded on 13 May 1909, in Arnhem as a federation of several Christian unions. It w ...

from 2009 to 2010.

Early life

Jesse Feras Klaver was born on 1 May 1986 in

Roosendaal Roosendaal () is both a city and a municipality in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. Towns/villages of the municipality * Roosendaal (population: 66,760) * Wouw (4,920) * Heerle (1,900) * Nispen (1,440) * Wouwse P ...

. His father has a Riffian- Moroccan background and his mother has a mixed Dutch and Indonesian background.Calvinist en er goed uit zien
(in Dutch), ''

Trouw ''Trouw'' (; ) is a Dutch daily newspaper appearing in compact size. It was founded in 1943 as an orthodox Protestant underground newspaper during World War II. Since 2009, it has been owned by DPG Media (known as De Persgroep until 2019). ''T ...

''. He grew up in a social housing project without the presence of his father. His grandparents played a large role in his upbringing. Between 1999 and 2004, he attended the

vmbo Pre-vocational secondary education (, abbr. VMBO) is a school track in the Netherlands. It lasts four years, from the age of twelve to sixteen. It combines vocational training with theoretical education in languages, mathematics, history, arts ...

at the

Waldorf school Waldorf education, also known as Steiner education, is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Its educational style is holistic, intended to develop pupils' intellectual, artistic, and practical ...

Michael College in

Prinsenbeek Prinsenbeek is a village and a former municipality in the Dutch province North Brabant. The village is situated west of the motorway A16 (Rotterdam–Antwerp) and the TGV line Amsterdam–Paris. Prinsenbeek is a part of the municipality Breda, and ...

. Between 2006 and 2009, he was member of the board of

DWARS DWARS, GroenLinkse Jongeren is the independent youth wing of GreenLeft, a Dutch green political party. Ideals and policies Both the ''manifest for a better world'', the organisation's program of principles and ''2025 - DWARS' proposals for the f ...

, the youth organization of

GroenLinks GroenLinks (, ) is a green political party in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 March 1989 from the merger of four left-wing parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, the Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and t ...

. First, he was duo-chair for organization matters, later he was secretary and then he was elected chair. As chair, he supported the "freedom-loving course set by

Femke Halsema Femke Halsema (; born 25 April 1966) is a Dutch politician and filmmaker. On 27 June 2018, she was appointed Mayor of Amsterdam and began serving a six-year term on 12 July 2018. She is the first woman to hold the position on a non-interim bas ...

" against the more communitarian elements within the party. In addition to serving in this function, he studied social work at the

Avans University of Applied Sciences Avans University of Applied Sciences ( nl, Avans Hogeschool) is a Dutch high ranked vocational university. It is located in three cities: Breda, 's-Hertogenbosch, and Tilburg. The school has 30,000 students studying 40 courses in 18 institutes. Th ...

and the transition program for the master

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

at 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 ...

. He quit the transition program before finishing it.J.F. (Jesse) Klaver
(in Dutch), ''Parlement & Politiek''. On 17 September 2009, he was elected chair of the youth union of the CNV.
(in Dutch), '' De Telegraaf''. As chair he announced he would put less emphasis on the Christian character of the CNV. He supported raising the retirement age to 67. On 1 December 2009, he was appointed to the

Social Economic Council The Social and Economic Council (Dutch: ''Sociaal-Economische Raad'', SER) is a major economic advisory council to the cabinet of the Netherlands. Formally it heads a system of sector-based regulatory organisations. It represents the social par ...

. Being 23 years old, he was the youngest member ever to sit on this council. In addition to chairing the CNV youth union, he co-authored the 2010 GroenLinks election manifesto; he was member of the board of the Christian Social Youth Congress and he was founder of the climate NGO Youth Copenhagen Coalition.

Political career

In 2010, Klaver was placed seventh on the list of GroenLinks for the 2010 elections. GroenLinks won ten seats. Klaver became spokesperson social affairs, employment, education and sport.Portefeuilleverdeling Tweede Kamerfractie
,

. His

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

concerned higher education. In 2010, he was nominated as "political talent of the year" by political journalists. For the

2012 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2012. International * 2012 United Nations Security Council election Africa Egypt * 2012 Egyptian presidential election Mali * 2012 Malian presidential election * 2012 Malian parliamentary electio ...

Klaver headed the campaign team of GroenLinks and he was fourth on the list of candidates of GroenLinks. This was enough to be elected, as GroenLinks got exactly four seats. His TEDtalk in the late-night talk show

Pauw & Witteman ''Pauw & Witteman'' was a Dutch late-night talk show, hosted by Jeroen Pauw and Paul Witteman. It was generally focused on current affairs and politics. It was broadcast every weekday at 11 pm on Nederland 1. It was initially co-produced by Du ...

in January 2013, was chosen as the best of five young politicians. In 2013, he co-authored the memo "Mooi Nederland" ("Beautiful Netherlands") with

Lutz Jacobi Lutske (Lutz) Jacobi (born December 13, 1955 in Katlijk) is a Dutch politician and former civil servant. As a member of the Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid) she was an MP between November 30, 2006 and March 23, 2017. She focused on matters of ...

( PvdA) and Stientje van Veldhoven ( D66) which set out to protect nature, the landscape, flora and fauna. In 2013, he authored a private member's bill which through transparency sought to reduce food wastage. In 2014, he authored the proposal "Kansen voor kinderen voor het vmbo" ("Opportunities for Children in pre-vocational education"). Klaver received international attention for opposing tax evasion in 2013. Klaver co-authored the agreement on the student benefit with the minister of Education

Jet Bussemaker Mariëtte "Jet" Bussemaker (born 15 January 1961) is a retired Dutch politician. A member of the Labour Party (PvdA), she served as Minister of Education, Culture and Science from 5 November 2012 to 26 October 2017 in the Second Rutte cabinet. ...

and spokespersons of the

VVD The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a Conservative liberalism, conservative-liberalRudy Andeweg, Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingsto ...

, D66, PvdA. He attended the inauguration of King Willem Alexander and took the oath "Zo Waarlijk helpe mij God almachtig". On 12 May 2015, party leader Bram van Ojik announced that Klaver would be taking over party leadership effective immediately. Until then, Klaver had acted as a spokesperson for finance, agriculture, nature, animal welfare, education, culture and science. He is member of parliamentary committees on foreign affairs,

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 ...

, European affairs,

economic affairs An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

, finance,

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

, budgetary control,

social affairs A Ministry of Social Affairs or Department of Social Affairs is the common name for a government department found in states where the government is divided into ministries or departments. While there is some variation in the responsibilities of ...

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

and procedural affairs. Klaver continued to be GroenLinks' party leader during the Dutch general election of 2017. His party gained 10 seats, rising to an all-time high of 14, but in 2021 election fell to 8. Thanks to his political engagement he was nominated in 2018 as a European Young Leader (EYL40). Jesse Klaver is on the 2019 TIME 100 Next List.

Other activities

Friends of Europe Friends of Europe is a Brussels-based, not-for-profit think-tank for European Union policy analysis and debate. The organisation, established in 1999, has no political or national allegiance and is independent of the EU institutions. Its declared ...

, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2020)

Personal life

Klaver married his wife Jolein on 3 May 2013. He has three sons.

Early life

Political career

Other activities

Personal life

References

External links